In a recent discussion about the Sacrament of Penance (or Confession) with a protestant family member, this passage in particular came up:
John 20:21-23. [Jesus was alone with the disciples] Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I 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; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
Think about this passage for a second. What was Jesus trying to do?
In my old Baptist faith we viewed forgiveness much as Martin Luther tended to; we considered ourselves "saved" at one point in time and basically forgiven for everything from that point on (assuming we were really "saved"). So why would it matter if anyone can retain the sins of another person?
Another point of view: Jesus is taking a power that only God has, namely the power to forgive sins, and giving it to mere humans. As my protestant friends are fond of pointing out: why confess sins to a priest, I can go straight to God. That's a wonderful point of view - and it is true, we can go straight to God in prayer - so what is Jesus doing here? Why is He giving the disciples the power to not only forgive the sins of others, but to retain them? And what does it mean if a disciple "retains" the sins of another?
The Truth is beautiful and perfect, however it is only found in the Catholic Church. This is one of those passages of Scripture that only the Catholic Church can explain (as I've posted before). Jesus also offers the apostles the ability to "bind" and "loose", which is basically the same power (Matthew 18:18), but this is only given to the apostles. Is it carried down to their successors over time? Practically, why would Jesus give this power to the apostles and not allow it to be carried down through the ages? Is it only needed just after He ascends to heaven? That would be a difficult argument to make. And it is clear that this continues (at least in the minds of the apostles):
2 Corinthians 5:18-19. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, no counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
What makes this fascinating is that it is written by Paul, who was not present in the room as Christ gave the apostles the power to forgive sins or not. And Paul uses this power:
1 Corinthians 5:3-5. For though absent in body I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced a judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Again, clearly Paul believes he has the power to forgive sins or to retain sins, so he believes this power was passed down to him because of his role in the Church (as a priest).
Confession is one of the Sacraments most visible in the Bible (there are other verses - and books like James - that cover confession). Together these verses alone build a strong basis that the apostles were given the power to forgive or retain sins by Jesus Himself and they believed this was passed on (at least to Paul).
Speaking as a former protestant, Confession is very effective. First, it gives you knowledge (when you leave) that you are completely forgiven for your sins (assuming you meet the conditions of confession). Second, I can personally tell you that you try harder not to sin when you have to go tell someone exactly what you've done wrong. At the least it makes you pause before committing the same sin over again!
God bless,
Jay
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