Can priests truly forgive sins?
Yes......
BUT, they can only forgive those sins that are committed against themselves directly. They cannot forgive the sins committed against another person, or against God Himself.
Before you turn me off, read my reasoning then judge for yourself concerning the truth of this matter.
MATTHEW 9:1-8
1 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city.
2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?
6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
7 And he arose and departed to his house.
8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.
MARK 2:1-12
1 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.
2 Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.
3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.
4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic,
11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
In the two accounts above, Jesus forgave the sins of a paralyzed man. The scribes immediately recognized this as blasphemy, as no man has the power to forgive the sins of another but God Himself. So by Jesus stating that the man's sins were forgiven, He was placing Himself in the position of God, which He is.
Jesus then did an interesting thing. Knowing their thoughts, He posed them a question as to whether it was easier to forgive the man's sins, or to command that the man be healed. In both cases this was a power that only God Himself could possess, for only God has the power to command that something be done, and it is so. Jesus then proved Himself to be God by commanding that the man be healed, showing that He had the authority to forgive sins on Earth as well as having power to speak and have all creation obey Him.
Now this brings up the first point. Only God has the authority to forgive all sins committed by a person, as Jesus demonstrated. And unless a priest can perform the miracles that Jesus did they have no authority to forgive sins in the place of God.
Jesus needed to prove this, for the Law required that two or three witnesses be present to confirm a fact. The healed man was a witness, and those who saw were witnesses that He had the power to forgive sins, thereby proving Himself to be God. His spoken word which healed the man was also witness of His divinity, for He spoke with His own authority to cause it to happen.
Something else to consider;
MATTHEW 10:1-15
1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.
2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans.
6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts,
10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food.
11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.
12 And when you go into a household, greet it.
13 If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
14 And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.
15 Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!
If you read the above passage carefully, Jesus gave the disciples power to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.... but He did not give them authority to forgive the sins of others.
Hold that thought for a moment.
MATTHEW 18:21-22
21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Note that Peter spoke of sins committed against himself, not the sins that others had committed.
He knew he had no authority to forgive the sins of others, therefore he didn't ask about it.
JOHN 20:19-23
19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
Some point to this passage as saying that the disciples, and we too have the power to either forgive the sins of others, or retain them against them.
And yes, they did have this power, and so do we. BUT, Jesus was not giving them power to forgive or retain sins, He was warning them concerning abuse of their authority. Remember, He also said;
MATTHEW 6:14-15
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Again, Jesus was speaking of sins committed against the person specifically. We have no authority from God to forgive sins in His place. To do so, makes us equal to God ourselves. And God has never given any man this authority.
MATTHEW 18:23-35
23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’
34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Read the above story carefully. In both cases the sins were of one man against another. The king forgave the sin and the debt of the servant which he had power to do, but could only forgive that particular sin. He had no power to forgive the sins that the servant had committed against others.
The wicked servant in turn had power to forgive the sin and the debt of his fellow servant as the king had forgiven him, but would not. Therefore the king brought punishment upon the wicked servant as an object lesson on forgiveness and compassion.
When Jesus told the disciples that they had the power retain the sins of those who had wronged them, they also knew that if they didn't forgive those who had wronged them, they in turn would not be forgiven by the Father.
In turn, if they freely forgave sins committed against them, so would the Father forgive the disciples' sins committed against Himself. Again, they had no power to forgive the sins of others not specifically committed against them, or against God.
MARK 11:25-26
25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Again Jesus states if you have a problem with someone who has sinned against you, forgive them, so that you in turn will be forgiven. In other words, do not hold grudges.
Anyone who claims the authority to forgive the sins of others not specifically committed against them puts themselves in the place of God who alone has the authority to forgive such sins. Man has never been given this authority by God anywhere in Scripture, and he never will be given this authority.
Even priests in the O.T. did not have the power to forgive sins. They could only intercede with God for forgiveness of the penitent. Hang on to that thought for a moment.
Know this also. The only time Jesus sent anyone to the priests, was when the Law required that He do so.
The Law required that lepers who were healed show themselves to the priests and make an offering for their cleansing. As Scripture records;
LEVITICUS 14:1-32
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “This shall be the law of the leper for the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest.
3 And the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine him; and indeed, if the leprosy is healed in the leper,
4 then the priest shall command to take for him who is to be cleansed two living and clean birds, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop.
5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water.
6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.
7 And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in the open field.
8 He who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean. After that he shall come into the camp, and shall stay outside his tent seven days.
9 But on the seventh day he shall shave all the hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows—all his hair he shall shave off. He shall wash his clothes and wash his body in water, and he shall be clean.
