What is the difference between repenting and confessing?
James 5:16
ESV - 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
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Asked 8 days ago
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Christie Viator
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Mark Vestal
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To repent, from the Greek word μετανοέω, is to "change your mind" about something. Regarding sin, it would be to think twice about committing one, also for biblical Israel, to change their mind about Christ indeed being their Messiah. They at first did not believe, but were later implored to change their mind that He in fact was Him (Acts 2:38). For the church, the body of Christ, the gifts and calling of God come by grace and are without repentance: Rom 11:29 "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." Confessing, from the Greek word ὁμολογέω is "to acknowledge" a truth. For instance, acknowledging that Christ is indeed the Son of God (Rom 10:9). It may come from the previous stance of disbelief, but then from the immediate agreement upon the acknowledgement of this being true. Regarding Israel and sin, they must confess after committing each and every one of them for their "times of refreshing" (Acts 3:19). However, the church, the body of Christ, must rather acknowledge (believe) that all of their sins have already been forgiven through Christ's shed blood (Rom 3:25, 1 Cor 15:1-4, Eph 4:32).
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