Can Protestants Be Forgiven of Sins?

[@ednewcomer]

In order to feel good, you have to be good. When you're not good, repent, confess, and amend your life. God's forgiveness and grace is their for the asking..

[@vinb2707]

I remember the first time I read and “realized” what our Lord was saying that he gave the apostles the authority to forgive or to retain sins. Now I had read that scripture many times before, but it was always one of those verses that we just ignored and pretended as if it wasn’t there. You first have to acknowledge the authority that Christ gave to the apostles and then you can clearly see what Jesus was establishing. He established a church and put some in positions of authority. It’s the same as understanding the keys that Jesus gave to Peter. When you come to the realization of what the keys to the kingdom would have meant to individuals back in the time of the apostles, you would than naturally equate them to keys of authority being given to one who was to act with the authority of the of the master of that kingdom. See the authority that Joseph was given by pharaoh.

[@atrifle8364]

​@getrit3007- Did Jesus have the authority to forgive sins? Also the Gospel can not forgive sins - that belongs to God.

[@catholicskeptic]

@getrit3007 Every reader notice how getrit here, writes all this, yet utterly ignores the words of Jesus, in John 20:21-23, where He says clearly He gave the Apostles, who were I believe, ah, men!!! He gave them the authority to forgive or retain sins!!! Yes this commenter ignores this and the other passages of scripture presented in the video. Of course he likely never even watched the video. Catholics on here, pray for this poor, lost soul.

[@vinb2707]

@@catholicskepticyou’re 100% correct. He fails to address what it clearly says and of course ignores the early church. He does this because he has come to believe tradition that is to new to be traced back to the early church and thus, has to either ignore what is clearly said or interpret it through the lens of those who failed, or even refused, to accept the clear teachings of the Church that Christ founded. We by nature often don’t like to accept authoritative positions.

[@catholicskeptic]

@@vinb2707 Amen, great points.

[@ralf547]

God created everything. He created us. He condescends to communicate and interact with us in this material realm. Even taking on a human nature. He uses means, such as a flood, a donkey, blood, a stone, water, wine, bread, animals, people, etc. God alone forgives sin. He used Moses to rescue His people, but without God Moses wouldn't have even tried, and if he had he would have failed. Jesus used the disciples and they performed miracles and cast out demons and preached the gospel. Without God they couldn't have done any of it. God gives ordained men authority to forgive sins. Without God's word and power they can't do it. Without Jesus' vicarious substitutionary atoning life, death, and resurrection, there is no absolution. A priest/pastor can pronounce absolution but it's nothing if the sinner isn't repentant. But with repentance, by God's power that pastor has authority and sins are forgiven. God's word says so.We are human beings, material and relational. God uses means we can experience and relate to in forgiving us, creating faith, strengthening our faith. By including water, bread, written and spoken words, and people to administer His grace, it's real to us physical beings. Some sad folks commenting here enjoy thinking they are essentially modern day apostles/prophet. They alone understand scripture while misinterpreting some of it. They condemn the Catholic Church for claiming authority to interpret while making the same claim themselves. If you enjoy contesting with them and can remain respectful and at peace, and without judging their salvation, then converse with them. Otherwise, just ignore them. They aren't going away. They need to feel superior. "Super apostles" you might say.

[@michaelyocum616]

Another great video!

[@catholicskeptic]

@michaelyocum616 Thanks, all the Glory to God. God bless. Pray for me.

[@michaelyocum616]

@@catholicskeptic will pray for you and please pray for me too. We all need prayers.

[@catholicskeptic]

@@michaelyocum616 Amen , that's for sure. 🙏

[@ralf547]

Happy Christmas Hugh. May you and your family have a great joyful celebration, and Christmas Season.

[@ralf547]

This video is entitled "Can Protestants Be Forgiven of Sins?" I just listened to this video again. Did you answer the question? Can a Protestant be forgiven? When the answer is "yes", but only if what? When the answer is "no", why not?