10 “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and one log of oil.
11 Then the priest who makes him clean shall present the man who is to be made clean, and those things, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
12 And the priest shall take one male lamb and offer it as a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them as a wave offering before the Lord.
13 Then he shall kill the lamb in the place where he kills the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place; for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy.
14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand.
16 Then the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle some of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord.
17 And of the rest of the oil in his hand, the priest shall put some on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the blood of the trespass offering.
18 The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. So the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord.
19 “Then the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Afterward he shall kill the burnt offering.
20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. So the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
21 “But if he is poor and cannot afford it, then he shall take one male lamb as a trespass offering to be waved, to make atonement for him, one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, a log of oil,
22 and two turtledoves or two young pigeons, such as he is able to afford: one shall be a sin offering and the other a burnt offering.
23 He shall bring them to the priest on the eighth day for his cleansing, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, before the Lord.
24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord.
25 Then he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering and put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
26 And the priest shall pour some of the oil into the palm of his own left hand.
27 Then the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the Lord.
28 And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in his hand on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the trespass offering.
29 The rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the Lord.
30 And he shall offer one of the turtledoves or young pigeons, such as he can afford—
31 such as he is able to afford, the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering, with the grain offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him who is to be cleansed before the Lord.
32 This is the law for one who had a leprous sore, who cannot afford the usual cleansing.”
Mark 1:39-44
39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.
40 Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41 Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
42 As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
43 And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,
44 and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
LUKE 5:12-14
12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him.
14 And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.”
Jesus had not yet fulfilled the Law, so therefore being obedient to the Law, he sent the cleansed lepers to the priests so they could bear witness of the cleansing according to the dictates of the Law.
When Jesus fulfilled the Law with His death, the veil of the Temple was torn from top to bottom, showing that there was no longer a need for intercessors between man and God, as was required by the Law.
LEVITICUS 16:2
2 and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.
LEVITICUS 16:17
17 There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel.
LEVITICUS 16:33-34
33 then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.
34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year.” And he did as the Lord commanded Moses.
The tearing of the veil was so important that it is included in three of the four gospels.
MATTHEW 27:50-54
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,
52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
MARK 15:38-39
38 Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
39 So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
LUKE 23:44-48
44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”
48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.
Why didn't John record the tearing of the veil? Because he was the only one of the disciples who was brave enough to witness Jesus' crucifixion at Golgotha. Therefore he only wrote of those things which he had actually seen.
JOHN 19:25-27
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”
27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
Being at Golgotha, he would not have been able to see what was happening at the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Temple veil represented the barrier of sin between God and Man, and was a visible reminder of the holiness of God, compared to the fallen nature of Man. As such, the high priest went through the veil to meet with God only once a year, to intercede with God for the people on the day known as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
With Jesus' death, the barrier of sin was removed, thereby removing both the need for a priesthood and the need for intercessors signified by the tearing of the veil. Note that two of the four Gospel writers are careful to record that the veil was torn from top to bottom, signifying that God Himself had torn the veil, and that it wasn't man's doing. The most likely reason why Luke didn't record that the veil was torn from top to bottom, was that he didn't see it happen.
Concerning the veil, the author of Hebrews states;
HEBREWS 9:1-8
1 Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.
2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;
3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,
4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.
7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;
8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.
HEBREWS 9:11-12
11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
HEBREWS 9:24-28
24 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
25 not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—
26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
The author of Hebrews is saying that the earthly Temple was the representation of the Temple of God in Heaven.
And with the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, there was no longer a need for an earthly Temple, sacrifice, priest, or blood atonement, for He through His own blood has entered the Temple of God as the High Priest of God in heaven for us. The Law being fulfilled and our sins paid for, there was no longer a need for earthly works concerning salvation.
An interesting point of note here also. The author of Hebrews carefully states:
HEBREWS 9:16-17
16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.
When a person creates a Last Will and Testament, it has no effect until the person who created it is deceased. The Law was dedicated with the blood of animals, a symbol of the future sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Therefore the Old Testament was given by Jesus at Mount Sinai, and with the blood of animals, symbolic of His future sacrifice and eternal atonement, the Old Testament Law was put into force.
However, as animal sacrifices were not sufficient to take away sin, neither did the Law have the power to bring salvation. They were both symbolic, earthly representations of a future, more permanent Testament. Thus the Law was not a permanent Testament, and Jesus could take it away, as He was the author of the Law.
For if a Testament has force only when the author of the Testament dies, God, being eternal, was only able to replace the symbolic Old Testament Law sanctified with the symbolic death of it's Author through the blood of animals with a permanent covenant with the true death of God through Jesus Christ. Therefore the Old Testament Laws are no longer effective, having been replaced by a new Testament sealed with the death and blood of the testator, fulfilling the law of Testaments.
