“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you.’ When He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained.’ ” John 20:21-23 (Read John 20:19-23; Cf. Luke 24:46-47; Matt. 18:15-18.)

Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures. He suffered and died for the sins of all and rose again! Now He gives to His church a mission — an assignment and duty. He said to His chosen disciples, “As My Father has sent Me, even so I send you.”

He gave His disciples the Holy Spirit and a task to carry out: to preach “repentance and remission of sins” in Jesus’ name “to all nations,” beginning right where they were, in Jerusalem (Luke 24:46-47; cf. Matt. 28:16-20).

And God’s called disciples today are still to forgive the sins of those who repent and turn to Christ Jesus in faith and to retain (not forgive) the sins of those who do not repent. As Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven them. If you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained.”

Jesus is not giving to any person or to any church the authority to forgive and retain sins according to their own whims or choosing. Rather, He gives to His church and its ministers the duty to preach and proclaim that all should repent and turn to Christ Jesus for forgiveness and life. To those who repent of their sins and look in faith to Jesus, the church proclaims God’s mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus and His cross (cf. Psalm 32:1-5; John 8:11; 1 John 1:7 — 2:2). To those who remain impenitent and continue in their sinful ways the church and its ministers proclaim God’s wrath and punishment upon their sins! Cf. Matt. 18:15-18; John 8:24; Heb. 10:26-31; 1 Cor. 6:9-11.

Ministers and churches err and misapply God’s Word (and are false prophets) when they tell the impenitent that their sins are forgiven, or when they fail to console the penitent with the comfort of God’s mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus. But, when ministers and churches rightly apply and proclaim God’s Word and counsel, forgiving the sins of penitent sinners and retaining the sins of the impenitent, their words are as certain and true as if God Himself had spoken them from His throne in heaven because it is God’s Word that they rightly apply to sinners!

But what is genuine repentance? It is not simply going through the outward motions of acknowledging our sinfulness, asking God to forgive us, and then returning unaffected to our old sinful ways (cf. Luke 3:7ff.)! Rather, it is sincerely acknowledging and sorrowing over our sinful ways and looking to Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross in faith for pardon and forgiveness. And where true repentance occurs, the penitent sinner then seeks God’s help and aid to amend his sinful ways and live for Christ Jesus, who died for him and rose again (cf. 1 John 1:7-2:6; 2 Cor. 5:15, 17; Psalm 51).

Indeed, God would have each of us live in continual repentance, examining ourselves in the light of God’s Word, being genuinely sorry for our sins and trusting in Jesus’ shed blood for forgiveness, and then continually seeking God’s help and strength to live our lives for Him in accordance with God’s Word.

I ask you, “Are you genuinely repentant? Do you acknowledge your sins and look in faith to Jesus and His cross for pardon and forgiveness?” If so, you have God’s mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus for all your sins (cf. 1 John 1:7ff.). But if, on the other hand, you are unwilling to give up your sinful ways and turn to God for forgiveness and life in His Son, Jesus Christ, you remain dead in your sins and are under God’s wrath and judgment! Cf. John 3:18, 36; Mark 16:16.

Dearest Christ Jesus, we have sinned in thought, word, and deed and have failed to live according to Your perfect will. Forgive us for the sake of Your holy and precious blood, shed for us on the cross. And, dear Savior, grant us Your Spirit and give us a genuine desire to please You always. Amen.

[Scripture is taken from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version, Copyright © 2024, 2017, 2014 by United Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House. All rights reserved.]