[@catholicskeptic]

@ralf547 Oh I was quite clear , you just reject the answer and are attempting to make sound too complicated. There are mortal and venial sins, mortal sins can be forgiven through the sacrament of confession, for sure. It is possible to have them forgiven through "perfect contrition " of heart; where one is deeply sorry because of your love for God. Have I ever had "perfect " contrition?I doubt it. Christ established the sacrament of confession ( John 20:21-23) as a means of bringing forgiveness to us and a restoration of grace . So it is scary to me that although Protestants have a valid baptism, you lack the this sacrament. But I understand you disagree, and that's fine. But I hold to the Catholic view. My point in the video, is simply that "salvation for those Christians not in full communion with the Catholic Church, is possible, but not easy. Since coming home to the Church I have great peace that I am in a safe harbor. I believe you, as a Lutheran, are in a better place than say, a Baptist, but my prayer for you is always that you will return to the Catholic Church.

[@catholicskeptic]

oh thanks Ralf, you gave me an idea for a another video on the topic.

[@ralf547]

​@@catholicskeptic I am happy to be inspiration for a video. Rhetorically asking, who makes it complicated/difficult for Protestants to receive forgiveness? Who has pronounced me unforgiveable unless I return to the Catholic Church? B4 you conclude that I feel injured by this, I am certain of my forgiveness based in the Gospel and repentence. Peter, who Jesus gave the keys to, told all those at Pentacost that if they repent and are baptized they have forgiveness. Nothing more needed. The Catholic Church accepts as valid every properly performed baptism, with or without a Catholic priest. So is it impossible for someone to accept/believe the Gospel and repent of sinning outside of Catholicism? Of course it is. In Ephesians and 1 Corinthians membership in Christ's body(His Church) has only 2 requirements, faith and repentence. No required acceptance of Marian dogmas or Papal infallibility or membership in a particukar visible Church. I believe the Catholic Church, which defends God's Word, adds to it with unbiblical rules and requirements. Jesus alone is savior and how He does that is given us before He ascended into heaven. To have to depend on all the Catholic church created after the Apostles completed their inspired missions on Earth, is doing violence to God's Word and creating another gospel. You remain in my prayers.

[@lolabaser]

Dear Mr. Quinn, would you please make a video addressing the recent announcement by the Pope and his formally permitting Roman Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples which is a significant shift in the church’s approach to LGBTQ+ people. In my opinion, the latest ruling fleshes out the opening the pope made to blessing same-sex couples last October and marks a shift away from a 2021 ruling from the Vatican doctrine office which barred any blessings against the LGTBQ+ people, saying God “cannot bless sin.” Why is this now allowed when clearly the Bible opposes such a lifestyle? If God "cannot bless sin" clearly, he is allowing it now through the Pope. Can God be contradicted? As a Catholic this has put a bad taste in my mouth and I would like more clarity on the subject, if you could shine more light on this subject. Respectfully, Lola

[@paulsmallwood1484]

Protestant response. The elephant in the room regarding auricular confession in the Roman system. The big issue - the heart of what some have called the “confession crisis” - is the evidence that a growing number of self-identified Catholics no longer believe that confession has anything to do with their life of faith and, to be specific, their ability to receive Holy Communion. Upwards of 40% of all Roman Catholics never go to confession. Another 40% go once a year (maybe). The remainder may go more frequently. So how is that authority thing working out for you? The other issue that is sounding off alarm bells is that an alarmingly high percent of Roman Catholics think the Eucharist is just a symbol. This too is being called a crisis. Again, how is that much vaunted authority working out for you?

