Appendix 7. Can a Human Minister Forgive or Absolve from Sin?


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Wenceslas llar (1607-1677), 'Absolution,' woodcut, in Illustration of each of the 28 articles of the Augsburg Confession, Article 11.
Wenceslas llar (1607-1677), 'Absolution,' woodcut, in Illustration of each of the 28 articles of the Augsburg Confession, Article 11.

One common question is whether a human minister or priest actually forgives sin himself on his own authority, or speaks the words of absolution on behalf of God who does the actual forgiving.

The English term "absolution" refers to "the act of forgiving someone for having done something wrong or sinful ... specifically a remission of sins pronounced by a priest (as in the sacrament of reconciliation)."462 Absolution" derives from the Latin verb absolvere, "to set free, acquit, finish."

Apostles are Given Power to Forgiven and Retain Sins

Three passages seem to indicate that the apostles are given the power to forgive sins:

To Peter:

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19b)

To the apostles:

"If he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:17--18)

To the apostles:

"He breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.'" (John 20:22--23)

Please see Lesson 3.2.4 for what these passages mean and how they relate to one another. Presumably, this power to forgive is passed on by the Holy Spirit to successive leaders as the church grows.

Abuse of the Power of Absolution

Protestants might argue from church history that the perceived power of a bishop or priest to forgive sins or to condemn a person to hell was terribly misused in Medieval times to gain and keep civil power over kings and others, as well as to give motivation to go on the Crusades, etc. It is hard to disagree.

However, because someone misuses something isn't a strong argument that the thing abused is bad or untrue, only that it has been abused.

Penitence Necessary

The Apostle John taught,

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)

From the earliest Church Fathers, it seems that absolution from sins required confession and repentance. "Repentant" means the same as the English adjective "penitent," which means, "feeling or expressing humble or regretful pain or sorrow for sins or offenses, repentant."463

Who determines whether the person seeking absolution has made a "good confession" or possesses "true penitence"? No faithful priest would offer absolution to a person he thought was faking penitence. But priests are fallible like all of us (1 Samuel 16:7). And though God can reveal a person's spiritual condition on occasion (Acts 8:23; 14:9), such supernatural discernment is not common.

What happens if the priest doesn't discern a secret mortal sin, but goes ahead and pronounces absolution? Does God honor the absolution given by an honest priest by forgiving a person who isn't truly penitent? Does the priest's word outweigh God's judgment? No. The Bible teaches that true penitence is necessary for forgiveness.

God Alone Actually Forgives Sin

We conclude that God is actually the One forgiving the sin, not the priest. The priest declares absolution to the person based on God's promise, but clearly this is conditional upon true repentance. Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants agree here.464

If absolution is conditional upon true repentance, then there no longer seems to be a clear distinction between an Evangelical Protestant offering an "assurance of salvation" based on the person's confession and repentance, and a priest offering absolution based on the person's true penitence.465

Clearly, different traditions have varying rules about which church leaders can hear confessions and offer absolution. And the words of absolution may differ some. There is a variety, for example, between Greek Orthodox,466 Anglican,467 Roman Catholic,468 Lutheran,469 and Presbyterian470 rites, but the basic idea is the same.

Truly, God's leaders are given the awesome privilege and duty of declaring full forgiveness of sins through the grace of Jesus.

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I'm personally more comfortable offering an "assurance of salvation" citing the promises of God for salvation based on a person confessing their sins, asking Christ for forgiveness, and turning again to Christ (1 John 1:9) rather than saying "I absolve you from your sins."

Whatever our tradition, we are responsible to God for leading people to repentance and faith, then offering them the glorious words of the Gospel of forgiveness or absolution of sin and freedom in Christ's salvation.

 

End Notes

References and Abbreviations

[462] "Absolution," Merriam-Webster.com. The English verb "absolve" is from Latin absolvere," from the prefix ab-, "from" + solver, "to loosen, release."

[463] Merriam-Webster.com.

[464] In a discussion of St. Thomas Aquinas' position on the power of the keys, the Catholic Encyclopedia states, "[Aquinas] sees clearly that God alone can pardon sin, but God uses the instrumentality of absolution which, with confession, contrition, and satisfaction, concurs in obtaining forgiveness, in blotting out the stain, in opening the kingdom of heaven, by cancelling the sentence of eternal punishment" (Edward Hanna, "Absolution," Catholic Encyclopedia (New York: Robert Appleton Co., 1907), vol. 1).

[465] Catholics would deny this. According to the Council of Trent (1551), "This holy Synod ... condemns the fanciful interpretations of those who, in opposition to the institution of this sacrament, falsely wrest those words to the power of preaching the word of God, and of announcing the Gospel of Christ" (Council of Trent, Session 14, chapter 1, Nov 25, 1551). "Although the absolution of the priest is the dispensation of another's bounty, yet is it not a bare ministry only, whether of announcing the Gospel, or of declaring that sins are forgiven, but is after the manner of a judicial act, whereby sentence is pronounced by the priest as by a judge: and therefore the penitent ought not so to confide in his own personal faith, as to think that, even though there be no contrition on his part, or no intention on the part of the priest of acting seriously and absolving truly, he is nevertheless truly and in God's sight absolved, on account of his faith alone. For neither would faith without penance bestow any remission of sins...." (Council of Trent, Session 14, chapter 6).

[466] Greek Orthodox. "My spiritual child, who have make your confession to my humble person: I, a humble sinner, have no power to forgive sins on earth; only God can do that; but trusting in the divinely spoken words that were addressed to the Apostles after the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, which said, 'If you pronounce unforgiven the sins of any, they remain unforgiven,' we are bold to say: Whatever you have related to my humble and lowly person, and whatever you have failed to say either from ignorance or from forgetfulness, whatever it may be, may God forgive you in this present age and in the age to come...." (St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, Portland, OR, website, retrieved Dec 2024).

[467] Church of England, Book of Common Prayer (1628): "Almighty God ... hath given power and commandment to his Ministers, to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the Absolution and Remission of their sins: He pardoneth and absolveth all of them that truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel. Wherefore let us beseech him to grant us true repentance...." The current Episcopal Church Book of Common Prayer (2007), said by the priest: Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has left power to his Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of his great mercy forgive you all your offenses; and by his authority committed to me, I absolve you from all your sins: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. or this Our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered himself to be sacrificed for us to the Father, and who conferred power on his Church to forgive sins, absolve you through my ministry by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and restore you in the perfect peace of the Church. Amen.

[468] Roman Catholic. "God, the Father of mercies, through the death and the resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation).

[469] Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. After a corporate prayer of confession in a service, the minister says: "Upon this your confession, I, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Lutheran Worship (Concordia, 1982),p. 137).

[470] Presbyterian. I grew up in the Presbyterian Church, where part of the morning worship each Sunday were these elements: (1) a Confession of Sin said together by the minister and the people, followed by (2) an Assurance of Pardon said by the minister. Here is an assurance of pardon from the Book of Common Worship (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Church in the USA, 1946) familiar to me from my childhood: "Almighty God, who doth freely pardon all who repent and turn to Him, now fulfill in every contrite heart the promise of redeeming grace; remitting all our sins, and cleansing us from an evil conscience, through the perfect sacrifice of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen."

Apostle Peter: Disciple Lessons from the Rock

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