Faithful Ministry Of The Gospel Accomplishes Remittance Of Sin
V. FAITHFUL MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL ACCOMPLISHES REMITTANCE OF SIN.
What follows is an examination of the verse most commonly used by Lutheran ministers and Catholic priests to justify their “power” in claiming they can forgive your sins. By this, they place themselves as the mediator between you and God.
"Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." (John 20:23). As we compare other verses with John 20:23, we can easily see the only way a Christian, clergy, or layman, can remit sins is by presenting the WORD OF GOD. The Word will judge those who reject it, as Christ stated in John 12:48,
"He that rejecteth me ( Christ), and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the WORD that I have spoken, the same (i.e., the Word) shall judge him in the last day."
Psalms 138:2 relates to us the importance of the Word of God:
"I will...praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for THOU HAST MAGNIFIED THY WORD ABOVE ALL THY NAME." The reason the WORD is magnified above His name is that we, today, would not know the surety of God or His Name, if it weren't for the WORD OF GOD. When a Christian witnesses to a lost person with the WORD of God, as recorded in John 3:16; John 3:36, that person then has a choice to make. If they accept Christ, they have everlasting life. Should they reject Christ until death, they will then experience the wrath of God in Hell, just as the Word of God has stated in John 3:36,
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him." When one believes God's WORD, their sins are then remitted, not by the preacher or priest, but by the WORD OF GOD which promises them eternal life. Should they reject God’s WORD, they will retain their sin. Only by presenting God's Word as a faithful witness for Christ, do we have a part in another person's sal-vation. This is what Christ meant in John 20:23 when he told His disciples that, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." The Greek Word for "remit" is "aphiemi" and literally means “to send away.” Vine's An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words explains the use of this verb as such,
"Scripture makes clear that the Lord’s Words could not have been intended to bestow the exercise of absolution which the Scripture declares is the prerogative of God alone. There is no instance in the New Testament of this act on the part of the Apostles. The Words are to be understood in a "declarative" sense; the statement has regard to the effects of their ministry of the gospel, with its two-fold effects of remission or retention."