Mark 2: 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
6 But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts,
7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
There are certain prerogatives which belong to God alone, and one of them is the authority to forgive sins. Even though Christians are instructed to forgive other persons their trespasses, we cannot absolve a person of guilt, where wrongs were committed.
We are encouraged not to pursue a course of action that is vengeful in nature, and we are to forgive our fellowmen in the sense that we would not hold sins against ourselves against them, but as far as pardon and absolving goes, that is God’s territory alone.
The reason why this authority belongs solely to God is because we never shed blood for the remission of any sins. Thus, according to the Bible, pardoning sin and the authority to forgive, will legally require the shedding of blood, and no one else but Christ has ever done this. Let’s read:
Hebrews 9: 22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Thus, the Christian can let things slide when wrongs are committed against his or her person, and we can and should pursue reconciliation whenever we can, but we of ourselves can never forgive sin. That is the territory, and the prerogative of God alone.
Thus, when Jesus instructs us to forgive one another He is referring to not pursuing justice, where justice is due, but rather seeking to foster reconciliation by not holding grudges or resentment against persons.
A Biblical example of this was manifested when king Saul pursued David like a wild beast in the caves and mountains yet David decided not to mete out justice when he had the opportunity to do so. David’s men in some of these instances drooled for revenge, but David held firm, and would try to get even.
David went even further, for after the death of Saul, he mourned for the king, and he took care of Saul’s family who survived. Thus, the following passages show that David forgave Saul his trespasses, but as far as the sins of Saul goes, they remain unto this day, for he never sought for God for forgiveness.
So yes, David took the high road, by not rendering evil for evil, and by not harboring bad feelings, and hatred against Saul, but those actions do absolutely nothing to remove any of Saul’s sins from the books of heaven, for only God can forgive sins. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 24:2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.
3 And he came to the sheepcotes by the way, where was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet: and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave.
4 And the men of David said unto him, Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily.
5 And it came to pass afterward, that David's heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul's skirt.
6 And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord's anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.
7 So David stayed his servants with these words, and suffered them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way.
8 David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself.
9 And David said to Saul, wherefore do you listen to men's words, saying, Behold, David seeks thy hurt?
10 Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord's anointed.
11 Moreover, my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet you hunt my soul to take it.
16 And it came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.
17 And he said to David you art more righteous than I: for thou have rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil.
18 And you have shewed this day how that you have dealt well with me: forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killed me not.
19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go well away? wherefore the Lord reward thee good for that thou hast done unto me this day.
Also, after the death of Saul David mourned several days for the slain leader, and he meted out justice twice, on persons who had done violence to Saul’s family thereby demonstrating in real time the words of Christ, to forgive men their trespasses.
However, for all this not one of Saul’s sins were ever removed from the records in heaven. That’s because at the end of the day as our first passage states, only God can forgive sins. The reason why it is important to make this point absolutely clear is so that we may understand the solemn nature of the study.
One of the main reasons why God never delegated the forgiving of sin to any mortal man is because if He left it up to us, the authority would inevitably be seriously abused. Persons would begin to pick, and choose who to forgive, and those who could afford it would pay to have their sins remitted.
Famous people, and Hollywood stars who are in bed with persons who have pardoning powers would be let off the hook, and without a doubt pardon would be guaranteed to family members, close friends and associates, while individuals who have committed far lesser sins would be put on the midnight train to hell.
Over the centuries many persons have taken it upon themselves to forgive sin and pardon criminals. This practice became widespread especially during the dark ages, and it persists to this very day. So, instead of confessing and turning to God for pardon, people are now looking to mortal man to absolve or forgive as the case may be.
Now, there are a couple difficult passages that have to be understood thoroughly, before we proceed, because a cursory reading of them might seem to suggest that Jesus granted the authority to forgive to some persons.
These passages must now be confronted, explained and thoroughly understood, so that the light that is streaming from God’s throne on this matter could be made plain to everyone. Here are a few of those passages. Let’s read:
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
23 Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained.
The disciples were not to retain, or remit anyone’s sins independent of God. They were to let persons know of the conditions and requirements laid down in Scripture, and then, depending on the course of action taken by the individuals in question, Christ would remove, or retain their sins.
But the removal, and retention of sins rested solely with God alone. This has always been the case, and it will remain the case until the last sin on the planet is either retained or remitted for eternity.
Therefore, the servant of The Lord lays out the only correct interpretation to the above passage, so that any and everyone may know the truth in the matter.
To put it plainly God, and God alone could pardon or forgive sin, and wherever this authority is usurped by any mortal the person who seeks pardon through human agencies, outside of Christ, will have all their sins retained and unforgiven in the books of heaven.
