II.Q.Which sins should people confess?

Name: Small Catechism - II.Q.Which Sins Should People Confess?
Author: Martin Luther

A.When speaking to God, we should plead guilty to all sins, even those we don’t know about, just as we do in the "Our Father," but when speaking to the confessor, only the sins we know about, which we know about and feel in our hearts.

Q.Which are these?

A.Consider here your place in life according to the Ten Commandments.Are you a father?A mother? A son? A daughter? A husband? A wife? A servant? Are you disobedient, unfaithful or lazy? Have you hurt anyone with your words or actions? Have you stolen, neglected your duty, let things go or injured someone?

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Related Resources

Martin Luther
Christian Writings from the Reformation to 1750

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Chicago: Martin Luther, "II.Q.Which Sins Should People Confess?," Small Catechism in The Small Catechism, Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921), 538–559. Original Sources, accessed October 30, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=CQH9UT4RQAKCD86.

MLA: Luther, Martin. "II.Q.Which Sins Should People Confess?." Small Catechism, in The Small Catechism, Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, St. Louis, Concordia Publishing House, 1921, pp. 538–559. Original Sources. 30 Oct. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=CQH9UT4RQAKCD86.

Harvard: Luther, M, 'II.Q.Which Sins Should People Confess?' in Small Catechism. cited in 1921, The Small Catechism, Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, pp.538–559. Original Sources, retrieved 30 October 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=CQH9UT4RQAKCD86.