Answer # 1

The Bible teaches that Christians are to confess their sins to God, not people. Notice Psalm 51, for instance, which records David's confession of his sin with Bathsheba.

No human can forgive sins. Neither has any person been given the office of mediator between humanity and God. This office is held by Jesus Christ alone. Paul wrote, in I Timothy 2:5, "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." See also Hebrews 7:25.

John wrote that when we sin we have an Advocate with God Jesus Christ the righteous (I John 2:1-2). God is faithful to forgive our sins when we confess to Him (I John 1:7-10). Therefore, we can come boldly to God's throne of grace (Hebrews 4:14-16). Only God can forgive sin, since sin is against God's law (I John 3:4).

The Scriptures do tell us that we may confess our faults to one another so we may pray for each other (James 5:16). But there is a difference between seeking a fellow Christian's help in overcoming a fault - a human weakness - and confessing sins of the past. The latter usually need not be done because humans cannot forgive sin. And confessing our sins to other people probably should not be done, anyway - humans are prone to not forget, whereas God does forget our sins after He forgives them (Hebrews 8:12).

This would not preclude, of course, apologizing and trying to make things right when we wrong other people.