The Authority to Forgive Sins: A Catholic Claim Examined in Light of Scripture

 Giuseppe Molteni’s The Confession (1838)

In Roman Catholic teaching, ordained priests are believed to have authority to forgive sins in Christ’s name. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) explicitly states: “By Christ’s will, the Church possesses the power to forgive the sins of the baptized and exercises it through bishops and priests” (Part One Section Two I. The Creeds Chapter Three I Believe In The Holy Spirit Article 10 I Believe In The Forgiveness Of Sins II. The Power Of The Keys). According to the Catechism, Jesus entrusted this “power of absolution” to the apostolic ministry, so that priests “forgive sins in the name of Jesus Christ” (Part Two Section Two The Seven Sacrements Of The Church Chapter Two The Sacraments Of Healing Article 4 The Sacrament Of Penance And Reconciliation VI. The Sacrament Of Penance And Reconciliation) (Catechism of the Catholic Church | Catholic Culture). Canon law likewise affirms that in the Sacrament of Penance the faithful “obtain from God forgiveness of sins…through the absolution imparted by [the] minister” (i.e. a priest) (Doing Penance | EWTN). This Catholic claim—that human priests can absolve sins and even “call down” Christ’s presence in the Mass—merits careful scrutiny under the ultimate authority for Christians: the Holy Scriptures (King James Version).

Catholic Teaching on Priestly Absolution and Power

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Jesus gave the Church a share in His authority to forgive sins. For example, CCC §983 marvels that: “The Lord wills that his disciples possess a tremendous power: that his lowly servants accomplish in his name all that he did… Priests have received from God a power that he has given neither to angels nor to archangels... God above confirms what priests do here below.” (Part One Section Two I. The Creeds Chapter Three I Believe In The Holy Spirit Article 10 I Believe In The Forgiveness Of Sins II. The Power Of The Keys) According to CCC §1441–1442, “Only God forgives sins”… yet by Christ’s divine authority “he gives this power to men to exercise in his name.” Christ “entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry” (Catechism of the Catholic Church | Catholic Culture) – a ministry Catholicism understands to continue in bishops and priests. In short, official doctrine claims that a priest, acting in persona Christi, can pronounce God’s forgiveness of sin. The Council of Trent even declared that anyone denying the power of ordained priests to forgive sins sacramentally should be anathematized (Session XIV, Canon 3).

Such teachings raise a fundamental question: Does Scripture support the idea that any mortal man, apart from Jesus Christ Himself, can absolve another’s sins before God? To answer, we turn exclusively to the King James Bible for a well-grounded, theological critique of these claims. We will examine what God’s Word says about forgiveness of sins, mediation, Christ’s sacrifice, and the importance of keeping God’s covenant commandments—particularly the Sabbath, which the Roman Church has notoriously altered. By doing so, we shall see that the Bible refutes the notion that sinful men who break God’s covenant can wield authority to act in Christ’s stead.

“Who Can Forgive Sins but God Alone?”

Scripture emphatically teaches that God alone has the prerogative to forgive sins. When Jesus declared a man’s sins forgiven, the Jewish scribes rightly wondered, “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?” (MARK 2:7) Indeed, the scribes understood a truth found throughout the Bible: forgiveness is an act of God. The Lord says in Isaiah, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake” (ISAIAH 43:25) No priest, angel, or church can claim this power—only God can wipe away sin.

The New Testament teaches that we receive forgiveness by confessing directly to God, not through an earthly intermediary. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” writes the Apostle John (1 JOHN 1:9) The pronoun “He” clearly refers to God (see 1 John 1:7–8 (1 JOHN 1:9)It is God who is faithful and just to forgive the repentant sinner; nowhere does Scripture direct us to seek absolution from a human priest. King David, in his famous psalm of repentance, prayed “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4) – recognizing that sin is ultimately against God, and thus forgiveness must come from God. When “we confess our sins” (1 John 1:9), we are to confess them to God Himself, through Christ, our High Priest in heaven (Hebrews 4:14–16). There is no biblical example of believers confessing sins to a presbyter to receive forgiveness; rather, “if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

