Chapter 07: Forgiveness
Chapter 07: Forgiveness
Sin is the transgression of God’s Law, and as a consequence, it frequently offends and hurts our neighbour. God commands us to confess our sins to each other and to forgive one another. If you offend me, I should be willing to forgive you. Thus far could I go, but no further. I cannot possibly forgive the guilt of your sin and liberate you from the condemnation of God’s Law. We break God’s Law; therefore only God can forgive or condemn.
David offended a number of people when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and plotted the murder of her husband, but nobody could cleanse him from his iniquity. David eventually confessed to God, “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.”105 So David prayed to God whose Law he had despised: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.”106 God forgave him, and since His mercy is from generation to generation, He will likewise forgive us if we apply ourselves unto Him. Then we can say to the Lord, as David did: “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”107 “I Absolve You”
During my adolescence I was taught differently. I was instructed to go to the priest, for, as I was told, the priest has power to forgive sins. The priest not only informs me of God’s forgiveness, but he himself forgives me. I well remember the absolution formula on the priest’s lips: “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The Catholic Church teaches clearly that the sacrament of penance “does not consist in the mere ministry of proclaiming the Gospel or of declaring that the sins have been forgiven, but it has the pattern of a judicial act in which the priest pronounces sentence as judge.”108 According to the Catechism, the priest fulfils the ministry “of the just and impartial judge whose judgement is both just and merciful.”109
Such teaching openly defies the biblical position: “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”110 If you happen to be a Roman Catholic priest, I urge you to answer that question before God. Who are you to prevent a repentant sinner from praying and receiving forgiveness directly from God? Why do you compel him to come to you as judge in the place of God? Are you able to examine his heart perfectly? And if not, how can you judge righteously and pronounce a sentence that bears upon his eternal destiny, since the Scriptures say that God alone knows the human heart? “Then hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men).”111
During His ministry on earth, the Lord Jesus was accused of impiety when He was heard saying to a paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” They complained, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Their criticism would have been valid if Jesus were a mere man; only the scribes were unwilling to fairly consider Jesus’ claim to divine power. The forgiveness of sins is an act far greater than bodily healing, but before a human audience it is easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven you,” than to command a paralytic, “Arise and walk.” For if the man remains stiff in bed it will become very apparent whether yours is mere pretension or true power. Jesus therefore challenged His detractors: “"But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."”112 That’s exactly what the paralytic did--he arose and went home! Such a miracle provides ample evidence of Christ’s judiciary power, and therefore of His deity as well, but is the Catholic priest, who is supposed to be endowed with the same power, able to perform such miracles? If he is unable to heal mere physical ailments, how are we to believe that he heals the soul from sin? The Apostles’ Mission
How can a sinner obtain God’s forgiveness? According to His eternal plan, God, in the fullness of time, desired to bring the proclamation of forgiveness to all the nations. It was on Resurrection Sunday; the Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples when they were gathered together. He addressed them thus:
“"Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."”113
What exactly was the mission with which the early disciples were entrusted? According to Roman Catholics, with these words Christ instituted the sacrament of penance, giving judiciary power to the priests to forgive sins.
Evangelical Christians understand this passage differently. Christ was sent by God, among other things, in order to preach the good news. Before He ascended into heaven He gave a commission to the disciples to proclaim the wonderful news of salvation. Whoever believes the Gospel will be saved and his sins will be forgiven. All those who remain in unbelief will not be forgiven.
Judges or Preachers? Did Christ constitute His disciples judges or messengers of the gospel? Were they called to hear confessions and grant absolutions, or were they commissioned to proclaim the Gospel and forgiveness to those who believe in Jesus? The correct interpretation of the Lord’s commission recorded in John 20 should be consistent with the rest of Scripture, for God does not contradict himself. Naturally, then, we ask: “How did the early apostolic church bring God’s forgiveness to the world? Was it through the confessional? Or was it through the preaching of the gospel?” Like John, Luke the evangelist includes the Lord’s commission and adds important information; he specifically informs us how this forgiveness was meant to come to us. He does not leave us at liberty to apply the Lord’s instructions in any capricious way. He quotes the Lord Jesus just before His ascension:
“Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”114 The method is plainly outlined. According to God’s plan, forgiveness is to be brought to the nations by the preaching of the gospel. The apostles announced God’s forgiveness through their preaching; they urged men to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thus enjoy full forgiveness of sins. Trusting in Jesus, thousands experienced God’s gracious forgiveness.
Christ did not establish auricular confession to a priest. The church in the apostolic age did not so understand His words. When we investigate the Acts of the Apostles and all their writings we find no single instance of any of the apostles or early Christians granting sacramental absolution. In no case do the apostles hint that Christians should confess to a priest. Rather we find the apostles proclaiming forgiveness in Christ and pronouncing forgiveness to all who believe. The apostle Peter preached: “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins."115 Similarly, the apostle Paul explains: “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins.”116 On his part, the apostle John assures believers that they are right with God: “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.”117
Historically, private confession to a priest was introduced gradually; it was only in 1215 that it was established officially by Pope Innocent III. The Catechism of the Catholic Church admits that from the seventh century onwards “the sacrament has been performed in secret between penitent and priest” and calls it a “new practice.”118
Look to Me To whom should you go to obtain forgiveness? To a human priest, a sinner just as you are, who claims to be a judge in the place of God? Or to the only God, the Judge of all the earth? Take heed of the gospel, faithfully preached by the apostles and recorded infallibly in the Holy Scriptures; they taught everyone to call upon the name of the Lord. The Lord Himself, whose Law we have set aside and broken, opens His arms to all of us: “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other”119 The idea of obtaining priestly absolution is totally foreign to Scripture. Rather, God invites you to look to Him. He knows you through and through, including your secret sins. You can turn your heart to God right now. He will certainly forgive you if you come to Him in sincere repentance and genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Father, Forgive Us
God’s grace is truly marvellous. Through His only-begotten Son, God bestows upon His children all spiritual blessings. Not only does He cleanse them of all their iniquities, but He also adopts them into His family. Formerly they were far away and enemies of God because of their disobedience; now they are His beloved children. All this comes about because of Christ’s death and glorious resurrection. Before their conversion they neither feared God nor sought Him; but now they sincerely desire to magnify His Name, and walk in new obedience. Before they did not know God; now the Holy Spirit lives in them.
Nevertheless, while on the earth, sin still clings to God’s children and a relentless spiritual battle is waged within their souls. As much as they yearn and endeavour to lead a holy life, all genuine Christians humbly admit that they often fail and sin. But God the Father does not cast them out of His family. They are forever His children; He remains forever their heavenly Father. So, when they sin, they do not approach a stern Judge, but in the Name of their Mediator Jesus, they flee unto the bosom of their Father. “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”120 They draw near confidently, for God has promised them that “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”121 They confess directly to God, and to nobody else, for they are mindful of their Master’s instructions who specifically taught His disciples to ask the Father for forgiveness: “In this manner, therefore, pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name... forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."”122