Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.
Christ gives His church on earth in its organized capacity authority to declare on His behalf the terms on which sins are forgiven or retained. This does not give any apostle, minister, or successor personal power to remove guilt, grant absolution, or pronounce God's final judgment, for forgiveness belongs to God and Christ alone. It means His chosen ministers are to set forth from Scripture the obedience of faith that brings forgiveness and the impenitent disobedience that leaves sins retained, and God remits or retains according to those terms. When the church acts together under the Holy Spirit's guidance according to God's word, whether in warning and censuring the persistent sinner or in assuring and restoring the repentant, its judgment is ratified in heaven. That work requires prayer, spiritual discernment, and united decision by consecrated representatives showing Christ's character, and its authority is to be respected in submission and unity rather than set aside by individual judgment.
Setting and Commission
On the evening of the first day of the week Jesus came and stood in the midst of the disciples assembled behind shut doors for fear of the Jews. He said Peace be unto you, showed them His hands and His side, and the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. He said Peace be unto you again, commissioned them as the Father had sent Him, breathed on them and said Receive ye the Holy Ghost, and then spoke the word about remitting and retaining sins. That word is His legacy of peace to His church and comfort in a trying hour that His followers would be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Those who accept Him by living faith receive power to become sons of God, enter His school as His students, and need not be troubled or anxious, for He will ratify His promise to them and fulfill all His promises without restricting His word.
The appearance took place in the upper chamber where the disciples had gathered in grief and despair. They had fastened the doors because they feared they would share their Teacher's fate. It was the same room where He had met with them for the last supper and where He appeared to them after His resurrection.
The authority over sins remitted or retained belongs within the commission in which they were sent as the Father sent Christ. They were sent to preach and teach the gospel in His name, and they received the Holy Spirit as the spiritual life and qualification for that work. Their service was to reflect His character and example, so that His followers could work as He did. No one is to undertake God's work presumptuously, but only under the Spirit's evident supervision.
The authority concerning sins they remit or retain was given in connection with receiving the Holy Spirit. The surrounding account of Thomas shows the importance of believing the disciples' testimony about Jesus' death and resurrection rather than demanding physical proof.
Meaning and Limits
After His resurrection Christ delegated power to His church on earth in its organized capacity concerning the remission and retention of sins. That delegation places upon those who hold responsible positions an authority that cannot be lightly esteemed or lightly dismissed. The disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, were commissioned to preach forgiveness through the merits of the sin-pardoning Saviour, with heaven ratifying work done in Christ's spirit and power. The united church thus has rightful restraint and discipline over its members, and connection to it is not to be easily canceled.
The verse does not give individuals permission or authority to pass judgment on others, for that judgment belongs to God. It gives the organized church responsibility to address members who fall into sin, not a license for private judging. It does not give apostles or their successors personal power to remove guilt, erase sin's stain, or pronounce God's final judgment. Remission of sins belongs to God alone and to Christ alone, who only can save and forgive, while the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
What is committed is that Christ's chosen ministers are to prescribe and publish the terms on which salvation rests, setting forth the obedience that brings forgiveness and the disobedience that keeps sins retained. This amazing power is delegated to them as they act in the place of Christ in church discipline, and God remits or retains according to the terms they prescribe as the proper foundation. They are not left to exercise this power merely according to their own human judgment and strength of memory.
The church, acting in its organized capacity and according to inspired rules, may censure or remove censure and may assure a repentant sinner of the Saviour's forgiveness, but it cannot erase sin or wield arbitrary power over conscience. The verse allows no arbitrary power over another's conscience, no granting of absolution, no selling of indulgences, no accepting a bribe to conceal sin, and no personally executing God's judgment against the guilty. Christ alone forgives, and He will judge the impenitent and execute judgment against them.
