Page 58 - SoulWinning Crash Course

19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books
together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of
them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver."

If a catholic claims that is a prooftext for confessing sins to other men, note
that this was unsolicited, spontaneous, and public confession driven by
"fear," not anything God or the apostles asked for.

Even before Jesus' death, He forgave sins, NOT because the sins were
confessed, but because the sinners believed Jesus could help them if they
came to Him.

Mark 2:3-5 "And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy,
which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him
for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had
broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy
sins be forgiven thee."

The sick man didn't confess anything.

Catholics cite 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

It's a stretch to apply that to confessional booths, since it doesn't say "confess
our sins TO PRIESTS." But there are three other interpretations of the
verse:

1. It does mean multiple confessions of sin for salvation, but the confessions
are to God, and the verse applies only during the Great Tribulation.

2. It is not referring to judicial forgiveness for salvation, but a temporal
forgiveness for restoring lost "fellowship" with God (verse 6).

3. It is not referring to multiple confessions. God is not limited by time (2
Peter 3:8), so He can forgive all of your sins at once, including the sins you
haven't committed yet. The phrase "confess our sins" is contrasted with the