Deuteronomy 16:19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
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.
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.
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; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
May the Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!