Christian Publishing House Blog
Apologetic Defense of the faith, the Bible, and Christianity
John 20:23 Updated American Standard Version (UASV) 23 “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Do these words mean that Christians can forgive sins? Specifically, there is nothing within Scripture that would lead us to believe that Christians in general, or even... Continue Reading →
Christ taught that forgiveness is a duty. No limit can be set to the extent of forgiveness (Lu 17:4) and it must be granted without reserve. Jesus will not admit that there is any wrong so gross nor so often repeated that it is beyond forgiveness. To Him an unforgiving spirit is one of the most heinous of sins (Bruce, Parabolic Teaching, 376 ff).
Ephesians 4:32 Updated American Standard Version (UASV) 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
In Catholic teaching, the Sacrament of Penance is the method of the Church by which individual men and women may confess sins committed after baptism and have them absolved by a priest. A priest who hears a confession is absolutely forbidden to reveal this confession to any other person, so says Catholic dogma.
Most would agree that forgiving does not come easy at times. Our imperfect condition of leaning toward our fallen state means that our natural desire is not to forgive.