The Bible never teaches that Christian ministers have authority to judicially forgive sins. The Catholic Church cites Jesus’ post-resurrection words to His apostles, “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them” (John 20:23), as evidence of priestly power. But a careful reading shows Jesus was commissioning the apostles to proclaim the forgiveness of sins through the gospel – not transferring God’s exclusive authority to them. The apostles’ ministry was to announce God’s terms of pardon (Luke 24:47), and to declare forgiveness on the condition of repentance and faith. Even the Apostle Peter, whom Catholics regard as the first pope, did not assume he personally could absolve sin. Instead, Peter urged sinners to “repent… that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19) and rebuked anyone who thought spiritual gifts (like dispensing the Holy Spirit’s power) could be “purchased” or controlled by man (Acts 8:18–22). No apostle ever claimed, “I forgive you in God’s name.” That role belongs to God and His Christ alone.

In fact, Scripture records that even the Pharisees understood this boundary: “Who can forgive sins but God only?” (MARK 2:7) Jesus proved His divinity by forgiving sins and healing the paralytic (Mark 2:5–11). But crucially, Jesus did not teach that His disciples-turned-apostles would thereafter wield independent authority to forgive. Rather, He pointed them to preach the gospel of forgiveness through His sacrifice (Luke 24:46–48). Therefore, any later claim that priests can absolve sin on God’s behalf finds no foundation in the practice or teaching of Christ and the apostles. As the prophet Daniel might say, it is an attempt to “change” God’s prerogatives and “think to change [God’s] laws” (DANIEL 7:25)– a presumptuous move we will examine further.

One Mediator, One High Priest – Not Many

Catholicism’s priestly absolution and its sacrament of confession effectively insert a human mediator between the believer and Christ. Yet the Bible is unambiguous: Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and men. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” writes Paul (1 TIMOTHY 2:5). No earthly priest or pastor can take Christ’s place as mediator. Only Jesus, being fully God and fully sinless man, can bridge that gap. Thus “neither is there salvation in any other” (Acts 4:12), and no priest or saint can add to His unique role.

Furthermore, the letter to the Hebrews stresses that Christ holds an untransferable priesthood. “They truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: but this man [Jesus], because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood,” and “he ever liveth to make intercession” for us in heaven (HEBREWS 7:25) Unlike the mortal Levitical priests (or any human clergy), Jesus “continueth ever” – His priesthood does not pass to another. He is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (HEBREWS 7:25) the only one qualified to atone for and intercede for sinners. The idea that sinful men could share in or continue this priestly office contradicts the assertion that Christ’s priesthood is unchangeable (literally “does not pass to another” in Hebrews 7:24).

Importantly, Christ’s intercession is perfect and sufficient. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them,” Hebrews 7:25 declares (HEBREWS 7:25) Jesus requires no help from earthly co-mediators; He lives eternally to intercede for us before the Father. Romans 8:34 likewise asks, “Who is he that condemneth?” It points us to Christ “that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” (ROMANS 8:34) Only Jesus died for our sins and rose for our justification (Romans 4:25), and now only He sits at God’s right hand as our advocate. There is no room in this picture for a human priest to intervene. In fact, any attempt to insert another mediator diminishes the finished work and exclusive priesthood of Christ. Paul warned that even if “we or an angel” preached a different gospel, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8). Claiming that we need confessors or saints to mediate forgiveness or grace is indeed a different gospel, one not taught by the apostles.

The King James Bible further teaches that all humans are themselves sinners in need of grace, which disqualifies us from being mediators of others’ salvation. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “There is none righteous, no, not one,” apart from Christ (Romans 3:10). Even a duly "ordained" priest is “compassed with infirmity” (Hebrews 5:2) and must seek forgiveness for his own sins. How then shall a man burdened by his own sin debt pronounce another person’s debt forgiven before the Almighty?

Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of religious leaders who set themselves up as spiritual authorities while disobeying God’s commandments: “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye” (Matthew 7:5). In spiritual terms, no priest can take away the mote from a penitent’s eye while a beam of sin remains in his. For “if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14). Scripture recognizes only one sinless High Priest and Mediator – Jesus. All others are disqualified by sin and lack divine authority.

The Mass and the “Once for All” Sacrifice of Christ

Another aspect of Catholic theology challenged by Scripture is the claim that priests can call down Christ from heaven and re-present His sacrifice in the Eucharist (the Mass). At the heart of the Mass, the priest consecrates bread and wine, which Catholics believe become the literal Body and Blood of Christ—thus re-presenting (though in an “unbloody” manner) the sacrifice of Calvary. Rome teaches that in each Mass, Christ is made present on the altar and offered anew, though in a sacramental form. This teaching raises the question: Can Christ be commanded to appear and be offered repeatedly by human agents, sinners nonetheless? The Bible’s answer is a resounding no.

First, Scripture underscores that Jesus’ sacrifice was once for all, completed, and not to be repeated. Hebrews declares, “Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (HEBREWS 9:27) By contrast, the old covenant priests offered daily sacrifices, which could never take away sins. “But this man [Jesus], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God” (HEBREWS 10:12). Christ’s seated position at God’s right hand signifies the finished, all-sufficient nature of His atoning work. “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified,” the same passage affirms (HEBREWS 10:12). There is nothing lacking in Jesus’ death that needs to be re-offered or re-enacted by a priest. In fact, Hebrews 10:18 concludes: “Now where remission of these [sins] is, there is no more offering for sin.” To insist that a priest must continually offer Christ in the Mass as an expiation for sins is to deny that “It is finished” (John 19:30) and that no further offering is required.

The apostles never “called down” Christ from heaven in their worship or preaching. On the contrary, they taught that after Jesus’ ascension, heaven “must receive him until the times of restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21). Believers remember the Lord’s sacrifice in the Lord’s Supper as a memorial (“Do this in remembrance of me,” Luke 22:19), but not as a literal re-sacrifice or a conjuring of His body and blood. To suggest that Christ’s glorified body must be summoned at a priest’s words contradicts the dignity and freedom of the risen Lord. The Apostle Paul, quoting the Old Testament, warned against the very idea of trying to bring Christ down from heaven: “Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)” (ROMANS 10:6) But this, in effect, is what the theology of transubstantiation and the Mass asserts—that a human celebrant’s utterance can pull Christ down onto the altar under the appearances of bread and wine. Paul’s point in Romans 10 is that we don’t need to do such a thing; “the word is nigh thee”—we are saved by faith in the gospel of the risen Christ, not by repeatedly bringing Christ physically to us.

Furthermore, Christ’s current ministry is described as seated in triumph, “expecting till his enemies be made his footstool” (Hebrews 10:13 (HEBREWS 10:12 ). He is not depicted as standing at the beck and call of an earthly priesthood. The idea that sinful men can command the King of Kings to become present in the Eucharist borders on irreverence, if not blasphemy. As the centurion humbly said to Jesus, “I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only” (Matthew 8:8). How much more unworthy is any man to demand Christ’s bodily presence on an altar! The presumption is stark: If it was blasphemy for Jesus (truly God) to forgive sins in the eyes of the scribes (MARK 2:7) what is it for a man who is not God to claim the same power? Likewise, if it is folly to think one could bring Christ down from heaven (ROMANS 10:6), what shall we say of those who teach that they do exactly that in each Mass? The consistent biblical message is that Christ’s sacrifice is finished and all-sufficient, and His glorified person is not subject to our manipulation. Instead of an ongoing priestly sacrifice, Scripture offers us a once crucified, now risen Saviour who intercedes from heaven and will return in glory at God’s appointed time – “the second time without sin unto salvation” (HEBREWS 9:27), not daily on our altars.