The Old Testament Law ordained priests and a High Priest before God. And with the removal of the Old Testament Law, the need for ordained priests was removed also.
Therefore there should not be a Pope, or an ordained priest within the Christian churches, as the New Testament has made no provision for them. Therefore any person designated as a priest in any church is ordained by man, and not by God.
Sometimes it is just as important to understand what the Scriptures DON'T say, as well as what they DO say.
Because Israel didn't understand this, or ignored the truth of these things, God put an end to the sacrifices and the priesthood with the destruction of the Temple by the Roman Tenth and Thirteenth Legions under generals Vespasian and Titus in 70 A.D.
And yet we still ordain priests and a "high priest" (Pope) in direct disobedience of the clear dictates in Scripture that there should be no separate priesthood in the Christian churches.
The reason for the priesthood was taken away by Jesus Christ at the cross, because there is no more need for sacrifice for sins. Jesus made the atonement forever at His death, an act never to be repeated again.
The author of Hebrews understood this clearly, and recorded;
HEBREWS 10:1-14
1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’ ”
8 Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law),
9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second.
10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,
13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.
14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
The book of Hebrews states in verse 3 that the purpose of the sacrifices was to remind the Jews of their sins which they had committed during each year. And in verse 12 he states that Jesus made one sacrifice for all time, and in verse 14 he states that those who are sanctified by Jesus are sanctified forever! Therefore there is no need for an earthly priest as there are no more sacrifices required for sin!
And if Jesus considered us important enough to die for our sins, taking away the barrier between us and God, why insult Him by going to a sinful man for forgiveness in place of Jesus?
Remember, Jesus only sent people to the priests when the Law required that He do so, as in the case of the cleansing of leprosy. With His sacrifice for sins, and the subsequent fulfillment of the Law, there was no provision made in the New Testament for a earthly priesthood. There were to be no more sacrifices, no more Temple, therefore no priests were needed. Jesus commands us to come to Him instead.
He Himself said;
MATTHEW 11:28-30
28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Why is there no separate, earthly priesthood designated in the New Testament? Because by the grace of God, when Jesus paid for our sins, we were all made priests to God. Just as the priests of the Old Testament ministered to God under the authority of the High Priest, even so we all are priests to God under the authority of Jesus Christ.
As the apostle John stated in the book of Revelation;
REVELATION 1:4-6
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Even the apostle Peter, whom the Catholic Church proclaims was the first Pope, knew this when he wrote to the Gentile believers;
1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
As such, Peter could never have been the first Pope because he knew better than to elevate himself above his brethren, and by the very statement above he expressed that we are all royal priests before God, under Jesus Christ, our High Priest.
Therefore, any priest who claims the authority to act in the place of God in forgiving sins other than those committed against him is guilty of impersonating God, who alone has this authority. We have proven from Scripture that God never gave authority to forgive sins to men, as men are not God.
And anyone who goes to any other intercessor for the forgiveness of sins other than to Jesus Christ disobeys Jesus' command to come to Him, who is the true intercessor for us.
For as the apostle Paul clearly states;
1 TIMOTHY 2:5-6
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
One mediator. No saint, not Mary, not Joseph, not an angel, but only Jesus Christ. Going to anyone else sets the person you go to in the place of God, in violation of the commandment;
EXODUS 20:3
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
Any one who prays to the "saints", Mary, Joseph, etc., puts other gods before Jesus, for prayers are offered only to deities. And the only other person Jesus said we could pray to, was His Father.
MATTHEW 6:6-15
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
9 In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
LUKE 11:1-4
1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”
Note that in both cases, Jesus said to ask the Father to forgive us, as we also forgive those who have sinned against us. And He also warns in the Matthew passage that if we do not forgive those who have wronged us, we in turn will not be forgiven.
And the fact that no one has any special favor in Heaven before God is manifested in the following Scriptures.
2 CHRONICLES 19:4-7
4 So Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem; and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord God of their fathers.
5 Then he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,
6 and said to the judges, “Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment.
7 Now therefore, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, no partiality, nor taking of bribes.
The statement "no partiality" before God means that we are all equal in His sight. No one has an "inside track" with God, as He shows no favoritism to anyone.
ROMANS 2:11
11 For there is no partiality with God.
EPHESIANS 6:1-9
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise:
3 “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
5 Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;
6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,
8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
9 And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
COLOSSIANS 3:23-25
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
1 PETER 1:15-17
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
The fact that no man or woman holds any position in Heaven yet is expressed by the fact that we will be rewarded for our works when Jesus returns, not before!
