[Springfield Reformer]

So are you implying there’s no need of confession of sins for any christian?

I'm not sure how you can have read my previous posts and come to that conclusion. Christians confess their sins to God and to the person or persons offended. We begin our walk of faith in Christ by confessing our sinfulness and our need for forgiveness in Him. We continue to confess our sins to each other, as Paul teaches, to build up the body of Christ in love. Though judgment is removed in Christ, we still are flawed beings, and confession is essential to overcoming our faults and becoming better people ever more in love with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

So I hope that clears that up.

Christ did not breath on everyone to forgive sins, did He?

Interesting conflation you've got going there. Jesus did NOT specifically 'breath the power to forgive.' Go back and read John 20. He breathed the Holy Spirit on them. During Jesus' earthly ministry, the Holy Spirit was not disbursed to all believers in the same way. But after Jesus left, every believer recieves the Holy Spirit, and Paul even says if you don't get the Holy Spirit, you don't belong to Christ. So while this special infusion of the Holy Spirit may have been limited to the apostles at the beginning, it's now the norm for everyone who belongs to the body of Christ.

This has huge consequences. By having the Holy Spirit, we believers really are empowered to tell people their sins are forgiven in Christ if they repent and believe. And I don't mean this is some general arm-waving way. I mean real, specific sins. I knew a woman who was troubled about the abortion she was forced into by her father. She was confident God would not forgive her. I was able to tell her confidently in the authority of Christ's name that if she was repentent (and she was), God absolutely would forgive her, because the pealty had already been paid in the death of Christ on the cross.

Your bigger problem is your missing priesthood. God shut it down. There is now just one mediator between man and God, the man Jesus Christ. Now anybody can go to God in the name of Christ with absolute confidence the Father will recieve him. This is not placing confidence in ourselves, but taking God as an honest dealer, who will do as He has promised. And that's exactly what faith is.

Peace,

SR

[ebb tide]

Jesus did NOT specifically 'breath the power to forgive.' Go back and read John 20. He breathed the Holy Spirit on them. During Jesus' earthly ministry, the Holy Spirit was not disbursed to all believers in the same way. But after Jesus left, every believer recieves the Holy Spirit, and Paul even says if you don't get the Holy Spirit, you don't belong to Christ. So while this special infusion of the Holy Spirit may have been limited to the apostles at the beginning, it's now the norm for everyone who belongs to the body of Christ.

Pure nonsense. You seem keen on diminishing the priesthood.

[1] And when the days of the Pentecost were accomplished, they were all together in one place: [2] And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. [3] And there appeared to them parted tongues as it were of fire, and it sat upon every one of them: [4] And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they began to speak with divers tongues, according as the Holy Ghost gave them to speak. [5] Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

[6] And when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded in mind, because that every man heard them speak in his own tongue. [7] And they were all amazed, and wondered, saying: Behold, are not all these, that speak, Galileans? [8] And how have we heard, every man our own tongue wherein we were born? [9] Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, [10] Phrygia, and Pamphylia, Egypt, and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome,

[11] Jews also, and proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians: we have heard them speak in our own tongues the wonderful works of God. [12] And they were all astonished, and wondered, saying one to another: What meaneth this? [13] But others mocking, said: These men are full of new wine. [14] But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: Ye men of Judea, and all you that dwell in Jerusalem, be this known to you, and with your ears receive my words. [15] For these are not drunk, as you suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day: Acts 2

Once again, God gave specific gifts to His apostles and no one else.

Pax