Who are you to take away God's Freedom to designate men to provide visible manifestations of God's graces among us? Can you show one verse that PREVENTS God from dealing with men in such a way? I suggest you read the Matthew version of this story - the JEWS THEMSELVES recognized with awe that God had given men the power to forgive sins! Did God or did He NOT give men the power to forgive sins in John 20? Only twisting the Scripture out of recognition will bring you to falsely think that God is "not allowed" to deal with men in such a manner.
And secondly, of course, God STILL DOES forgive sins...The priest is "in the person of Christ". The priest visibly represents the voice of Christ. Catholics KNOW they have been forgiven of sin. Protestants always wonder "did my sinner's prayer take? If I start to fall away, I might never had been saved (healed) to begin with!"
Regards
I am merely a humble defender of God's Holy word, and the sovereignty of God. :) I'm not saying that God couldn't do anything He wanted to, I'm saying He wouldn't do this because of the resulting carnage to His word that is necessarily thereby required.
Can you show one verse that PREVENTS God from dealing with men in such a way?
Perhaps not specifically, but you are the champion of things being true that are not in the Bible. I'm just saying that it is not consistent with scripture, as I have shown. Therefore, I don't believe it.
Catholics KNOW they have been forgiven of sin.
But how fleeting is this knowledge. It's not like knowing that 2 + 2 = 4, it is like knowing that it is sunny today, but who knows about tomorrow? My knowledge is like the former.
Protestants always wonder "did my sinner's prayer take?
HA! I don't think so. Ever since I learned about what God has to say about it, I've never had any worries.