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Can the Church Forgive Sins?

Matthew 16:19; 18:18 & John 20:23

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Preface

 

These three passages of Scripture are used at times to advance the idea that Christ empowered the disciples and/or the Church with the authority and power to forgive the sins or affect the salvation of others.  There are other Christians who interpret these passages to mean that God can only work His salvation through their individual efforts at prayer and other spiritual activities.

 

If this in fact were the case, it would be in direct contradiction with the Bible’s clear teaching that the forgiveness of sins (salvation) can and may only occur when a person who, by the Holy Spirit, realizes he is lost and then, by his will, turns from “every other confidence” (or method of being saved) to Jesus Christ alone and places his genuine faith (confidence or trust) only in Christ and His sacrifice upon the cross for his personal and eternal salvation.

 

The remainder of this study/commentary will:

 

(1) quote the passages in question from the King James Version of the Bible, followed by an exegetical translation from the original autographs of Greek, taken from The New Testament--An Expanded Translation by the late Kenneth S. Wuest, Teacher Emeritus of New Testament Greek, The Moody Bible Institute, and

 

(2) offer an interpretation that will correspond with Biblical soteriology--the doctrine of salvation.

 

The Passages in Question

 

  • Matthew 16:19

 

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (KJV)

 

I shall give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind [forbid to be done], shall have been already bound [forbidden to be done] in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth [permit to be done], shall have already been loosed in heaven [permitted to be done]. (Wuest)

 

  • Matthew 18:18

 

Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (KJV)

 

Assuredly, I am saying to you, whatsoever you forbid on earth, shall have already been forbidden in heaven.  And whatever you permit on earth, shall have already been permitted in heaven. (Wuest)

 

  • John 20:23

 

Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.  (KJV)

 

If the sins of any certain individuals you forgive, they have been previously forgiven them, with the present result that they are in a state of forgiveness.  If the sins of any certain individuals you retain in not forgiving them, they have been previously retained and thus have not been forgiven, with the present result that they are retained and in a state of not being forgiven. (Wuest)

 

Interpretation

 

These passages of Scripture utilize a grammatical construction in the Greek language, which convey that the action taken is preceded by and is based on a previous action.  In other words, those things which the apostles bind, loose, forgive or retain have already been bound, loosed, forgiven or retained in heaven.  Furthermore, the expressions “bind” and “loose” were common in Jewish legal phraseology, meaning to “declare forbidden” or to “declare allowed.”  Thus, these passages must be taken in the declarative sense, which is to say that the apostles, and anyone else to whom these verses apply, are given the authority or right to declare something that has already been accomplished.

 

The authority to forgive sin is the sole proprietorship of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18).  Therefore these passages must be taken in context with the manner and method in which Jesus Christ instructed His disciples to declare the forgiveness of sin, as seen in His Great Commission (Mark 16:15 &16; Luke 24:46 & 47), not to mention His continuous teachings regarding the subject while He walked upon the earth (John 3:14-19).  This then clarifies that Jesus was giving to those to whom He was speaking the authority to declare what God does when a person either accepts or rejects His Son.

 

It is put this way in the Hodder & Stoughton NIV Bible Commentary:

 

It is best to understand this concept by recognizing first that Peter, by proclaiming “the good news of the kingdom” (4:23), opens the kingdom to many and shuts it against many (e.g., Ac 2:14-39; 3:11-26).  By this means the Lord adds to the church those who are being saved, or, otherwise put, Jesus builds His church (Mt 16:18).  But the same Gospel proclamation alienates and excludes people, so we also find Peter shutting up the kingdom from some (Ac 4:11-12; 8:20-23).  Peter is authoritative in binding and loosing only because heaven has acted first (cf. Ac 18:9-10).  Those he ushers in or excludes have already been bound or loosed by God according to the Gospel already revealed, which Peter, by confessing Jesus as the Messiah, has most clearly grasped.

 

The commentary also has these cogent remarks regarding the passage in John:

 

The commission to forgive sins is phrased in an unusual construction.  Literally, it is: “Those whose sins you forgive have already been forgiven; those whose sins you do not forgive have not been forgiven” (similarly also Mt 16:19; see comments).  God does not forgive people’s sins because we decide to do so, nor does He withhold forgiveness because we will not grant it.  We announce it; we do not create it.  This is the essence of salvation.  And all who proclaim the Gospel are in effect forgiving or not forgiving sins, depending on whether the hearer accepts or rejects the Lord Jesus as the Sin-Bearer.

 

It is the nature of man to be independent of God and to do all things, secular or spiritual, his way.  This is seen from the very beginning as recorded in the book of Genesis and will carry through to the end of the “last days” as seen in the book of Revelation.  It is therefore only natural for man to interpret the passages under consideration as the granting of authority to either grant or be the cause of the salvation of others.

 

Fortunately, the context of God’s Word and a careful examination of the grammatical usage in the original autographs of these passages preclude an interpretation of this nature.  The Church (all believers) has been given the commission to proclaim the Gospel to everyone.  This is made clear by the teachings of the Apostles in the various books of the Bible.  It is quite clear in the answer given by Paul and Silas in the only place in the entire Bible where the question is posed, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  Wherein they answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” 

 

Paul and Silas could then, based on the decision by the jailor who posed the question and the decisions of his family to by faith only in Christ only accept God’s gift of salvation, confidently declare their sins forgiven, which would be in line with the passages of Scripture under consideration in this commentary.  And if anyone within the household refused Jesus Christ, Paul and Silas could then just as confidently declare their sins not forgiven.