Breaking God’s Covenant: The Sabbath as a Test of Authority

Finally, we must address the broader biblical principle that spiritual authority is validated by obedience to God’s commandments. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). The authority to act in God’s name is inherently tied to submission to God’s will. The Roman Catholic Church claims to act in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) when priests absolve sins or consecrate the Eucharist. Yet, in practice, has the Roman Church been faithful to “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12)? The Bible provides a clear measure: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (JAMES 2:10). By willfully violating even one of God’s commands, a religious body shows itself untrustworthy in divine matters, undermining its claimed authority.

A striking example is the fourth commandment, the Sabbath. God declared the seventh-day Sabbath to be a perpetual sign of His covenant: “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath… for a perpetual covenant” (EXODUS 31:16)“It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever,” the Lord emphasized (EXODUS 31:16). This commandment was written with God’s own finger in stone (Exodus 31:18 (EXODUS 31:16), signifying its permanence. Yet the Roman Catholic Church openly changed the Sabbath observance from the biblically mandated seventh day (Saturday) to the first day (Sunday). Catholic authorities candidly acknowledge this. For instance, The Catholic Mirror (the official organ of Cardinal Gibbons) noted: “The Catholic Church… by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.” In doing so, Rome admits it has “thought to change times and laws” (DANIEL 7:25), fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel 7:25 regarding an earthly power that would tamper with God’s law.

This change is not a trivial matter. According to Scripture, breaking the Sabbath commandment is a serious covenant violation. God, through Ezekiel, condemned the priests of Jerusalem who were unfaithful: “Her priests have violated my law… and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” (EZEKIEL 22:26) The priests’ disregard of the Sabbath made them profane in God’s sight and disqualified their ministry. Jesus likewise rebuked religious leaders for elevating their tradition above God’s commandment: “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition” (MARK 7:9). The Roman Church’s substitution of Sunday for the true Sabbath is a prime example of “teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”. By doing so, it has broken God’s eternal covenant sign and taught others to do the same. Jesus warned, “In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men”. Thus, an institution that openly sets aside one of the Ten Commandments in favor of human tradition cannot credibly claim to exercise God’s authority. As James 2:10 reminds us, to stumble in one point of the law renders one guilty of all (JAMES 2:10). The Roman Church’s conscious neglect of the Sabbath commandment calls into question all its spiritual pretensions.

This covenant infidelity has profound implications. If the Church of Rome has indeed broken God’s law and encouraged billions to do likewise, how can it possess authority to act in God’s name? The Apostle John writes, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). No matter what ecclesiastical claims are made, failing to keep God’s clear commandments invalidates those claims. Jesus Himself said that on the Day of Judgment, “Many will say to me, Lord, Lord, have we not... in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22–23). “Iniquity” means lawlessness – the breaking of God’s law. Those who practice it, even while claiming to do mighty works in Christ’s name, will be disowned by Christ. This solemn warning should give pause to any church that bases its authority on ecclesiastical claims rather than humble obedience to God’s commands.

The Roman Catholic Church, by its own admission, has altered God’s law (especially the Sabbath commandment) and elevated its tradition to the level of Scripture. In doing so, it has broken God’s “everlasting covenant” (cf. Isaiah 24:5) and forfeited any legitimate claim to divine authority. Christ does not empower covenant-breakers to act as His representatives. On the contrary, He said to the Pharisees, “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? … Ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition” (Matthew 15:3,6). The Catholics have similarly made God’s 4th Commandment of none effect for most Christians, substituting a man-made observance. Thus, by biblical standards, the Church’s authority is self-nullified. It cannot bind or loose sins on earth with heaven’s approval when it openly looses one of God’s Ten Commandments and teaches others to do so (cf. Matthew 5:19). Jesus gave Peter and the apostles the “keys of the kingdom” (Matthew 16:19) insofar as they adhered to Christ’s teachings. But if someone uses those keys to effectively lock away a command of God, he abuses the authority and can no longer claim to speak for God.

