Page 161: For Protestants, it seems clear from the New Testament that God forgives sin directly, without agents or intermediaries. The whole point of Jesus’ becoming man, after all, was to reveal to us that we now had direct access to God. Matthew’s Gospel describes the temple veil being torn in two at Christ’s death, demonstrating that the separation between man and death, demonstrating that the separation between man and God was now overcome. Further, nowhere in the Bible is there an explicit description of the Catholic confession ritual. Sacramental confession may have been an ancient practice, but this was simply another corruption in the early Church.
Note: You have direct access to God the Father through the death of Jesus Christ for your sins.
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. Ephesians 2:14-16.
Note: Do you believe the Apostle Paul or the traditions of men?

Page 161: At first, Luther actually retained the sacrament of confession, along with the Eucharist and baptism. But since it depended on an ordained clergy, and one of Luther’s key points was the rejection of any distinction between clergy and laity, he ultimately decided that the sacrament had to go. The rest of Protestantism, as it had done on so many other fundamental doctrines, followed his lead.
Note: Priests are not needed in the New Covenant era.
Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 7:23-25.
Note: Have you come to God through Jesus Christ?

Page 162: Perhaps above all others, this sacrament incenses Protestants, who believe that since only God forgives sin, going to a mere human being to receive forgiveness is unbiblical. True, John 20:21-23 seems to support it: (Jesus) said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” But many Protestants interpret this passage as saying that when we proclaim the gospel to people we are in effect declaring that their sins are forgiven (if they accept it) or declaring that God has not forgiven them (if they reject it). Similarly, to them the passages where Jesus gives the apostles authority to “bind and loose” (Matt. 16:19, 18:18) are about declaring what God has already decided in heaven. Thus God does not use people as agents for forgiving sins; rather we’re just messengers of the forgiveness that God grants.
Note: Christians not priests are to forgive those who repent of their sins against you.
“Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” Luke 17:1-4.
Note: If the sinner does not repent then their sins are retained and are not forgiven.

Page 163: In the sacrament of confession, the repentant Christian confesses his sins to a priest, and the priest, acting with Christ’s divine authority, forgives him and reconciles him to Christ’s Church (which he wounded by his sin). It must be understood aright that it is God who forgives sins, but, as he does in so many other ways, God chooses to communicate his grace through human instruments. Scripture indeed teaches that only God can forgive sin; on this Catholics agree with Protestants. But Scripture also teaches that he shares this divine authority with his chosen human ministers.
Note: Christians not priests are to forgive those who repent of their sins against you.
Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 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. The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. “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!’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 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. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” Matthew 18:21-35.
Note: If the sinner does not repent then their sins are retained and are not forgiven.

Page 163: Protestant interpretations of John 20:21-23, although not completely outside the realm of possibility, are not the most straightforward way to understand the passage. What if it simply means what it clearly says, and nothing more or less? The Bible says that Jesus gave his apostles the power to forgive sins, and neither Scripture nor common sense leads us to conclude that this power disappeared in the first century.
Note: Christians not priests are to forgive those who repent of their sins against you.
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 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. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:8-15.
Note: Will you believe Jesus Christ or the traditions of men?

Pages 163-164: It must be noted that this is God’s ordinary means of bestowing the grace of forgiveness. A Protestant who wholeheartedly and humbly confesses his sins as he has been taught to confess (which varies greatly within Protestantism) doesn’t necessarily miss out on forgiveness. God is never bound by his own designs. At the very least, though, the Protestant does miss out on the peace that Catholics enjoy as they leave the confessional with the freedom of knowing that they have been forgiven.
Note: Christians not priests are to forgive those who repent of their sins against you.
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mark 11:25-26.
Note: Will you believe Jesus Christ or the traditions of men?

Page 164: Catholics can agree that the temple veil’s being torn in two does demonstrate that, through Christ, we now have direct access to God. In no way can this be construed to mean, however, that God then quit using men as instruments of salvation. If anything, Christ’s Incarnation suggests the opposite. God chose to save us through a man, The God-Man, providing us a supreme example of human cooperation with divine grace.
Note: Priests are not needed in the New Covenant era.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-7.
Note: Do you believe the Apostle Paul or the traditions of men?

Page 164: Finally we should recognize that sacramental confession does not rule out confessing our sins privately to God daily and have a relationship with him, but this relationship is not just about “me and Jesus.” It involves the Body of Christ, the Church, and it honors Jesus’ decision to work through people to administer grace.
Note: Christians not priests are to forgive those who repent of their sins against you.
“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:15-18.
Note: If the sinner does not repent then their sins are retained and are not forgiven.

Page 164: If Protestantism is true, even though the Bible says Jesus gave men the power to forgive sins, and the early Church exercised this power, the sacrament of confession was an evil perversion only done away with in the sixteenth century when the Protestant Reformers rejected it. Christians for 1,500 years lived under the delusion that when they confessed their sins to a priest, they were truly forgiven by God, when in reality they were placing their trust in a false human tradition that imperiled countless millions of souls.
Note: Priests are not needed in the New Covenant era.
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16.
Note: Have you come to God through Jesus Christ?

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