The Catholic sacrament of penance and reconciliation is the method given by Christ to the Catholic Church by which individual men may confess sins committed after baptism and have them absolved by a priest. This sacrament is known by many names, including penance, reconciliation, and confession (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Sections 1423-1442). However, because confession is only one aspect of the sacrament, it is no longer officially called "confession." Official Church publications always refer to the sacrament as "Penance and Reconciliation," or shorten it to "penance" or "reconciliation."
- Let's turn to 1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (NIV)
Now let's turn to James 5:16
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." (NIV)
For starters, based on the verses above we are able to infer that confession of sins to one another is important for the forgiveness of sins.
- Let's turn to Matthew 9:6-8 (in context: Matthew 9:1-8)
"But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men." (NIV)
Why did Jesus made a reference to His humanity (Son of Man) instead of His divinity (Son of God) as He was making known to His followers His authority to forgive sins? Because Jesus wanted His followers to know that mere men too has been given the authority to forgive sins. "When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men" (Matthew 9:8), the crowd understood Jesus and praised God.
Question: Who are these people that has been given the authority to forgive sins?
NOTE: While it is true that Jesus commanded his followers to forgive one another (Matthew 6:14; Matthew 18:21-22; Luke 17:3-4) it is also true that He gave special authority to a group of chosen ones (whom we will examine in the following point), to forgive sins in God's name.
- Let's turn to John 20:21-23
"Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."" (NIV)
The verses above illustrate Jesus appearing to His disciples (i.e. the apostles) and sending His disciples to forgive sins; just as how God the Father had sent Him to forgive sins during His time on earth. (To further affirm the fact that Jesus gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins, please turn to Matthew 18:18.)
Because the Roman Catholic Church is an apostolic church (i.e. we have an unbroken line of priestly order that has been passed down since the time of the apostles); until today priests has the authority (that Christ gave) to forgive sins.
So the answer is: Yes, Confession (a.k.a. the Sacrament of Reconciliation) is Biblical. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment