Have you ever forgotten to confess or repent?

[Shred1000]

I was wondering about forgetting a particular sin you commited. If you forget about it, you can't confess or repent, because...well....you don't know about it anymore. How do we get rid of this particular sin?

For example, if someone stole and forgot about it a few years later. However, he did not confess about the stolen goods yet.

How does one become forgiven?

Can you pray like 'I confess ALL my sins'?

 

[belovedwolfofgod]

Pray as St. Augustine did.

Lord, I ask forgiveness for all my hidden sins, because nothing is hidden from you, however there is much that remains hidden from my sight.

 

[Drew]

Hello Shred100 (and others):

I think that the mere asking of this question suggests a "legalistic" conceptualization of the content of the Christian life that is very impoverished. And I say this hoping you will not take offence - it is very easy to slip into this mode of thinking.

The idea that one's status before God hangs on technicalities as to whether one has "covered all the bases" in one's repentance simply cannot be reconciled with the teachings of the gospel - one of which is that, loosely speaking, "God looks at the heart". It is precisely a highly legalistic way of looking at life that Jesus rebuts in the Sermon on the Mount. Being a disciple is not about "not doing the bad things" or even about ensuring that a checklist of all the "good things" are done - such as requesting forgiveness for each and every sin.

Rather, the "kingdom heart" is about acquiring the nature of Jesus. Sure, we should do the things he tells us. But, in my view, the true walk is not about lists of actions, it is about a state of the inner person which, if achieved, will be manifested by the right actions, almost as a matter of course.