Faithful Church Discipline
The organized church bears responsibility to deal with members who fall into sin, by warning, instructing, and laboring to restore them. When wrongdoing persists, it must faithfully name the sin and declare God's judgment upon it from Scripture. It must not sanction persistent sin nor by silence or action appear to approve the deeds of the impenitent.
Alongside faithful reproof the church is to proclaim Christ's forgiving mercy and urge sinners to repent and believe in the sin-pardoning Saviour. On the authority of God's word it may assure the repentant sinner of the Saviour's forgiveness, accept that repentance, and declare forgiveness. Censure laid according to inspired directions is to be removed when the offender confesses and repents, and the restored one is to be received back into fellowship with grateful hearts.
When the church acts in its organized capacity according to God's directions, word, and Spirit, its judgment is ratified in heaven. This holds both for retaining sins through censure of the offender and for remitting sins through acquittal, removal of censure, and restoration. Work done in Christ's spirit and power and according to inspired rules carries heaven's endorsement, whether it condemns persistent wrong or affirms forgiveness to the penitent.
Such work cannot be done without the Holy Spirit, given for these special duties of the church. It calls for prayer, faith, and spiritual discernment, and for decision together by responsible, consecrated, Spirit-taught representatives rather than by one person's judgment. Decisions must not rest on prejudice nor be arbitrary or bought, and those who act must show Christ's character in a way the head of the church can endorse. Mere human judgment and strength of memory are insufficient, since they may condemn those who should be commended or uphold those doing evil, whereas God remits or retains according to the terms of obedience and disobedience set forth from His word.
The authority thus placed upon those holding responsible positions cannot be lightly esteemed or dismissed. This remains true even though leaders share the common faults of others and may err in their decisions. Individual judgment must submit to the verdict and voice of the united church rather than exalting private opinion above it. Members are to realize the sacredness of church relations, submit to its restraint and discipline, and not easily cancel their connection with it. Unity and Christian fellowship are necessary, for in union only is strength, while refusal to submit and encouragement of independence and opposition bring anarchy and confusion, and these directions remain valid until the end of time.
Christ gives His church on earth in its organized capacity authority to declare on His behalf the terms on which sins are forgiven or retained. This does not give any apostle, minister, or successor personal power to remove guilt, grant absolution, or pronounce God's final judgment, for forgiveness belongs to God and Christ alone. It means His chosen ministers are to set forth from Scripture the obedience of faith that brings forgiveness and the impenitent disobedience that leaves sins retained, and God remits or retains according to those terms. When the church acts together under the Holy Spirit's guidance according to God's word, whether in warning and censuring the persistent sinner or in assuring and restoring the repentant, its judgment is ratified in heaven. That work requires prayer, spiritual discernment, and united decision by consecrated representatives showing Christ's character, and its authority is to be respected in submission and unity rather than set aside by individual judgment.
Setting and Commission
On the evening of the first day of the week Jesus came and stood in the midst of the disciples assembled behind shut doors for fear of the Jews. He said Peace be unto you, showed them His hands and His side, and the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. He said Peace be unto you again, commissioned them as the Father had sent Him, breathed on them and said Receive ye the Holy Ghost, and then spoke the word about remitting and retaining sins. That word is His legacy of peace to His church and comfort in a trying hour that His followers would be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Those who accept Him by living faith receive power to become sons of God, enter His school as His students, and need not be troubled or anxious, for He will ratify His promise to them and fulfill all His promises without restricting His word.
The appearance took place in the upper chamber where the disciples had gathered in grief and despair. They had fastened the doors because they feared they would share their Teacher's fate. It was the same room where He had met with them for the last supper and where He appeared to them after His resurrection.
The authority over sins remitted or retained belongs within the commission in which they were sent as the Father sent Christ. They were sent to preach and teach the gospel in His name, and they received the Holy Spirit as the spiritual life and qualification for that work. Their service was to reflect His character and example, so that His followers could work as He did. No one is to undertake God's work presumptuously, but only under the Spirit's evident supervision.
