Maybe this all feels a little too neat and tidy: A human admits they've sinned, and another human says, "God forgives you."
But what about the person who isn't really sorry for their sin? Well, God's Word speaks to that. If you aren't really sorry for your sin, then what are you asking to be forgiven of? Nothing, really. And if you aren't really asking to be forgiven, are you? Not really. Without sorrow for sin, it's a sham.
But what if I know I should feel sorry but I don't? Well, it sounds like you feel sorry for being the kind of sinner who's not sorry. In that case, you can ask for forgiveness for being hard of heart and not feeling sorry for your sin as you should. (And I'd also pray for the Lord to change my heart so that I DO feel sorry for my sins!)
Basically, confession and absolution doesn't "work" when the individual Christian doesn't really believe they are a sinner or that they have sinned or if they do not believe that God will truly forgive as He said He would! In the first case, they aren't really confessing at all. In the latter case, they don't believe that God truly has any reason to be merciful.
There's another time when confession won't "work"? When you refuse to repent. This is a lot like not feeling sorry for your sin, but it's not exactly the same. You can feel sorry for your sin and still refuse to turn from it. Too many are the times when Christians have said, "I'm just going to sin again anyway. I might as well get it over with." Maybe they don't say it so crassly, but that's the way they approach it: They know what God says is sin; they know they've never been able to keep away from it in the past; they conclude that they'll not be able to keep away from it in the future; so they stop trying!
In the end: Confession doesn't "work" when Christians refuse to repent of their sins!
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