Except for what Jesus told his Apostles in the upper room after the resurrection. He explicitly gave them power to forgive sins. They were the middle men.
That same power to forgive sins is yours as well.
Yep
What sins you forgive they are forgiven. Waht sins you retain they are retained.
“He explicitly gave them power to forgive sins.”
Nope, He gave them authority to write the Holy Scriptures under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit which declares what is sin and what is not. That’s why in Matthew’s account of the keys to the kingdom it is written in past tense signifying that GOD’s law existed before our universe was created.
You can also see in Matthew 9 that Jesus did not correct the statement that only GOD can forgive sins, He let it stand and added that He has the authority thus confirming that only GOD can forgive sins.