Pope Francis raised a few eyebrows this week when he said general absolution of sin — or confessing directly to God as opposed to through a priest — applies during the worldwide COVID-19 panic.
A Vatican tribunal that deals with matters of conscience, including confession, issued a notice March 20, the Christian Post reported.
Although absolution of sin is the usual means through which sins are forgiven by a priest, the statement explained, in times of “grave necessity,” such as now with the ongoing spread of the virus, other solutions are needed.
The key fault with this idea is that priests or pastors don’t have the authority to forgive sin. Only God can, and that makes perfect sense because sin is an offense against God and his rules. Therefore, only God can forgive someone for breaking those rules.
A man can confess to a friend that he committed a sin against his wife, but the friend can’t forgive him because the friend was not wronged. Only God and the man’s wife can offer forgiveness: The wife for the harm done to her, and God for violating his law.
God alone has the authority to forgive
In Luke 5:21, the Pharisees asked Jesus, “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” They asked that after Jesus told another man that his sins were forgiven.
Jesus, being fully God and fully man, demonstrated he had the authority to forgive sins.
Hebrews 8:12, which also references Jeremiah 31:34, quotes God telling the prophet, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
It is impossible for a man to forgive a sin committed by another man.
Confess directly to God
According to the Christian Post story, in Roman Catholicism, believers are required to confess their sins to a priest in order to be absolved from sin, but official teaching allows for exceptions in specific circumstances.
Yet, in a Mass celebrated March 20, Pope Francis said people who cannot manage to go to confession as a result of being locked down because of coronavirus or another serious issue, can confess directly to God.
To be honest, confessing sins directly to God has been the way Christians have done it since Jesus paid the penalty for our sins through his death on the cross.
1 John 1:9 explains, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
We confess and God forgives them. There is no middleman required, nor does the Bible mention any exemption.
What Pope Francis is offering is religion — a defined set of rules and expectations.
What Jesus offers us is a close, intimate relationship.
When we sin, our guilt often causes us to avoid contact with God or Jesus. We run away just like Adam did when he hid in the Garden of Eden after taking a bite from the apple Eve accepted from the serpent.
But, by confessing our sins to God and agreeing with him that we were wrong, God lifts that guilt and restores the relationship we once enjoyed.
Clearing up confusion
I think the confusion comes from the fact that God is holy. So holy that man can’t even look at God and live (Exodus 33:20).
Therefore, we need an intermediary to come between us and God. Jesus plays that role.
In John 14:6, Jesus himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Because many Catholics know that Jesus is fully God and fully man, they don’t believe they are worthy to come before Jesus either. So, they seek an intermediary.
That’s why they turn to Mary, Jesus’ mother, to act as an intermediary between themselves and God. They do the same thing with scores of other saints in asking them to take their prayers to God. When it comes to confession, they turn to a priest to serve as intermediary.
That’s completely unnecessary. Hebrews 4:14-16 says,
“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
When you sin, pause and confess your sin to God. He will forgive your sin and cleanse you of all unrighteousness because Jesus paid the penalty for your mistake. Then, with your relationships restored, you can again boldly approach God.
The only middleman you need is Jesus himself.