The authority concerning sins they remit or retain was given in connection with receiving the Holy Spirit. The surrounding account of Thomas shows the importance of believing the disciples' testimony about Jesus' death and resurrection rather than demanding physical proof.
Meaning and Limits
After His resurrection Christ delegated power to His church on earth in its organized capacity concerning the remission and retention of sins. That delegation places upon those who hold responsible positions an authority that cannot be lightly esteemed or lightly dismissed. The disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, were commissioned to preach forgiveness through the merits of the sin-pardoning Saviour, with heaven ratifying work done in Christ's spirit and power. The united church thus has rightful restraint and discipline over its members, and connection to it is not to be easily canceled.
The verse does not give individuals permission or authority to pass judgment on others, for that judgment belongs to God. It gives the organized church responsibility to address members who fall into sin, not a license for private judging. It does not give apostles or their successors personal power to remove guilt, erase sin's stain, or pronounce God's final judgment. Remission of sins belongs to God alone and to Christ alone, who only can save and forgive, while the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
What is committed is that Christ's chosen ministers are to prescribe and publish the terms on which salvation rests, setting forth the obedience that brings forgiveness and the disobedience that keeps sins retained. This amazing power is delegated to them as they act in the place of Christ in church discipline, and God remits or retains according to the terms they prescribe as the proper foundation. They are not left to exercise this power merely according to their own human judgment and strength of memory.
The church, acting in its organized capacity and according to inspired rules, may censure or remove censure and may assure a repentant sinner of the Saviour's forgiveness, but it cannot erase sin or wield arbitrary power over conscience. The verse allows no arbitrary power over another's conscience, no granting of absolution, no selling of indulgences, no accepting a bribe to conceal sin, and no personally executing God's judgment against the guilty. Christ alone forgives, and He will judge the impenitent and execute judgment against them.
Faithful Church Discipline
The organized church bears responsibility to deal with members who fall into sin, by warning, instructing, and laboring to restore them. When wrongdoing persists, it must faithfully name the sin and declare God's judgment upon it from Scripture. It must not sanction persistent sin nor by silence or action appear to approve the deeds of the impenitent.
Alongside faithful reproof the church is to proclaim Christ's forgiving mercy and urge sinners to repent and believe in the sin-pardoning Saviour. On the authority of God's word it may assure the repentant sinner of the Saviour's forgiveness, accept that repentance, and declare forgiveness. Censure laid according to inspired directions is to be removed when the offender confesses and repents, and the restored one is to be received back into fellowship with grateful hearts.
When the church acts in its organized capacity according to God's directions, word, and Spirit, its judgment is ratified in heaven. This holds both for retaining sins through censure of the offender and for remitting sins through acquittal, removal of censure, and restoration. Work done in Christ's spirit and power and according to inspired rules carries heaven's endorsement, whether it condemns persistent wrong or affirms forgiveness to the penitent.
Such work cannot be done without the Holy Spirit, given for these special duties of the church. It calls for prayer, faith, and spiritual discernment, and for decision together by responsible, consecrated, Spirit-taught representatives rather than by one person's judgment. Decisions must not rest on prejudice nor be arbitrary or bought, and those who act must show Christ's character in a way the head of the church can endorse. Mere human judgment and strength of memory are insufficient, since they may condemn those who should be commended or uphold those doing evil, whereas God remits or retains according to the terms of obedience and disobedience set forth from His word.
The authority thus placed upon those holding responsible positions cannot be lightly esteemed or dismissed. This remains true even though leaders share the common faults of others and may err in their decisions. Individual judgment must submit to the verdict and voice of the united church rather than exalting private opinion above it. Members are to realize the sacredness of church relations, submit to its restraint and discipline, and not easily cancel their connection with it. Unity and Christian fellowship are necessary, for in union only is strength, while refusal to submit and encouragement of independence and opposition bring anarchy and confusion, and these directions remain valid until the end of time.