Jumpstarter 3 of 10

Direct Answer Their practice assumes that confession is part of real friendship and spiritual growth, and that hiding sin is a problem even if it happened before conversion. It also assumes pre-conversion sin still matters morally and can weigh on a believer’s conscience, so bringing it into the light is important.

Support from Transcript:

• Patrick and Marcus “prayed and read Scripture together” and “even confessed their sins to one another,” treating confession as normal Christian discipleship.
• Patrick says, “we've been confessing our sins to one another,” implying an ongoing pattern, not a one-time event.
• He admits he “held back” one sin, calling it “a very serious sin,” suggesting that concealment is inconsistent with the honesty they aim for.
• He connects the sin to his unconverted state: “I committed it when I was only fifteen… I neither knew God nor hardly believed in Him,” yet he still feels responsible enough to confess.
• “The two men wept and prayed together,” implying repentance includes grief and turning to God, not merely information-sharing.
• The narrator notes the confession later has impact: “If only Patrick had known what impact his confession would have years later,” showing confession can have lasting consequences.