In reference to John 20, some claim that Christ gave his authority to forgive sins and to withhold forgiveness of sins to the Apostles. But is this true?
Concerning John 20:23, Matthew Henry suggest the following interpretation:
"Now this follows upon their receiving the Holy Ghost; for, if they had not had an extraordinary spirit of discerning, they had not been fit to be entrusted with such an authority; for, in the strictest sense, this is a special commission to the apostles themselves and the first preachers of the gospel [italics mine], who could distinguish who were in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity, and who were not… God will never alter this rule of judgment, nor vary from it; those whom the gospel acquits shall be acquitted, and those whom the gospel condemns shall be condemned, which puts immense honour upon the ministry, and should put immense courage into ministers . . . ."
"Now this follows upon their receiving the Holy Ghost; for, if they had not had an extraordinary spirit of discerning, they had not been fit to be entrusted with such an authority; for, in the strictest sense, this is a special commission to the apostles themselves and the first preachers of the gospel [italics mine], who could distinguish who were in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity, and who were not… God will never alter this rule of judgment, nor vary from it; those whom the gospel acquits shall be acquitted, and those whom the gospel condemns shall be condemned, which puts immense honour upon the ministry, and should put immense courage into ministers . . . ."
And, further, he remarks that there are:
"Two ways the apostles and ministers [italics mine; I too am a minister acting on the behalf of Christ] of Christ remit and retain sin, and both as having authority:-[1.] By sound doctrine. They are commissioned to tell the world that salvation is to be had upon gospel terms, and no other, and they shall find God will say Amen to it; so shall their doom be. [2.] By a strict discipline, applying the general rule of the gospel to particular persons. “Whom you admit into communion with you, according to the rules of the gospel, God will admit into communion with himself; and whom you cast out of communion as impenitent, and obstinate in scandalous and infectious sins, shall be bound over to the righteous judgment of God.”
In any event, only God has the power to forgive sins, ultimately. Any minister, or priest can instruct the sinner on true repentance, and conditionally announce that he or she is forgiven. I do that all the time; but not as a means of efficacious grace.
So, I am not sure if this is just a semantic quibbling or is an argument of substance.
So, I am not sure if this is just a semantic quibbling or is an argument of substance.
Well, Matthew Henry's interpretatin is completely to be expected here Jim. His interpretation being completely conditioned by his Protestantism. And to that end his interpretation is question begging. Why should I accept his opinion over against the whole of the Fathers, Augustine, Aquinas, and every Ecumenical Council of the Church?
ReplyDeleteIt takes more than wishful thinking to establish a claim, and when one comes along and disagrees with 15 centuries of biblical interpretation and Church Teaching, merely positing an alternative fails to compel even a serious hearing.
Best,
Bill
Bill, you are kind of silent on this. Are you of the persuasion that a priest may dispense efficacious grace like one would dispense a can of soda? Put the quarter in, and out comes the pop? Surely conditions of repentance, contrition, Godly sorrow, and so-forth must be met. Does not telling a penitent that they appear to have met all the conditions for forgiveness and therefore they are forgiven, meet the standards? What about the poor fellow on the battle field that is dying without a priest around, who administers grace there? Surely, God’s hands are not tied because of the absence of a grace dispensing functionality. Where does Augustine elaborate on the priestly power to forgive sins? That’s not rhetorical. I am serious. And, I am willing to listen. Am I to believe than none of the hundreds of thousands that have come to Christ in a Billy Graham Crusade, for instance, most of whom have never been to confessional or had a priest pronounce them forgiven, not forgiven? This baffles me.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, about the closest that I can come to something that St. Augustine said is,
ReplyDelete"The Church has received the keys of the kingdom so that sins may be forgiven through Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit's actions" (St. Augustine.
This, I also believe. We can not forgive, however, it is through Christ's blood and the action of the Holy Spirit. I have no problem with that.