And if this knowledge never dawns upon the mind, or is rejected in favor of human pardons, those sins will usher the person in question into never land. Let’s read:
[The Desire of Ages pp 806] Remission of sins can be obtained only through the merits of Christ. To no man, to no body of men, is given power to free the soul from guilt.
Christ charged His disciples to preach the remission of sins in His name among all nations; but they themselves were not empowered to remove one stain of sin. The name of Jesus is the only “name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.
Again, some persons erroneously believe that Peter was granted power to forgive sins, but in the first example given, we see Christ addressing all of the disciples, not only Peter.
In fact, the next example speaks about Peter being given the keys of heaven, and authority to bind and loose things in heaven and earth as the case might be. Peter, as well as all of the other disciples were never to do any of these things on, or of their own.
They were commissioned to declare to the people the written word of God, which contains the terms and conditions upon which pardon may be granted, but they were not to take it upon themselves to try to pardon anyone. In fact, later on in the next verses we see where even Peter was in need of pardon. Let’s read:
Matthew 16: 18 And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for you savor not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
In the above passage, Peter was not given a special set of keys to the kingdom that was not available to the other disciples. The keys to the kingdom are in fact given to every believer, for they consist of every word in the Bible, which contains the revealed will of God.
A key is a mechanism by which on can gain entrance to a place, person, or thing, and therefore, we must never conclude that just because Jesus singled out Peter by name on this occasion that the others were left out. They were not.
John is specifically described in the Scriptures as the disciple that Jesus loved. This does not mean that Jesus did not love the other disciples. Thus, because Christ names one person specifically in an instance, we are not to conclude that some special privilege is granted to pardon, that the others are not privy to.
Thus, if we were to reason along strictly logical lines we would have to conclude that by handing the keys of the kingdom to Peter, Jesus thereby gave satan the keys, because of how He addressed Peter, later on in verse 23. Let’s read:
[The Desire of Ages pp 413>414] “The keys of the kingdom of heaven” are the words of Christ. All the words of Holy Scripture are His, and are here included. These words have power to open and to shut heaven.
They declare the conditions upon which men are received or rejected. Thus, the work of those who preach God's word is a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. Theirs is a mission weighted with eternal results.
The Savior did not commit the work of the gospel to Peter individually. At a later time, repeating the words that were spoken to Peter, He applied them directly to the church.
And the same in substance was spoken also to the twelve as representatives of the body of believers. If Jesus had delegated any special authority to one of the disciples above the others, we should not find them so often contending as to who should be the greatest.
This leads us to our case study for today, in which persons presumed to usurp the authority of God to pardon, and as we will observe, perversion would inevitably be woven into act. Let’s read:
Pardon: The action of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or offense.
The authority to forgive sin was never ordained, nor was it ever intended to be exercised by anyone, but God alone, yet, the people in Christ’s day had come up with a custom that had become quite popular at the time.
And, as will always be the case when mortals take to themselves authority that belongs to God alone, the practice was adopted ultimately perverted by Pilate.
On the occasion of the Passover, they would pardon someone arbitrarily without the conditions set forth in the Scriptures being applied to the case. Thus, a convicted felon could be eligible for pardon without confessing that he had done wrong, and without an effort to turn away from his sins, as God stipulates.
Pardon is conditional, and it is not something to be trifled with or to be taken lightly, because it involves letting persons off of the hook, for wrongs and sins committed. Therefore, in the clearest terms the God of heaven lays out the way in which forgiveness is to be granted.
Any deviation from the Scriptural stipulation is the equivalent of sitting in the seat of God, or usurping the authority and prerogatives which belong to God alone. Let’s read:
1st John 1: 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Ezekiel 18: 27 Again, when the wicked man turns away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28 Because he considers, and turns away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
But here comes Barrabas who never confesses any sin, he does not turn away, and he does not even consider or reflect on the evils he has done. There’s no deep soul-searching on his part, and no remorse as when a person takes an introspect look at his or her deeds.
Yet, he is pardoned by Pilate, for no other reason than the people clamoring for his release. There is not one iota of justice in the act of letting him go free, it’s just Pilate wielding power that was never granted him by God.
It was, and is a practice of human devising but it has no foundation whatsoever in the Bible. The power to forgive sin was never ordained nor intended to be exercised by any person other than Christ. Even with the keys of heaven in their hands the disciples could not forgive any sin, nor pardon anyone, let alone a convicted felon. Let’s read:
Matthew 27: 15 Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.
16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
21 The governor answered and said unto them, which of the two will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
22 Pilate saith unto them, what shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, let him be crucified.
[The Desire of Ages pp 733] The Roman authorities at this time held a prisoner named Barabbas, who was under sentence of death. This man had claimed to be the Messiah. He claimed authority to establish a different order of things, to set the world right.
