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This has to be one of the easiest
"doctrines of devils" to expose. Scripture makes it so
easy! Notice the following...
Matthew 18:15-20 Moreover if thy brother shall
trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee
and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother. But if he will not hear [thee, then] take with thee one
or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every
word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear
them, tell [it] unto the church: but if he neglect to
hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a
publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind
on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you,
That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing
that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which
is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my
name, there am I in the midst of them.
The conditions are...
- #1
"...if thy brother shall
trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between
thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother."
- #2
"...take with thee one or two more, that in the
mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be
established"
- #3
"...And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell [it]
unto the church: "
Three conditions that are NOT met by
simply stepping into a "confessional". The Bible is
plain here. When a person is in sin you kindly bring it to their
attention. If they agree and repent, they have been
"loosed" from their sin. If they ignore you the next
step is to let them know that more than ONE person has noticed
their sin and that they are concerened for them. Still, if they
ignore you, bring it to their church family. If after seeing that
their entire church family is in agreement that they are in sin.
Then it is obvious that they have decided not to be part of the
church family and are deciding to live in sin. Then and only then
are we authorized by God to "bind" them in the sin they
have chosen.
So often the verse # 18 is the only verse used to acknowledge the
authority of the Priest in confession. However, when you read the
ENTIRE series of verses above, and below this verse, the TRUTH is
made clear. I pray wholeheartedly that ALL Catholics get used to
going to their Bibles before and after they ask a Priest for
advice. This is what will open their eyes.
For those that need
additional facts and ways to explain this truth. See this excerpt...
"The keys of the kingdom of heaven"
are the words of Christ. All the words of Holy Scripture are His, and are here
included. These words have power to open and to shut
heaven. They declare the conditions
upon which men are received or rejected. Thus the work of those who
preach God's word is a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. Theirs is
a mission weighted with eternal results.
The
Saviour did not commit the work of the gospel to Peter individually. At a later
time, repeating the words that were spoken to Peter, He applied them directly to
the church. And the same in
substance was spoken also to the twelve as representatives of the body of
believers. If Jesus had delegated any special authority to one of the disciples
above the others, we should not find them so often contending as to who should
be the greatest. They would have submitted to the wish of their Master, and
honored the one whom He had chosen.
Instead of appointing
one to be their head, Christ said to the disciples, "Be not ye called Rabbi;"
"neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ." Matt. 23:8,
10.
"The head of every man is Christ." God, who put all
things under the Saviour's feet, "gave Him to be the head over all things to the
church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all." 1 Cor.
11:3; Eph. 1:22, 23. The church is built upon Christ as its foundation; it is to
obey Christ as its head. It is not to depend upon man, or be controlled by man.
Many claim that a position of trust in the church gives them authority to
dictate what other men shall believe and what they shall do. This claim God does
not sanction. The Saviour declares, "All ye are brethren." All are exposed to
temptation, and are liable to error. Upon no finite being can we depend for
guidance. The Rock of faith is the living presence of Christ in the church. Upon
this the weakest may depend, and those who think themselves the strongest will
prove to be the weakest, unless they make Christ their efficiency. "Cursed be
the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm." The Lord "is the Rock,
His work is perfect." "Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him." Jer.
17:5; Deut. 32:4; Ps. 2:12. -Desire of Ages pp 413 & 414
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If peter was "the greatest" as Rome assumes
regarding Matthew 16:18,19.. Why was this penned...
- Matthew 18:1, "At the same time
came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven?"
If Jesus chose Peter as "the
greatest" back in Matthew 18, why are the apostles still askign
who is the greatest two chapters into the future in Matthew 18?
Jesus never gave the apostles power to
remove any sin. There is a method by which we can "know" the sinner is
unrepentant, and therefore "bound" by that fact. That is in Matthew 18:15-20
as I shared at the beginning of this page.
The "keys of the Kingdom" are the Scriptures. In that holy book are
all that's needed to bind and loose! Truth is truth!
What does the Roman Catholic church teach of confession in the area of preparation for it? See this..
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH DESIGNED FOR FOR THEIR CHILDREN HEADED FOR CONFESSION
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