MATTHEW 16:27
27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
REVELATION 22:12
12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.
Therefore, Mary cannot be the "Queen of Heaven" as the Catholic church teaches, as she has not received her reward yet. Neither will she ever be "Queen of Heaven", as this would place her equal to God himself, which is blasphemy.
She also cannot, as they also teach, hear prayers, intercede with God for men, or anything else, as when we die, we rest from our labors just as God has rested from His labors.
Scripture teaches;
HEBREWS 4:1-10
1 Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.
2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;
5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”
6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience,
7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.
9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.
10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Note that last verse above. When we die, we enter into rest, our works being finished. Therefore no one who has died can work any more. They cannot intercede with God for anyone.
Also, anyone who offers prayers to anyone who has died is guilty of necromancy (communication with the dead), as while the dead are alive to God, they are still dead to us. And as prayers are offered only to deities, they are again guilty of worshiping other gods. Please understand this!
DEUTERONOMY 18:9-14
9 “When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.
13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God.
14 For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.
Remember, if you sin in ignorance you are still guilty of that sin before the Lord.
LEVITICUS 4:1-3
1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a person sins unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which ought not to be done, and does any of them,
3 if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the Lord for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without blemish as a sin offering.
LEVITICUS 4:13-14
13 ‘Now if the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done something against any of the commandments of the Lord in anything which should not be done, and are guilty;
14 when the sin which they have committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin, and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting.
LEVITICUS 4:22-24
22 ‘When a ruler has sinned, and done something unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord his God in anything which should not be done, and is guilty,
23 or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a male without blemish.
24 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at the place where they kill the burnt offering before the Lord. It is a sin offering.
God has given us His Word to tell us what is right and wrong in His sight, therefore we are responsible for knowing what He expects of us.
SUMMARY
Please know and understand the following proofs from Scripture;
No one can forgive sins not specifically committed against them. To do so, places them in the position of God, who alone has this authority.
There is no provision in the New Testament for a separate priesthood as Jesus has made all of us priests and kings before His Father. Therefore any priests who are designated as such are ordained by man, not by God.
The dead cannot intercede with God for the living. They cannot hear us, neither can they work any more, as they have entered into God's rest. And as God does not show favoritism with any man (or woman) they could not intercede for us anyway. That's why Jesus said to come to Him with our sins.
Praying to the dead is necromancy, and places other gods before the Lord.
Jesus never sent anyone to a priest for the forgiveness of sins, as with the fulfillment of the Law at His death there was no longer a need for sacrifice, therefore no priesthood was needed. Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman army in God's wrath because the inhabitants of Judea refused to believe in Jesus' atoning death, and continued the sacrifices which could never atone for sin.
Also, the genealogical records of the tribes were destroyed by the Romans so that no one knows what tribe they are from. Thus no one can prove a claim to be a descendant of the priests, or of the line of David. The purpose of the priesthood and the lineage of the Messiah had already been fulfilled.
Ignorance of these things will not be a valid excuse before God. First of all, by reading this, you now know the truth of these things and are now responsible for that knowledge. Also, God has given us His Word to instruct us as to what is right and wrong in His sight.
As king David said;
PSALMS 138:1-2
1 I will praise You with my whole heart;
Before the gods I will sing praises to You.
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
First of all, when David spoke of "gods" in verse 1, he was referring to the rulers of Israel. They were referred to as "gods" for like God, they were given authority to judge the difference between right and wrong for the people, and could reward or punish as they rendered judgment.
Secondly, in verse 2, David says that God has magnified His Word even above His own name! That's how important He considers His Word to be!
And remember, Jesus Himself said;
John 12:48-50
48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
If we reject God's words, He will in turn reject us when we stand before Him at our judgment.
If you are doing any of these things, please, turn away from them, and repent before the Lord before it's too late! Countless numbers of people are going to Hell because they believe that they are doing the right thing before God, but are guilty of disobedience to Him and His Word!
People are going to priests to confess their sins in direct violation of Jesus' command to come to Him directly! And by doing so, they are placing the priest in the position of God, and are being told that their sins are forgiven by men who have no such authority, and who should not be priests in the first place according to Scripture.
They are also praying to the dead who cannot hear them for intercession with God, thereby praying to other gods, and practicing necromancy.
I challenge you who read this to search the Scriptures and find out for yourselves the truth of these things. And may God in the riches of His mercy and love grant you the understanding of the truth, that you may be satisfied within yourselves as to the truth of these matters.
In Christ Jesus,
Watchmen
Questions? Comments? E-mail: Watchmen_777@yahoo.com
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