{"id":36430,"date":"2022-09-13T12:55:31","date_gmt":"2022-09-13T17:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/please-explain-john-20-23-if-you-forgive-the-sins-of-any-they-are-forgiven-them-if-you-retain-the-sins-of-any-they-are-retained-has-this-verse-been-changed-through-translation\/"},"modified":"2022-09-13T12:55:31","modified_gmt":"2022-09-13T17:55:31","slug":"please-explain-john-20-23-if-you-forgive-the-sins-of-any-they-are-forgiven-them-if-you-retain-the-sins-of-any-they-are-retained-has-this-verse-been-changed-through-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/please-explain-john-20-23-if-you-forgive-the-sins-of-any-they-are-forgiven-them-if-you-retain-the-sins-of-any-they-are-retained-has-this-verse-been-changed-through-translation\/","title":{"rendered":"Please explain John 20: 23, \u201cIf you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.\u201d Has this verse been changed through translation?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Jesus gave only the Apostles the authorization to “forgive or retain sins” (John 20:23) and to bind or loose things in heaven and on earth (Matthew 18:18). But what do these words mean? Many misunderstand the nature of these commissions, forgetting that God alone can forgive sins <\/strong>(Isaiah 43:25).<\/p>\n

Some believe these scriptures apply to themselves. Papacy believes that their priests on earth can acquit men of their sins<\/strong>. This is a serious error<\/strong>. This doctrine has led men to believe that any sin could be forgiven with impunity. The Apostles never exercised such control. <\/p>\n

So, in what manner could the Apostles forgive sins? They, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, would define the limitations of sin <\/strong>in their inspired writings. They tell us which sins are canceled by the merit of Christ's sacrifice<\/strong> and which sins are not cancellable<\/strong>. Whatever the Apostles forbade or allowed was under heavenly guidance and sanction.<\/p>\n

Some sins lead to the second death. 1 John 5:16 (NLT), “If you see a Christian brother or sister sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death<\/strong>, and I am not saying you should pray for those<\/strong> who commit it.” <\/p>\n

Other sins require disciplines<\/strong> from God for teaching purposes. Luke 12:47-48 (NLT), "And a servant who knows<\/strong> what the master wants, but isn't prepared and doesn't carry out those instructions<\/strong>, will be severely punished.<\/strong> But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

The meaning of John 20:23 is not that the Apostles could forgive sins, but as inspired apostles, they would establish the church and declare the will of God respecting forgiveness of sins<\/strong>. They were not given the authority to forgive individuals. Jesus was promising to confirm all that the apostles taught, that all might have assurance of forgiveness<\/strong> who would comply<\/strong> with those terms. Those who did not comply should not be forgiven; their sins would be retained.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jesus gave only the Apostles the authorization to “forgive or retain sins” (John 20:23) and to bind or loose things in heaven and on earth (Matthew 18:18). But what do these words mean? Many misunderstand the nature of these commissions, forgetting that God alone can forgive sins (Isaiah 43:25). Some believe these scriptures apply to … Continue reading “Please explain John 20: 23, \u201cIf you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.\u201d Has this verse been changed through translation?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36430\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}