“Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”…Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man HAS AUTHORITY ON EARTH TO FORGIVE SINS. So, he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up [healed and forgiven!] and went home.” (Matt. 9:2-3, 5-7).
There was a great storm, Jesus “…got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became PERFECTLY CALM.” (Mark 4:39)
We can see in these incidences that Jesus Heals, forgives sins and calms storms, later He says: “…he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works…” (John 14:12).
So then, does this mean that we have the authority to forgive sins??? After all the Bible says this in many modern translations:
“Therefore, confess your 1sins to one another, and pray for one another…” (James 5:16) 1hamartia; sin, any act contrary to the will and law of God.
In the KJV is says: “Confess your 2faults one to another, and pray one for another…” (James 5:16) 2paraptōma; a stumbling aside, a false step.
Now we may: “…have mercy on some…save others, snatching them out of the fire…” (Jude 1:22-23) but, we DO NOT HAVE the authority to forgive sins! That is something that JESUS PAID DEARLY, to do for us and only He can do! Man, came up with this teaching to raise an indulgence (money) which is “a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins. They teach, this may reduce the temporal (worldly as opposed to spiritual) punishment after death. The fact is:
“…the wages of sin IS DEATH, but the FREE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)
Receive eternal life with me…Bill Stockham