Home Topics Index Download
Transcript 439B — Can a Priest or Minister Forgive Sin?
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Yes. My friend gave me the verse John 20:23 as a reason that it's okay to confess your sins to a man or to a priest or to a minister. I was wondering if you could help me out, and give me verses that would clear this up.
HC: It is true that if we read John 20:23 and not read it in the context of the whole Bible, it seemingly is teaching that the church is responsible for the forgiving of sins. However, when we read the rest of the Bible, we find that it is only God who can forgive sins. A man can't forgive sins. It's only God who forgives sins. It is God who decides who is to be saved. God chose us from before the foundations of the earth, as we read in Ephesians 1:4.
In I John 1:9 it says, "If we confess our sins, He [that is, God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Man cannot forgive sins. Only God can, because God is the one who knows the heart, and God is the one who has made provision for our forgiveness.
But God has established upon earth the organized representation, official representation of His body and of His work on earth in the church. And it is the work of the church to be the custodian of the Gospel. The church is to bring that Gospel to the four corners of the earth. And it is the Gospel that is the key that unlocks the prison house of Satan. It is the Gospel that is the vehicle that God uses to bring forgiveness of sins. God the Holy Spirit takes that Gospel and applies it to the hearts of unbelievers, and they are forgiven.
Now actually, it's because the church was faithful in bringing the Gospel that there is forgiveness of sins And the fact is, the church in its official capacity welcomes these newcomers into the body of Christ. They of course entered spiritually into the body of Christ at the moment they were born again, ant that's altogether God's work. But once they're saved, they join the church. And at that time they're baptized, to indicate that their sins have been forgiven, that they indeed are a member of the body of Christ.
Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that man can forgive sins. Only God can forgive sins. But the church, as it brings the Gospel, is acting on behalf of God to offer the keys that unlock the prison house and makes possible the forgiveness of sins.
Now you'll remember in the experience of Jesus, in Luke 8 or Luke 9 when Jesus was preaching in a house, there were four friends who had a friend who was crippled, or had the palsy. And they opened the roof and let him down into the house. And then you'll recall that Jesus forgave their sins. And the Jews there were astounded at this, and offended by this, because they correctly said, "Only God can forgive sins." And of course Jesus is God, and rightly He can forgive sins.
And then in that context Jesus said, "So that you might know that I have power to forgive sins," He healed the man also, indicating that He is the giver of life, not only physical life but also eternal life, which occurs when our sins are forgiven.
CALLER: The real drawback to that verse, John 20:23, is "As the Father has sent Me, I send you." It's almost like saying, "As the Father has sent Me, to save the world and to forgive sins, so I send you." It really sounds literal. I wish it didn't read that way. How do you take that verse? What does it really mean? Only that God has given to the church the right to be the custodian of the Gospel, the privilege of being the custodian of the Gospel. And it is through the Gospel that forgiveness of sins is provided.
HC: We find the same truth in Matthew 16:18. Jesus is talking to the disciples, and He says in verse 18 of Matthew 16, "Thou art Peter and upon this rock [and the rock He's referring to is Christ Himself, because He is the rock] I will build My church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, that whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth . . ." And actually, in the real tense of the verb here it's really saying, "And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall having been bound in Heaven." It's already an accomplished fact in Heaven. "And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall having been loosed in Heaven." What the church is witnessing is actually something that has already been accomplished by Christ or by God Himself.
Now if we separate Matthew 16:19 from the rest of the Bible, yes, we could get the idea that the church can forgive sins. But let's be very practical about this. Here is a man who is a sinner, as every human being is. And he stands before an official of the church, a pastor or an elder, or whoever we think has the authority to forgive sins. Now how can this elder or this pastor, or whatever else we want to call him, know absolutely that is man is one of God's elect? Can he know?
Of course he can't know. Only God knows who the elect are. So if this man is coming and saying, "I'm a sinner, and I repent of my sins, and will you forgive my sins?" how can this pastor know whether this man's sins are to be forgiven? Because only the sins of the elect are forgiven. Now if this man is really on the path to salvation, he will be coming very sincerely and very honestly, and really be seeking truth, and really be looking for the way of salvation.
But no pastor can really know that. We assume that those who confess Christ are believers, but actually we can't really know the hearts of these people. And we know from the Bible that the church has got lots of people in it who are not saved, even though they may have all confessed Christ.
And so there's no basis even. First of all, man is in no position to forgive sins. Secondly, there's no basis upon which he could make a decision as to whether he can forgive the sins of this man, even if he had the power so to do. Only God knows what is in the heart of man. Only God knows whom He is going to save. Only God can work out this whole plan of salvation.
But because the church is intimately associated with the bringing of the Gospel and with the teaching of the Word and with the bringing in of those who are saved into the organized church, therefore God uses this language that "Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted," and so on.
CALLER: Okay. That sounds real good. I really appreciate this. Do you know anything about the sacraments, certain sacraments that some churches believe they have to go through, for extra or additional grace, for mortal sin, or something like this?
HC: Are there certain sacraments you can go through in order to cover certain kinds of sin? This is not Biblical in any sense at all. The Bible teaches that Christ is our eternal High Priest, and He has offered Himself one time as the sacrifice. And therefore we can go to Him confessing our sins, and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Anyone who's going to go to some individual and seek forgiveness of sins is doing so without any Biblical validation whatsoever. It's God's program that we go to Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And no matter how grievous our sins are, no matter how grievous they are, they will all be forgiven through the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no sacrament that we have to offer for the forgiveness of sins.
CALLER: Okay. Thank you very much. You've been of great help.
HC: You're welcome. Good night.