Catholic Priest And Lutheran Minister Cannot Forgive Sin

Luke 5:18-20, “And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”

Jesus forgave sin, as only God can do. This is Scriptural evidence of Jesus' deity—that He is almighty God. The unsaved scribes and Pharisees doubted Jesus. They did not believe that the Lord could forgive sin, but they were very wrong. One thing that the scribes and Pharisees DID get right is that only God can forgive sin! There are hundreds of thousands of Catholic priests and Lutheran ministers, who arrogantly and sinfully claim to have the God-given supernatural ability to forgive people's sins. They are false prophets! 

The Lutheran Minister Cannot Forgive Sins

Here is what the website says at the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Minnesota:

Pastor Said What?!!!: How Can a Pastor Declare Forgiveness of Sins, When Only God Forgives? 

The man put away his book and started chatting with the passenger next to him. After a while he asked, “So what is it that you do?” The passenger, who happened to be a Lutheran pastor, replied, “I forgive sins!” 

How do you like his answer? There are many who would take issue with it. “Only God can forgive sins,” they might say. “No one—not even a pastor—has the power to forgive sins.” But that isn’t exactly true. Pastors do have the power to forgive sins. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Evangelical Lutheran Synod

No they don't! How arrogant! How blasphemous! How damnable! It is wrong for any human being to claim the power to forgive sins. God does not give men the power to forgive sins. Even the wicked scribes and Pharisees knew this to be true! Not one verse in the entire inspired Word of God records anyone ever having the power to forgive sin, except Jesus Christ. Luke 5:24, “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.” Only God can forgive sins, and Jesus is God!!! 

The Catholic Priest Cannot Forgive Sins

Roman and Orthodox (Russian) Catholicism are of the Devil. 

How Can A Priest Forgive Sin?

I agree that Jesus can forgive our sins because he is our great high priest. But the Catholic faith says that Jesus’ priesthood was also given to men so that they could continue his earthly work of forgiving sins. 

SOURCE: Catholic Answers 

The Catholic priest and Lutheran minister falsely claim the power to forgive sins, but they absolutely don't have that ability. They also claim to have the God-given supernatural power to deny forgiveness of sins to the impenitent, but again they do not. We are commanded to forgive everyone! This is clear from the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:15, “But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Ephesians 4:32 reads, “...forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” I don't have to like someone, but I do have to love them. I don't have to associate with someone who hurts me, nor do I have to tell them I have forgiven them, but in my heart I must forgive them. Forgiveness is not for them, it is for me. Forgiveness is letting an offense go into God's hands for judgment (Romans 12:19-21).

Only God Can Forgive Sins

Forgiveness of sins can only come through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1-2, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” In other words, even if a minister or priest wants to forgive someone, they CANNOT if that person has no faith in Christ as Savior. Likewise, no Lutheran minister or Catholic priest can deny forgiveness to someone who is trusting upon the blood of Jesus to forgive them. I'm simply saying that forgiveness is out of the minister's or priest's hands. 

Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for everyone's sins. Therefore, forgiveness of sins is a free gift, that we simply receive by faith. If you are not a Christian and want to have your sins forgiven, simply come to God as a needy sinner and receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins. If you are a Christian, all of your sins are already forgiven, so it is just a matter of CONFESSING your sins to God, to restore fellowship with the Lord. 1st John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Romans 1:16 tells us that the Gospel is the POWER unto salvation. 1st John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Carefully notice that GOD is the one who forgives sins, and not the Lutheran minister or Catholic priest. Listen friend, you can confess sins to your Lutheran minister or Catholic priest 'til the cows come home if you want, but that won't get your sins forgiven. Only God can forgive sin!

Matthew 23:8-9, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.”

A Common Misinterpretation Of John 20:23

John 20:21-23, “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.”

John 20:23 is used by the Lutheran minister and the Catholic priest to claim they have power to forgive your sins. I want you to notice carefully here that the EXACT same Greek word “aphiemi,” which is used in John 20:23, is also used in Matthew 6:12, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” The word literally means, “to send forth” (i.e., to “let go”). When we forgive our debtors, we “let it go.” Again, in Matthew 6:14 and 15 we read, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” These are from the EXACT same Greek word aphiemi found in John 20:23. Hence, ministers and priests have no more ability to pardon other people's sins than laymen do. Clearly, we have been lied to by Lutheran ministers and Catholic Priests! 

No minister or priest can make you right with God. If you commit a sin against me, I am commanded by God to forgive (aphiemi) you; but that doesn't mean you're now saved and on your way to Heaven, nor does it mean you are right with God. I cannot save you or make you right with God, you MUST go through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ONLY Mediator between God and men—“For there is one God, and ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1st Timothy 2:5). Clearly, the forgiveness offered from one human to another CANNOT substitute one's need for forgiveness from God. The Word of God is clear that ONLY God can forgive sin, “...who can forgive sins but God only?” (Mark 2:7).  So what was Jesus saying to the apostles in John 20:23? Since Jesus spoke about people NOT being forgiven, there is only one thing He could have been talking about—The Gospel. Only faith in the Gospel can remit one's sins (Romans 5:1). 

Martin Luther: Master Of Deceit 
(.PDF book by Pastor Max D. Younce)