{"id":8939,"date":"2026-04-13T23:31:36","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T21:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/answers\/okei-tak-a-tohda-my-tozhe-mozhem-proshchat-hrekhy-liudei-esly-yysus-ne-yspolzova\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T00:40:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T22:40:05","slug":"mozhet-ly-chelovek-proshchat-hrekhy-kak-yysus","status":"publish","type":"answers","link":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/answers\/mozhet-ly-chelovek-proshchat-hrekhy-kak-yysus\/","title":{"rendered":"Can a person forgive sins the way Jesus did?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWho can forgive sins but God alone?\u201d the Pharisees protested (Mark 2:7). And they were theologically correct: only God can forgive sins in the absolute sense.<\/b> But Jesus also said something strange to the disciples: \u201cIf you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.\u201d<\/p>\n

Divine forgiveness is God\u2019s exclusive prerogative<\/h2>\n

\u201cWho can forgive sins but God alone?\u201d Mark 2:7<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When Jesus said to the paralyzed man, \u201cyour sins are forgiven,\u201d He was claiming divine authority. This is not a human competence.<\/b> A person cannot erase the record of sin before God\u2014only the One against whom that sin was first committed can do that.<\/p>\n

What the commission to the disciples meant<\/h2>\n

\u201cIf you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain them, they are retained.\u201d John 20:23<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is not the handing over of \u201cthe keys of absolution\u201d in the sense of sacramental forgiveness (as understood by the Catholic Church). The context of John 20 is missionary: the disciples proclaim the gospel, which brings forgiveness<\/b>. Whoever accepts Christ through their testimony receives forgiveness. Whoever rejects Him remains in their sins.<\/p>\n

Interpersonal forgiveness is a different level<\/p>\n

A person can and should forgive personal offenses<\/b>:<\/p>\n

\u201cForgive one another, as Christ also forgave you.\u201d Col. 3:13<\/a><\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But this forgiveness is interpersonal: you release the person from your grievance and leave the final accounting to God. This is not the same as what Jesus did in erasing sin before God.<\/p>\n

Practical meaning<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Only God forgives sins against Himself\u2014and He does this through Christ (1 John 1:9).<\/li>\n
  • The disciples proclaim forgiveness\u2014they do not produce it.<\/li>\n
  • We forgive one another\u2014and this is a great power, but it is a different dimension of forgiveness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Forgiveness of sins is God\u2019s prerogative. But He shares this forgiveness through the gospel and through those who carry it. We are messengers, not judges.<\/b><\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"faq_question":"\u041c\u043e\u0436\u0435\u0442 \u043b\u0438 \u0447\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0435\u043a \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0449\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0433\u0440\u0435\u0445\u0438, \u043a\u0430\u043a \u0418\u0438\u0441\u0443\u0441?","bible_refs":"\u041c\u0430\u0440\u043a\u0430 2:7, \u041c\u0430\u0440\u043a\u0430 2:10\u201311, \u0418\u043e\u0430\u043d\u043d\u0430 20:23, 1 \u0418\u043e\u0430\u043d\u043d\u0430 1:9, \u0418\u0430\u043a\u043e\u0432\u0430 5:16","answer_lang":"ru","source_question":"\u041e\u043a\u0435\u0439 \u0442\u0430\u043a \u0430 \u0442\u043e\u0433\u0434\u0430 \u043c\u044b \u0442\u043e\u0436\u0435 \u043c\u043e\u0436\u0435\u043c \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0449\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0433\u0440\u0435\u0445\u0438 \u043b\u044e\u0434\u0435\u0439? \u0415\u0441\u043b\u0438 \u0418\u0438\u0441\u0443\u0441 \u043d\u0435 \u0438\u0441\u043f\u043e\u043b\u044c\u0437\u043e\u0432\u0430\u043b \u0441\u0432\u043e\u044e \u0411\u043e\u0436\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0435\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c \u043d\u0430 \u0437\u0435\u043c\u043b\u0435 \u0430 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043e \u0431\u044b\u043b \u0432 \u0442\u0435\u043b\u0435 \u0447\u0435\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0435\u043a\u0430 \u044f \u0442\u043e\u0436\u0435 \u043c\u043e\u0433\u0443 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0449\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0433\u0440\u0435\u0445\u0438 \u043a\u0430\u043a \u0434\u0435\u043b\u0430\u043b \u043e\u043d"},"answer_topic":[147],"class_list":["post-8939","answers","type-answers","status-publish","hentry","answer_topic-salvation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/answers\/8939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/answers"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/answers"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"answer_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advent-ug.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/answer_topic?post=8939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}