The Sacrament of Priesthood
The Sacrament of Priesthood
How Is Forgiveness Accomplished Through the Blood of Christ According to the Teaching of Scripture?
The priest as a steward: he takes from the merits of the Blood of Christ and grants forgiveness to the repentant.
In the previous section, we spoke about the Sacrament of Confession and how it has been practiced since the Law of Moses, throughout the Old Testament, and in the New Testament as well. We explained that the apostles and the clergy practiced it as stewards of God, having received the Holy Spirit who forgives sins by taking from the redemption accomplished by Christ. We now continue our discussion and ask:
66. How Does the Priest Forgive Sin, When Forgiveness Is God’s Right and the Work of the Blood?
No one forgives sins except God alone:
“And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, ‘Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’” (Luke 5:21)
This is true. God granted forgiveness on the Cross, for:
“Without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22)
However, the merits of the Blood are received only by believing, repentant, baptized persons—those baptized of water and the Spirit.
Truly, the Blood of Christ is sufficient for the forgiveness of the sins of the whole world, yet not the whole world has received forgiveness, despite the existence of the atonement of the Blood.
Faith is required first, for the Father:
“Gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)
The Lord Jesus Christ added with His own mouth the condition of baptism, saying:
“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16)
And Saint Peter the Apostle said to the Jews who believed:
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38)
Thus, we have three conditions before us: faith, repentance, and baptism.
67. The Baptized Believer Stands Before the Priesthood to Confirm His Repentance
He stands before the priesthood, to whom the Lord said:
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained”
(John 20:22–23)
This is to confirm repentance, for the Lord said:
“Unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3)
Repentance is manifested through confession.
The priest is a faithful steward of the treasures of forgiveness offered by the Blood of Christ. If he finds the sinner repentant, he grants forgiveness according to the word of the Lord. Confession of sin is one of the conditions of repentance, for Scripture says:
“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13)
68. John the Baptist and Confession
John the Baptist, the priest, who led people to repentance, baptized them with the baptism of repentance. As proof of their repentance, they came to him at the Jordan:
“Confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:6)
This is further evidence of the inseparable connection between repentance and confession before the priest.
69. The Priest Transfers the Sins of the Repentant to the Account of the Blood of Christ
For the repentant, the priest transfers their sins to the account of the Blood of Christ—he places them on the Cross, where the Lord bears them.
This is all that the priest does. The absolution he pronounces is nothing more than a declaration that the sin has been transferred to the account of the Blood of Christ. As the Apostle says:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)
70. Nathan the Prophet and the Transfer of Sin
In this context, the words spoken by Nathan the prophet to David the prophet after his confession are striking. Nathan, who conveyed God’s judgment, said:
“The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (2 Samuel 12:13)
This is a process of transfer to the account of the Blood, carried out by a steward of God:
“For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God…” (Titus 1:7)
Once repentance is confirmed and the sin is transferred, the Blood covers it so that it no longer appears. This covering is called atonement:
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (Psalm 32:1–2)
When the Blood covers the sin, it also erases it, and the Lord no longer remembers it.
71. Forgiveness Declared Through the Mouth of a Servant
Some object, asking: How can forgiveness be proclaimed from the mouth of a created being?
We respond with a remarkable biblical example. The Lord appeared to Isaiah, surrounded by seraphim praising His divine throne. Isaiah cried out:
“Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips.”
One of the seraphim flew to the altar, took a live coal from it, touched Isaiah’s mouth, and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged” (Isaiah 6:1–7)
72. Saint Paul Exercised the Authority of Binding and Loosing
Saint Paul exercised the authority of binding in the case of the Corinthian sinner:
“Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Corinthians 5:5)
He also exercised the authority of loosing in his second epistle: (2 Corinthians 2:6–8)
73. The Prayer of Absolution Spoken by the Priest
Consider the prayer of absolution that the priest recites. It is a prayer—a petition to God for forgiveness:
“You, O Lord, as a good One and Lover of mankind, grant them the forgiveness of their sins… absolve them, bless them, purify them, sanctify them…”
He possesses authority, yet he exercises it in the form of prayer.
