The sacrament of confession is a diabolical invention of deceived men. Jesus instructed His followers early on to confess their sins to His Father. (It is commonly called “The Lord’s Prayer” and can be found in Matthew 6:9-15).
Deceived men lift out of its context the words of Jesus Christ, which He told His disciples shortly after His resurrection: “whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained” (See John 20:23). Deceived men think this statement of Jesus Christ spoken to His disciples applies to every Roman Catholic priest of every generation, that they have the divine power to forgive someone’s sins or the power to leave someone unforgiven and, thus, candidates for hell and eternal damnation. They even think a pedophile priest still retains this power regardless of how ungodly or corrupt that priest might be! Friend, you better read that last sentence one more time in order to get a grasp on how diabolically deceived these Roman Catholics are.
Consider the context, the most basic rule to always be employed when trying to discern what a scripture text is and is not saying is utterly abandoned by those who think Jesus Christ was giving Roman Catholic priests the power and authority to forgive a fellow human’s sins in John 20:23. The context shows this event occurred just hours after Christ’s resurrection. These disciples had just days before witnessed Jesus Christ’s horrible sufferings and rejection. They had seen him spat upon, slapped, mocked, beaten nearly to death and then crucified by a jeering crowd of Jews and Romans. He now appears before them, showing them the gaping wound in His side and His nail scarred hands, again bringing back afresh to their minds what their fellow Jews had done to the Messiah. Jesus knew these disciples were going to have a difficult time at best forgiving these people for having treated Jesus in such a fashion so recently. Yet Jesus was about to send them out to the Jews first with the message of forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus knew unless they forgave these folks from the bottom of their heart that they could not possibly carry the gospel message to them. No way! So, using divine wisdom Jesus said, “If you don’t forgive them, I won’t forgive them. If you will forgive them, I will forgive them, too.”
It doesn’t matter how many believe a falsehood. If it is a lie, it remains a lie though all humanity believe it. According to a study in 2015, Islam had 1.8 billion adherents. That’s nearly a quarter of the world’s population. 1.8 billion people believe Islam is the only true religion. Many of them believe it so firmly they are quite willing to die for that belief! But their erroneous belief does not authenticate their religion. According to Vatican figures, there are 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world. Almost all, if not all, of them believe in the doctrine of the sacrament of confession, that a priest has the power and authority to forgive a fellow human being’s sins, or, conversely, to refuse to forgive their sins and leave them in a state of condemnation and, of course, a sure candidate for hell! A pope would have this same power and authority, wouldn’t he? And Catholics claim Peter was the first pope. So, let’s take a look at an interesting passage of scripture:
“There was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city (Samaria) used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one (like some modern televangelists do today), to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, ‘This man is the great power of God.'” (And such men have arisen in every generation from popes to preachers, seducing the people into believing they were God’s anointed representative for that time in human history). “And to him they had regard, because that of a long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. (Not all apparent miracle manifestations come from God, you know.) But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. (Note: Scripture knows nothing of any such thing as infant baptism). (Acts 8:9-12).
“Then Simon himself believed also, and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were in Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost, for as yet he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. (God had temporarily delayed imparting His Holy Spirit to these Samaritans in order to lure the apostles out of Jerusalem, where they were remaining expecting to the Lord to return at any moment). And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, ‘Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.’ But Peter said unto him, ‘Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.'” (Acts 8:13-21).
Now notice what Peter says to Simon, “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, AND PRAY GOD, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” (verse 22, Acts 8). Why didn’t Peter say, “Confess to me thy wickedness that I might forgive thee.” He didn’t say that because this supposed first pope knew he did not have the power or authority to forgive Simon’s sins or the sins of any one else!
The apostle Paul wrote, “Be careful (Gk. anxious) for nothing, but in every thing (especially confessing and asking forgiveness for some sin or sins) by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be known UNTO GOD (not some “priest” sitting in a tiny closet eager to hear you confess your sins to him). And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds (at rest and at peace) through Christ Jesus” (See Philippians 4:6-7). But confess some sins to a priest and see how quickly your conscience gnaws at you and you find yourself unable to look that man in the eye again, knowing he remembers that gross deed you told him about. Satan is clever. I’ll give him that. He knows how to capture and hold his captives.
There is not a single instance in the entire New Testament where someone confessed their sins to an apostle or a fellow Christian calling himself a priest, asking that such a one absolve them of some sin or sins they had committed!
Christians living in areas where there was no organized church or priests were not without God’s forgiveness. They knew they needed only pray and confess their sins to the Father as Jesus had directed them to do in the sermon on the mount.
Confessing your sins to a Roman Catholic priest to obtain God’s forgiveness is as pagan a concept as sacrificing your firstborn child to appease an angry God. THINK, believer, for once in your spiritual life THINK!
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley