Some
religious groups say that the disciples and apostles were given
authority by Jesus to forgive the sins of others, and they use John
20:23 and James 5:16 to support their belief.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you with hold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." (Jn 20:23, ESV)
Therefore confess your
sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (Jas 5:16, NIV)
Do these really support their claim?
First, in both of their claims the bible says that “…This is blasphemy! God is the only one who can forgive sins!" (Mk 2:7, GNB). Well, This verse is very plain to be misunderstood.
Second, nowhere in the bible that the
apostles or disciples exercise the forgiving of sins of their fellow men
in behalf of God.Why? Because they fully understood what Jesus exactly
means in Jn 20:23 and they knew that it is against the will of God (for
only God can forgive sins).
The remission of sin is the prerogative
of GOD alone. The 7th chapter of Matthew tells us that we should not
judge our fellow men. Thus, the apostles have no power to cast or to
remove sin of their fellow men. 1 John 2:1 tells us that we have only
one advocate with theFather and that is Jesus Christ.
My little children, I
am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone
does sin, we have an advocate with theFather, Jesus Christ the
righteous. (1Jn 2:1, ESV)
Plain as it is, does 1Jn 2:1 said that the apostles/disciples/priests can intercede in behalf of Jesus? No!
Jesus gave the rules to his church of what to do if a brother committed a sin to someone "If
your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you
and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But
if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every
charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If
he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses
to listen even to the church,let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax
collector. (Matt 18:15-17, ESV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1Jn 1:9 , ESV) This is the remission of sins inaccordance to the will of GOD.
Can a mere man cause your sin to be forgiven? No.
Finally, sins are forgiven by God with confession, repentance and restitution. (Prov28:14; Acts 3:19)