He had done wonderful things through satanic agencies, he had gained a following among the people, and had excited sedition against the Roman government. Under cover of religious enthusiasm, he was a hardened and desperate villain, bent on rebellion and cruelty.
[The Desire of Ages pp 733] It was customary at this feast to release some prisoner whom the people might choose. This custom was of pagan invention; there was not a shadow of justice in it, but it was greatly prized by the Jews.
Then, down through the ages, including the dark ages and onward to the 21st century, the practice of mortals forgiving sin and pardoning persons outside of the Scriptural stipulation continues. During those dark days when the word of God was chained to the monasteries, the practice of pardoning persons was terribly abused.
In particular, Tetzel of Germany, a convicted felon was employed to sell pardons, to raise funds for the Roman church, and what he then did, would make the prophets turn in their graves. Take a look:
[The Great Controversy pp 127] As Tetzel entered a town, a messenger went before him, announcing, “The grace of God and of the holy father is at your gates.” And the people welcomed the blasphemous pretender as if he were God himself come down from Heaven to them.
The infamous traffic was set up in the church, and Tetzel, ascending the pulpit, extolled indulgences as the most precious gift of God. He declared that by virtue of his certificates of pardon, all the sins which the purchaser should afterward desire to commit would be forgiven him.
More than this, he assured his hearers that the indulgences had power to save not only the living but the dead; that the very moment the money should clink against the bottom of his chest, the soul in whose behalf it had been paid would escape from purgatory and make its way to Heaven.
Hence the reason why there are two very important prophecies in the Scriptures which now warrant the utmost attention. These two prophecies would shed great light on the here and now, and what we could expect to prepare for in the very near future. Let’s read:
2nd Thessalonians 2: 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there comes a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Revelation 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke as a dragon.
12 And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and causes the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
The above passage in 2nd Thessalonians 2 speaks of the papal system, which for centuries has usurped both the position and authority of God in the minds of billions of people. This it has done by doing two very important maneuvers:
[1] By accepting worship which belongs to God alone.
[2] By claiming the authority to pardon, and forgive sins.
But then in Revelation 13 John tells us that the lamb like beast would be exercising all the power of the papacy, whose deadly wound was healed. Thus, it is a no-brainer that the exercise of “All” the power of the first beast would include the issue of forgiving and pardoning sins.
However, because of our flawed human nature, it is inevitable that just like how Tetzel had abused the power to forgive and pardon, the lamblike beast will also follow his lead, and abuse the same power that was never vested in it by God.
And all of the accompanying terrors that existed in the dark ages as a result, will be regurgitated by the lamblike beast, hence the reason why God is calling on us now to consider our ways.
Mortal man cannot free any soul of guilt, for when Barabbas was then pardoned by Pilate, he left his jail cell with a truckload of sins, unrepented of and also unforgiven.
In our day, persons, and congregants who look to mortal men for forgiveness may be told that they’ve been pardoned, but The Lord will have us know that doing so does not move the needle in the books of heaven.
Therefore, if any person sincerely desires pardon or forgiveness, he or she will need to follow the Biblical methods, ways, and means in order for your slate to be wiped clean in the heavenly courts.
God is still in the business of pardoning, but He will bring that work to a close, when human probation no longer exists, and then it will be too late to make your move in any meaningful way, because once the words “It is finished” are uttered, there will be no recourse for anyone.
And according to the Scripture, this final chapter of earth’s history will take place quite unexpectedly, at a time when most persons on the planet would not be looking for it. Let’s read:
Mark 13: 35 Watch ye therefore: for you know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight or at the cockcrowing or in the morning.
36 Lest coming suddenly, he finds you sleeping.
37 And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
1st Thessalonians 5: 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
[ The Great Controversy pp 88] The righteous and the wicked will still be living upon the earth in their mortal state—men will be planting and building, eating and drinking, all unconscious that the final, irrevocable decision has been pronounced in the sanctuary above.
Silently, unnoticed as the midnight thief, will come the decisive hour which marks the fixing of every man's destiny, the final withdrawal of mercy's offer to guilty men.
While the man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure-lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her adornments,—it may be in that hour the Judge of all the earth will pronounce the sentence, “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”
The Lord is now sending us these warnings so that we would not be deceived by philosophies that have invaded the minds of millions.
In other words, now is the time for us to do serious soul searching, and wherever there are any secret sins, unconfessed and unforsaken, let us hasten to the throne of grace so that we could obtain real mercy.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture that will help us avoid the noise, and it is the will of God that we hold the present truth in clear, steady lines in our minds, thus enabling us to walk with a steady and even tread. Let’s read:
Exodus 34: 6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty….
God Bless!