[metmom]

If God promises to forgive our sins if we confess them, then why did Jesus allegedly give the power to retain sins to a man?

[terycarl]

If God promises to forgive our sins if we confess them, then why did Jesus allegedly give the power to retain sins to a man?

If the priest thinks that the person is not sincere in his confession, just doing it because he feels that he will be automatically forgiven, the priest might attempt to counsel with the person, but if he detects a lack of sincerity, he is free to refuse remission.

[DungeonMaster]

If God promises to forgive our sins if we confess them, then why did Jesus allegedly give the power to retain sins to a man?

If God gave man the ability to prevent another man from being born again, why is that concept never discussed anywhere else in the bible?