Christ’s Authority Belongs to the Obedient Son, Not Lawless Men

The Roman Catholic Church’s doctrine of priestly absolution and the Eucharistic sacrifice does not withstand this biblical scrutiny. Priests are mortal, fallible men who must seek forgiveness from God like everyone else; they have no divine warrant to absolve the sins of others by their own authority.  Every Christian can be assured that if we repent and turn to God through Christ, “he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 JOHN 1:9) We need no human priest to guarantee what God Himself promises.

Likewise, the Mass’s attempt to “bring Christ down” onto altars (ROMANS 10:6) misunderstands Christ’s ongoing ministry. Jesus is not a perpetual victim to be re-offered at our bidding, but a conquering Saviour who declared “It is finished” and sat down in power. From that exalted seat, He intercedes for us and cannot be commanded by men – especially not by men who prove disobedient to Him. The notion that a priest’s words can summon Christ’s Body and Blood contradicts the honour due to the risen Lord and the sufficiency of His one sacrifice.

Finally, by breaking the Sabbath and thus God’s covenant sign, the Roman Church shows itself to be, like ancient Israel’s unfaithful priests, profaning what is holy (EZEKIEL22:26) Jesus asks pointedly, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). A church that does not “do the things” Christ commanded (such as “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy,” Exodus 20:8) has no basis to call Him “Lord” while claiming His authority. Christ will not be represented by those who reject His lordship in practice. He Himself kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16) and upheld God’s law (Matthew 5:17–19); how then can those who alter God’s law presume to stand in Christ’s stead forgiving sins or confecting sacraments? “He that saith he abideth in [Christ] ought himself also so to walk, even as [Christ] walked” (1 John 2:6). Since the Catholic hierarchy has not walked in obedience, it cannot legitimately speak or act in persona of the obedient Son of God.

In conclusion, the Roman Catholic Church’s claim of authority to act in Christ’s name—whether by absolving sinners or sacrificing the Mass—finds no support in the Bible and is, in fact, refuted by it. God’s Word shows that forgiveness comes from God through Christ’s one sacrifice, received by faith and repentance, not by the decree of a confessor. Any religious system that inserts itself into that unique work of Christ is usurping a role that belongs to Him alone. Moreover, by breaking God’s eternal covenant (most prominently in the matter of the Sabbath), the Roman Church demonstrates that it operates by its own authority, not God’s.

Therefore, from a biblical perspective, the Church of Rome has no divine authority to forgive sins or command Christ’s presence, for it does not submit to the very covenant Lord it claims to represent. Christ is indeed “the head of the church” (Ephesians 5:23), but He is a head who “loved the church and gave Himself for it” (5:25) to sanctify it in the truth—not to empower it to contradict His Word. He remains “seated at the right hand of God” in majesty, beyond the dictates of earthly clerics (HEBREWS 10:12). And when He comes again, it will be in sovereign glory, to judge those who have presumed to speak in His name without authority. As Scripture warns, “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12) – including popes and priests. On that day, only those found in humble obedience to Christ and His commandments will be vindicated (Revelation 22:14). All others, however lofty their claims, will discover that God “resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6).

In the end, Christ’s authority cannot be divorced from Christ’s lordship. It belongs exclusively to Him and to those who faithfully keep His Word. No amount of tradition, ecclesiastical decree, pomp, self-exaltation or ceremony can substitute for that simple biblical truth. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 3:22) – and let God be true, though every man a liar (Romans 3:4).

Scripture Alone is our guide, and by that guide the verdict is clear: the power to forgive sins and mediate between God and man is Christ’s alone. The Roman Church, in breaking God’s covenant and elevating its own ordinances, shows by its fruits that it lacks the authority it claims. As Jesus told the lawbreaking religious leaders of His day, so it applies now: “Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition” (MARK 7:9) We therefore reject the claim of priestly absolution as untenable, and we call all to seek forgiveness and salvation not from men, but from the perfect and only High Priest, Jesus Christ – “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity…?…because he delighteth in mercy” (Micah 7:18). To Him alone be the glory and the power forever. Amen.

Wishing you a blessed and holy Sabbath, from sunset this evening to sunset tomorrow, as it is written: ‘And the evening and the morning were the first day’ (Genesis 1:5)."