Q: There’s a movie where Jesus …before he leaves he blows out a wind or something and gives all his closest disciple’s the holy spirit and then Jesus tells them something like….”Whoever you forgive will be forgiven and whoever you don’t forgive will not be forgiven.”
My question is this (and I want the real answer): Does what Jesus left these disciples have some kind of power over us? And if so, what does it do? Also… What happens if these guys don’t forgive us and what happens if they do? Jesus trusts these guys with our souls? Why?
A: The first thing Jesus did after he rose again from the dead was to give the power to forgive sins to the apostles, who were the first bishops of the Catholic Church.
That power has been handed down to the current day bishops and priests of the Catholic Church, and it is known as the sacrament of reconciliation.
It is the most provocative, “in-your-face” attack against the forces of evil that the world has ever seen, or ever will see.
The power to forgive sins comes from grace that Jesus obtained for us on the cross … power that Jesus entrusted to his authentic Church, for the purpose of our salvation.
Through the power of God, priests and bishops provide absolution (absolute forgiveness) for sins if one is contrite (sorry for them) and repentant (willing to make a good attempt to avoid committing the same sins in the future).
Absent both of these, sins typically are not forgiven.
Once sins have been forgiven, there is no need for divine judgment, and God will never bring them up again.
It doesn’t get any better than that, this side of Heaven.
https://douglawrence.wordpress.com/?s=reconciliation
http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Sin/Sin_010.htm
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Great information. Lucky me I came across your website by accident
(stumbleupon). I’ve book marked it for later!