[@atrifle8364]

I go once a year. There's nothing wrong with that frequency. That's bare minimum Catholicism. There's solid reasoning to approach it that way and it's fine. The saintly hopefully don't need frequent Confession. Really surprised that we have a majority of regular Mass goers within bounds of the requirements for practicing Catholics in the US. Glad to hear it. The issue is not confidence in Confession. The issue is the many liberals standing in parishes who believe only tiny fractions of the teaching, right down to not believing in sin. Little to be done there. If you converted, one giant general confession would make you feel like a million bucks. Then it's just annual or monthly/bi-monthly maintenance from there. It's really not that bad. Most people understand it to genuinely help them.

[@atrifle8364]

PS - Jesus is the authority who established the Real Presence. He allowed people to walk away (particularly in John 6) and generally not listen. People's obedience is not how authority is measured.

[@paulsmallwood1484]

@@atrifle8364 My information is from a Roman Catholic source who says that there is a crisis of confidence so your argument is with that person. I noticed you skipped right over the huge percent of Roman Catholics who don’t go at all. Apparently you think everything is fine with them as well. Protestants are constantly told they have no authority while Roman Catholics do. Well so what? You have a huge number of people ignoring that authority.

[@paulsmallwood1484]

@@atrifle8364 That is right. Holy Scriptures are my ultimate authority (although certainly not the only authority) so the fact that people ignore that authority to follow their own little pet project, does not negate that authority. This only proves that your system suffers from the same problems as Protestantism. Turns out it is actually a human problem not the problem caused by a particular Christian tradition. BTW, I believe in the real presence.

[@atrifle8364]

​@@paulsmallwood1484 You may believe in the Real Presence, but it's not worth the embarrassment of becoming a Catholic to absolutely know it's Jesus. 🤷‍♀️

[@ralf547]

