Who Can Forgive Sins?
In a Catholic church, a penitent kneels or sits with a priest, names his sins, accepts a penance, and hears the words, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Catechism, §1449). For many Catholics this sacrament is where they have heard words of mercy most personally. This study asks the question the scribes asked in Capernaum: who can forgive sins but God only? (Mark 2:7).
On that question Rome and Scripture begin in the same place. The Catechism says plainly, “Only God forgives sins” (Catechism, §1441), and it notes that Jesus forgave sins by His own divine authority (Mark 2:5–10). The disagreement is over what came next. Rome holds that Christ handed this power to His apostles, and through them to bishops and priests, to be exercised in the sacrament of Penance. We hold that Christ remains the only Mediator and the only High Priest of His people, and that He sent His disciples to preach forgiveness in His name, not to dispense it.
In Catholic teaching, the sacrament, also called Confession and Reconciliation, by which a baptized person who has sinned after baptism confesses to a priest, receives absolution, and performs an assigned penance as satisfaction for his sins (Catechism, §§1422–1424).
Many Catholics confess with real sorrow over sin, and some raised in that system have trusted Christ alone for their salvation. This study weighs a teaching; it does not judge any person's heart. But the teaching matters. To rely on a sacrament and a priest's absolution for forgiveness is not the same as trusting Christ alone, and Scripture calls every other way of being made right with God another gospel (Galatians 1:6–9).
This article sets out what Rome teaches about Penance, how Catholics read John 20:23, and what Rome means by its priesthood. Then it turns to the Bible's answer: one Mediator, one High Priest, one finished sacrifice, and a Father who forgives His children when they confess to Him.
Loading the rest of this article
For Deeper Study
- Catechism of the Catholic ChurchAmazon Catholic ChurchThe primary source (1992; second edition 1997). Penance is treated in §§1422–1498 and Holy Orders in §§1536–1600. Free to read at vatican.va.
- The Gospel According to RomeAmazon James G. McCarthyA former Catholic compares the Catechism with Scripture, including its teaching on penance and the priesthood.
- Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical AssessmentAmazon Gregg R. AllisonA Southern Baptist theologian works through the Catechism section by section.
- Preparing for EternityAmazon Mike GendronA former Catholic who now evangelizes Catholics weighs Rome's teaching against Scripture.
- Sin and Confession on the Eve of the ReformationAmazon Thomas N. TentlerA scholarly history of the late medieval confessional and the manuals priests used.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
As an Amazon Associate, Theologica earns from qualifying purchases.
The Priesthood of Believers
Every believer has direct access to God through Christ, the one Mediator, and serves Him as a priest without the need of any human priest.
Open Doctrine