Delusional Beliefs and commentary of Patrick j Miron /if we are sick, we are to call for the priests (=elders) of the church.

FROM: agapebiblestudy.org translation
 

I. Jesus Christ Granted the Apostles His Authority to Forgive Sins

John 20:21 - before He grants them the authority to forgive sins, Jesus says to the apostles, "as the Father sent me, so I send you." As Christ was sent by the Father to forgive sins, so Christ sends the apostles and their successors forgive sins.

John 20:22 - the Lord "breathes" on the apostles, and then gives them the power to forgive and retain sins. The only other moment in Scripture where God breathes on man is in Gen. 2:7, when the Lord "breathes" divine life into man. When this happens, a significant transformation takes place.

John 20:23 - Jesus says, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained." In order for the apostles to exercise this gift of forgiving sins, the penitents must orally confess their sins to them because the apostles are not mind readers. The text makes this very clear.

Matt. 9:8 - this verse shows that God has given the authority to forgive sins to "men." Hence, those Protestants who acknowledge that the apostles had the authority to forgive sins (which this verse demonstrates) must prove that this gift ended with the apostles. Otherwise, the apostles' successors still possess this gift. Where in Scripture is the gift of authority to forgive sins taken away from the apostles or their successors?

Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10 - Christ forgave sins as a man (not God) to convince us that the "Son of man" has authority to forgive sins on earth.

Luke 5:24 - Luke also points out that Jesus' authority to forgive sins is as a man, not God. The Gospel writers record this to convince us that God has given this authority to men. This authority has been transferred from Christ to the apostles and their successors.

Matt. 18:18 - the apostles are given authority to bind and loose. The authority to bind and loose includes administering and removing the temporal penalties due to sin. The Jews understood this since the birth of the Church.

John 20:22-23; Matt. 18:18 - the power to remit/retain sin is also the power to remit/retain punishment due to sin. If Christ's ministers can forgive the eternal penalty of sin, they can certainly remit the temporal penalty of sin (which is called an "indulgence").

2 Cor. 2:10 - Paul forgives in the presence of Christ (some translations refer to the presences of Christ as "in persona Christi"). Some say that this may also be a reference to sins.

2 Cor. 5:18 - the ministry of reconciliation was given to the ambassadors of the Church. This ministry of reconciliation refers to the sacrament of reconciliation, also called the sacrament of confession or penance.

James 5:15-16 - in verse 15 we see that sins are forgiven by the priests in the sacrament of the sick. This is another example of man's authority to forgive sins on earth. Then in verse 16, James says “Therefore, confess our sins to one another,” in reference to the men referred to in verse 15, the priests of the Church.

1 Tim. 2:5 - Christ is the only mediator, but He was free to decide how His mediation would be applied to us. The Lord chose to use priests of God to carry out His work of forgiveness.

Lev. 5:4-6; 19:21-22 - even under the Old Covenant, God used priests to forgive and atone for the sins of others.

"Only God Can Forgive Sins"

The Logical and Scriptural Reasons for the Sacrament of Penance

MARIO DERKSEN

The [Roman Catholic] sacrament of Reconciliation, commonly referred to as "confession," has always been an object of great opposition for Protestants.  

Patrick j Miron , Opinion  #648

Many of them still misunderstand the teaching. {Patrick J Miron is one type of example}

The priest does not forgive sins on his own power, as if he were God. It is never the priest who forgives the sin, but Christ using the priest to bestow forgiveness on his beloved children. Just as Jesus lets us have a share in creation (by equipping us with genitalia), so he also lets his people share in the bestowal of the forgiveness of sins. 

 ed-note

 DElusion belief of Patrick J Miron

This latter blessing or power, however, Jesus did not give to everybody, but only to people ordained to the priesthood, as will be shown. The key passage to note is John 20:21-23:

Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

2 Corinthians 2:10-11:

What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, to keep Satan from gaining the advantage over us; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

Wow! Here St. Paul says he has forgiven people's sins... 

 ED- Note

{ this is an example that patrick J Miron

(forgive those who trespass against you)

.and he even explains that this was in the name of Christ, that is, he was present in him.

 It was, then, not Paul himself who absolved, but Christ acting through Paul. The addendum "to keep Satan from gaining advantage over us" might beyond that actually indicate that Paul was aware of the graces that are obtained through the reception of the sacrament of Penance.

There is also an appeal to confession in 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." St. John is very plain here. He says it flat out.

James 5:14-16:

 Here we have an example of forgiveness of God through a priest in action

. St. James tells us that, if we are sick, we are to call for the priests (=elders) of the church.

 

Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, 

 The biblical meaning of the term elder
(Further Reading: Biblical Eldership, pages 15-17; 31-34)
!
When most Christians think of church elders, they think of an official
church board, lay officials, influential people within the local church,
advisers to the pastor, policymakers, financial officers, fundraisers, or
administrators. These ideas are different from those found in the New
Testament, so I refer to such elders as “board elders;” they are not true biblical
elders. They are committee men. Executives.
 

A true biblical eldership is not just a business committee. It’s a biblically
qualified council of men that jointly pastors the local church. 

They teach the Word and are personally involved in the lives of people. To communicate
the New Testament idea of eldership, we need to reeducate ourselves
as to the New Testament usage of the term elder. In some cases we
may even need to choose a different term.
 

The New Testament also uses a different term than elder to describe
local church leaders. That term is overseer, and it comes from the Greek
word episkopos (see Acts 20:28; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-2; Titus
1:7; 1 Peter 5:2). The term overseer was a common designation used by
Greeks for a variety of officials. Unfortunately, the term gradually developed
a meaning that was quite different from the New Testament usage.
 

It became one of the most significant ecclesiastical titles of the hierarchical
church. We know the term in English as bishop, meaning a church official
who presides over many churches and the lower clergy. Thus the original
sense of the term episkopos, which was interchangeable with elder and indicated
a local church official, was lost.
 

If we choose to use the term elder, which many churches do because it
is a key biblical term for church leaders, it is necessary to explain that the
term elder means “pastor elders,” “shepherd elders,” or “pastors.” I know
of churches that weren’t able to implement a biblical eldership until they
dropped the term elder and called their elders “pastors.”

 Even the elders
 

were helped by the language change. They started thinking of themselves
as pastors who were responsible for the spiritual care of the flock and began
to function as pastors.

 However, because of the clerical and professional
connotations of the term pastor, most churches retain the biblical term
elder and simply teach the congregation what the term actually means

Patrick J Miron continues with

and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.

Here we have an example of forgiveness of God through a priest in action. 

St. James tells us that, if we are sick, we are to call for the priests (=elders) of the church. 

By the prayer of that priest, the sick person's sins will be forgiven; that's what the text says plainly!! Then James goes on to say, "Confess your sins to one another." 

Here, however, Protestants make the mistake of lifting the whole verse out of context by insisting that it means "everybody is to confess his/her sins to anybody."

 Not true.  (According to the Opinion  # 649) of  Patrick j Miron

 Let's stick with the context. 

It refers to the sick person confessing his/her sins to the priest and vice versa (the priest can, after all, encourage the sick person to confess his/her sins by letting him/her know about some of his own sins). Thus, verse 16 concludes or summarizes the preceding verses.

The Bible itself, then, proves that God has given human beings the authority to absolve others from sins--not on their own authority, but as tools of God Most High.