All those OT prophets, OT sacrificial rituals, and ceremonial laws were fulfilled in Christ. (Matt 5:17, Luke 24:27) In Hebrews 1, we are told that Jesus is now how God speaks to us. They are still incredibly valuable and instructive, but as Jesus said, they are all about Him. I am pleased when you make the point that we must believe God's entire Word, and not use one part of the Word to abrogate another part. I agree we are all priests, the priesthood of all believers. Yes, the apostles were given authority to bind sins and to forgive sins. I'm sure you agree that the apostles' authority was not to forgive based on their own human judgement. An absurd example would be a priest refusing to grant absolution to someone because he disliked that person, instead of based on the Word of God's direction that forgiveness is for anyone who is contrite and sincerely intends to refrain from repeating that sin. When He "threw us His book" as you say, those words are Spirit used and inspired. I agree with you that it isn't for personal interpretation because God's Word has one correct interpretation. The Church claims to be the one true interpreter. I know I'm beating a dead horse here, but I can't find the one correct interpretation within the teachings and writings of the Catholic Church. If I have questions about the meaning of a specific verse or segment or chapter in scripture, (and there are plenty of "difficult passages") where do I go to read and who do I ask to get those questions answered? When those apostles in the upper room were breathed on by the risen Christ and received the Spirit, and then in Acts 2 at Pentecost when the Spirit came to them for a particular purpose and mission, it was the Spirit and not the men/apostles who were the actors. The men, just as when they were carried along by the Spirit in writing the text of God's Word, (and for you this must also be how Sacred Tradition gets it's authority), were being blessed to be used by God for that purpose. I agree that we aren't free to create our own church. We are free to organize ourselves as an outward/visible church (small "c"). Every Catholic Parish is an example. The authority given the Church only goes so far as it's faithful to God. The Orthodox Church is damned as an organization based on the Catholic Church's requirement of unity with the supreme Pontiff. Refusal to be under the authority of the Pope, and I suppose also the Magisterium, must be a mortal sin. If I am correct in that supposition, then I wonder if the Rad Trad Catholics are committing a mortal sin and losing their salvation by claiming the Pope is a heretic, or never was Pope, or has ceased to be Pope, or when they refuse to obey this Pope? I can already hear your response, that there have always been bad Popes, and good Popes. Distinguishing one from the other is based on God's truth which is the ultimate authority. So if a Protestant Church is more faithful to the truth in God's Word than say a Catholic parish that is conducting LGBTQ+ celebrating Masses, doesn't the Protestant Church have more authority? It's not the organization/institution of sinful people who are the Church, it's the people saved and being led and disciplined by the Spirit of God through His Word. I bring this up again because it's a man made law that requires obedience to a sinful man. Obedience is only required as long as that man is correctly teaching and preaching God's truths. The office of the Papacy, and that of any ordained servant of God is based not on the office itself. Unknowingly ordaining a heretic does not negate the grace given in a baptism performed by that heretic (or does it in Catholicism?) if the baptism is performed according to and with God's Word. God does the baptizing, the Spirit uses His Word. The priest doesn't have the power to bestow the Spirit and forgive the sins in and of himself. The priest is given that authority to administer the sacrament. There are verses that tell us we can go straight to God with our confessions. In the Lord's prayer we are directed to ask for forgiveness. Also, Psalms 25:7, Isaiah 43:25, Acts 10:43, Hebrews 10:17, John 8:24, 1 Tim 1:16. There are all the verses that proclaim salvation because of faith, and they have implicitly the forgiveness of sins as needed for salvation. I do not join the Protestants who deny Jesus' giving authority to men to forgive sins. I don't want to exclude those scriptures that teach that a priest is not absolutely necessary. My Lutheran pastor has the same authority, and does personal absolution as well as corporate absolution during a Sunday service. Each day I confess my sin to the best of my memory, and confess I recognize I sin without realizing it and am contrite over that, and ask for God's forgiveness on account of Jesus having obtained that forgiveness for me. Does the Catholic Church deem of no benefit being contrite and confessing directly to God in prayer? A concern I have had since my leaving the Church is the treasury of merits tied in with indulgences. That made the Church God in place of God. I didn't find it in God's Word, and saw it as self serving, empowering the Church by controlling forgiveness and merit needed for heaven. And I don't recall you ever answering your own question definitively. Can a Protestant be forgiven of sin? If a Catholic priest is required, then perhaps not? If a priest isn't required, is unity with the Catholic Church required? If neither, is the Catholic Church required at all, or is it a denomination? I like your statements regarding the "ifs" in the Bible. I don't know that you could in a short video present why only a Catholic Priest has the authority handed down to him. I don't know why the Orthodox Church wouldn't have the same apostolic succession as is solely claimed by the Catholic Church. I don't know why my pastor wouldn't be in the line of succession of those ordained, since the very earliest Lutheran pastors were Catholic priests and bishops. Luther's excommunication not being valid but rather vindictive. (like Bishop Strickland and Cardinal Burke, etc) God's Word and Tradition is the real authority. I am seeing that truth played out today in the chaos in Catholicism. Catholics who are paying attention and concerned are taking sides based on whether this Pope, by virtue of his office in the Church, is to be followed in all that he promulgates, or if he is resisted and called to repentance based on God's Word and the already established Traditions of the Church. Holding the office of Pope does not grant him the authority. The institution is only as useful as what it is faithful to and based on. The Catholic Church like every other Christian Church is fallible and has errors and it's authority is only valid as far as it is faithful to God's truth. What is God's truth and what is man's incorrect understanding of God's truth is what we should all be seeking to know, trust, and obey. If you find this to be a slander or attack on the Catholic Church, so be it. But if criticism or disagreement is slanderous and attacking, then pointing out the errors and illegitimacy of other denominations is as well.

[@catholicskeptic]

@ralf547 I am seeing this late at night, and I have to get up for work very early, so i will try and get back to you, with a better reply, and read your comment ( which is in depth) more deeply. But for now, one little thing you said stands out, you couldn't find correct interpretation by the Church, well that means you are going by your own interpretation, trusting it, and therefore you could not possibly ever accept the Church's interpretation? I end it with a question mark, as I write it not as a critique, but as a question. Anyway I will try to reply tomorrow when I am more alert.

