Confession and Forgiveness Both are Necessary

We do not live a lifestyle of sin, but we sometimes fall, even if only by attitude.

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"

I am convinced a born-again believer would never feel justified in being rude or mean to anyone. If they do they quickly confess and desire to be forgiven.

James 5:15-16 "…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."

1 John 3:8-10 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.…"

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"

All of these passages were given to the church.

Lack of confession over sin and disobedience to Christ will result in lost rewards for the born-again believer.

We can confess to God our sins against others and be forgiven. However, if we do not confess to the one we offended the relationship remains broken and there is disobedience against God when He said in James 5; "confess your sins to one another and pray for one another."

People have no reason to believe someone has changed their attitude if they do not tell those they offended that they were sorry for the way they acted. Regaining trust in the relationship is the reason God told us to confess to one another and to forgive when there is a confession, this removes the doubt that someone has been sorry and changed.