AboutErnie Laurence, Jr. Expertise I am capable of answering any questions concerning doctrines of the church of Christ. I specialize in Creation vs. Evolution topics, the book of Revelation and other Biblical prophecies, and other apologetics related topics such as distinctions from denominational doctrines.
Experience My experience in this area includes: having been raised by members of the church of Christ from infancy, having been immersed into the church of Christ at age ten, having taken an active role in worship/service leadership (song leading, teaching, preaching, youth ministry) since age fourteen through the present, and participating in numerous formal debates, research projects, and online discussions.
Organizations The church of Christ
Publications Local congregations.
Education/Credentials I hold a bachelor's degree in computer information systems (CIS) from Tarleton State University which focuses on business communication and management. This provided training for how to deal professionally with individuals and organizations if not direct training in the field of religion. See experience section for informal education experience.
Question I know you have to repent and ask forgiveness to seek salvation after falling from grace,but in the case of where your biggest sin was not attending worship services after moving to a different city, don't you have to confess this in the church (publicly)??
Thank you
Answer Hey Linda,
You are asking a question that is really several questions in one. I'll address each of these questions separately.
1. "Biggest sin" - According to the Bible there are no distinctions between magnitudes of sins. Sin is sin and they all have the same spiritual consequence which is separation from God or spiritual death (Isa. 59:1-2; Romans 6:23). The only difference that we see from sin is in the area of consequences. In regard to your question, the consequence comes from whether it was a public sin or private sin.
2. Forsaking the assembly - this sin occurs when a person willfully misses assembling with Christians on the first day of the week because something else is given more importance. Ultimately you are putting something ahead of God and your fellow Christians. (Heb. 10:25; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; 1 Cor. 14)
3. Public confession - actually the traditional walk down front and confess your sins to the whole congregation is just that...a tradition. It isn't found anywhere in scripture. The tradition was instituted as an expedient to facilitate when someone decided they wanted to apologize to the congregation as a whole rather than everyone individually. It's fine to have and it works, but is not something that MUST be done else it adds to sin. To say it another way, it is not a sin if you never confess a sin in front of the whole congregation. Public confession is not about shame. It is about desiring help from the whole congregation to overcome that sin. When we confess our faults one to another, one to one, (Jas. 5:16) it is for the purpose of healing.
So if you feel a need to confess publicly because you want the congregation to help you with attendance, to support you and admonish you when you grow lax, go for it. For a new congregation or an old I would recommend it for a number of reasons. But there are no scriptures anywhere that say you MUST do so.