[@ralf547]

@@catholicskeptic First of all. Though it often doesn't sound like it, I believe we have a great deal in common theologically. But I find the differences often quite troubling. Second. I wasn't talking about not finding interpretations satisfying, I was talking about not finding a Church validated interpretation. OR a resource where someone could go for definitive answers. I try to find answers in the Catechism, but it's daunting. If you know of a searchable on-line catechism I'd love to use it. But when I search on line for Catholic interpretations of sections of the bible I get results, but they are Catholic individuals or organizations and not The Church responding with an infallible once and for all correct interpretation. I would think that as the infallible interpreter, the Church would have compiled an infallible commentary. I look forward to your response, but don't feel pressured, take your time.

[@atrifle8364]

@@ralf547 - KZbin won't let me post links. A searchable engine is Catholic (put the correct punctuation here) com. It's a start, although it's private. The catechism has does have a Scripture cross reference/index, at least the online PDF at the USCCB does. I just double checked it. Not every printed version has it, but it does exist. That may help you in going from Scripture -> catechism discussion. Further not all Scripture has absolute interpretations. As long as a private interpretation is in continuity with the teaching it's not a problem. There is some room in other words, depending on the passage. Nobody can take the end of John 6 (Bread of Life discourse) as anything else but the Real Presence. A Catholic may believe in Young Earth Creationism or evolution, as long as the later does not replace God the Creator, the belief in one origin of mankind, and the fall. The Church won't really nail down infallible teachings as an easy, bright line list. I suspect in part it's because we already have too much of problem with cafeteria Catholics. There are levels of assent, but we all live in a certain time and in that all of the teaching requires at least minimal sort of assent. As a for instance, I don't really agree that we live an era that life imprisonment replaces the death penalty. The Church says that we do. Since me fighting over that point is little silly (it might take well beyond my lifetime to reinstitute it in the West), I'll assent to it. There might be something about this era I'm not seeing. In any event, that's one of those teachings that can be updated, because it's grounded is in current social conditions.

[@ralf547]

@getrit3007 How merciful, loving, patient, forgiving is God? If you are saved, is your theology perfect? Is perfect theology required? Can one totally trust in Christ as savior with a correct understanding of God's nature, but participate in unbiblical stuff as long as it doesn't violate the Gospel?

[@ralf547]

@getrit3007 thanks for judging me. I am saved by God's gracious gift of faith in Christ alone to have born my sins and suffered the just punishment I deserve, and has given to me His righteousness earned by His perfectly lived life. I am not Catholic. But is a Catholic, active in their Church, sadly praying to saints and going thru the motions of the Catholic Church but believing as I do about her/his salvation, saved or damned?

[@paulsmallwood1484]

Protestant response. I noticed you like to pick the low hanging fruit of contemporary American Evangelicalism in your critiques (which often times I agree with). However, you seldom engage classical, historic Protestantism (Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed). If you did, you’d know that both Anglicans and Lutherans have confessionals and practice auricular confession. You’d also know that classical Protestantism have a robust theology regarding the Office of the Keys. It is addressed in all their theological formularies. What you do is try to convince people that there is no difference between contemporary Evangelicalism and classical Protestantism. Of course that is completely false. BTW, Lutherans and some Anglicans believe that Christ is physically present in the Eucharist. I noticed you didn’t mention that. The Roman Catholic Church’s official,position on Eastern Orthodoxy is that they are schismatics and that they have broken away from Christ’s church. The two are not in Communion with each other. So there is more going on here than mere “jurisdictional disputes”.

[@atrifle8364]

Lutherans do not believe in the same version of the Real Presence. It's not fully there and it expires or something. Official Anglican teaching is all over the place on it. They officially broke their Apostolic succession, so like evangelicals it's entirely up to the Holy Spirit to descend on bread/wine. The only guarantees are with the Orthodox and Catholics, thanks to Apostolic succession. Reform I believe are universal as symbol. Catholics and Orthodox I believe also are the only ones who claim the authority to absolve the sins in Confession.

[@TheEdzy25]

Anglicans, lutherans etc...do not have valid Holy orders (priesthood). So confession, eucharist, confirmation etc is not valid.

[@paulsmallwood1484]

@@TheEdzy25 Wrong my friend. You have absolutely no basis for this. Christ through the people of God, namely His Church, has declared these Holy Orders to be valid, therefore they are valid. You have no authority in this matter. Christ has done this. Therefore their Eucharist, confession and confirmation are valid. You can’t undue what Christ and His Church have done.

[@atrifle8364]

@@paulsmallwood1484 - The Anglicans undid their apostolic succession on purpose. I believe the Lutherans never had it because no bishop was involved. The Biblical way of passing authority from one generation to the next is the laying on of hands. It's there established in the OT. It's the only way authority is established beyond a prophet with some spare olive oil. Unless you are declaring yourself a prophet, you have no way of knowing beyond the laying on of hands if someone has authority from Christ. Only the Orthodox and Catholics have apostolic succession 2000 years later. Most of Protestantism does not even believe it's necessary.

[@paulsmallwood1484]

@@atrifle8364 No my friend, the Apostles and the early church knew nothing of your version of apostolic succession. Neither a Roman or an Eastern Bishop is required for valid orders. That is purely an historical development. Again, you are trying to undue what Christ through His Church has done. You have no authority to do that. These Holy Orders are valid and not because I say so but because Christ’s Church says so.

[@michaelbledsoe4355]

Matthew Chap 16 is misunderstood by catholics. The church fathers believed Jesus was the rock 44, Peter was the rock 16, all the apostles 17, and Peter's faith 7. Humans don't forgive sins! The apostles weren't infallible in all respects. This is a Bible vs tradition argument!

[@catholicskeptic]

@@michaelbledsoe4355 Not the topic. As for humans forgiving sins, ah John 20:21-23 Jesus gave the Apostles the authority to remit or retain sins, He said so. The other scriptures I gave corroborate that fact. And Yes there is no rule of one metaphor. Christ is called the Rock in 2 Corinthians 10:4, Abraham and Sarah are the rock in Isaiah 51, Peter is clearly called the Rock in Matthew 16. Of course the Apostles weren't infallible in all respects. But neither do we believe the Pope infallible "in all respects ". But again, not the topic of the video. But either way, thanks for the comment, as every comment helps grow the channel and spread the Truth of the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

[@michaelbledsoe4355]

@catholicskeptic We believe that is a misinterpreted scripture. Just means the apostles led them to Jesus thru the forgiveness thru the cross.Yea so totally disagree.

[@catholicskeptic]

@@michaelbledsoe4355 We believe Jesus said what He meant, and meant what He said, He said: "receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain , they are retained." ( John 20:21-23)

[@michaelbledsoe4355]

@catholicskeptic We believe the Catholic church is apostate and ceased to be Christian at the 2nd council of Nicea where idolatry and paganism became a main feature in you're religion!

[@iceman6547]

Heretical. Only Christ can forgive sins.

[@PInk77W1]

Jesus said Who’s sins YOU FORGIVE they are forgiven.” Jn 20:23

[@PInk77W1]

@getrit3007 Jesus said “As OFTEN as you do this.” Catholics do it every day except Good Friday

[@iceman6547]

@@PInk77W1 When you sin, you sin against the law which Good created. You cannot sin against man unless you sin against God, for without God, YOU have no basis for moral right or wrong for there is no judge or moral law. How can one sinful man, absolve the sin of another. You my friend are dealing with heretical concepts, and I suggest you pray and ask forgiveness from God/Jesus, and not from Mary or your local priest.

[@PInk77W1]

@getrit3007 Who picked Judas ?

[@PInk77W1]

@getrit3007 who picked Judas ?