The Great Confessional Con - The Watchman's Warning

For centuries, the Roman Catholic system has loved to weaponize John 20:23: “Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.” They use this single verse as a spiritual crowbar to prop up an entirely unbiblical, pagan priesthood.

Here is how the scam works: they single out Peter, glue this verse to Matthew 16:19, and pretend Jesus set up an exclusive club of bachelors to sit in booths and act as the ultimate gatekeepers of Heaven. They teach that you have to go through their system, confess to their priest, and rely on their traditions to know if your sins are gone.

But if you actually read the text without the papal blinders, the lie falls apart immediately.

Jesus wasn’t talking to one “Pope.” He was speaking to a whole room full of disciples (as confirmed in Luke 24:33).
There is no “St. Peter” sitting at the pearly gates here.
This is a classic case of substituting the pure words of the living God for rotten, man-made traditions just to keep you chained to a religious machine. They trade the conviction of the Holy Bible for a religious checklist that lets people live however they want, just as long as they submit to the “church.”

The Attack on Paul and the Pure Text

If you want to see who really claimed the authority of John 20:23, look at the Apostle to the Gentiles. The Apostle Paul didn’t need a clerical collar, a rosary, or a church state.

In 2 Corinthians 2:10, Paul outright claims this authority, stating: “for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ.” Paul was operating as a fully authorized ambassador, acting strictly “in the person of Christ.”

Unsurprisingly, the Bible-correctors and modern version editors despise this.

Corrupt New Age versions (like the NKJV and NASV) blatantly attack this verse, altering the word “person” to “presence” or “sight.”
They intentionally mangle the King James text to protect Rome’s false priesthood.
By removing “the person of Christ,” they strip the believer of their God-given authority, ensuring that only the old Whore on the seven hills can claim her priests are acting in Christ’s stead.

Opening and Shutting the Gospel

So, if we don’t have a confessional booth, how do believers remit and retain sins today? You don’t need a religious system; you need the Book. As Christians, we are officially commissionedas “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). We have been given the “power of attorney” to represent the King.

Christ has literally handed the saints the power to open and shut the gospel to the lost. When you choose to open your mouth and share the message of pardon and peace, you are opening the door to salvation. But when you stay silent out of fear or apathy, you are effectively shutting the gospel off from those around you. You are withholding the only cure for their terminal disease.

A Savour of Life or a Savour of Death

Every Christian exercises the massive authority of John 20:23 every time they hand out a gospel tract or preach the cross. This is what the Bible calls a “savour of life unto life” and a “savour of death unto death” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16). Witnessing is a two-edged sword with eternal consequences.

Remitting Sins (A Savour of Life): When you preach Christ and a sinner believes the gospel, you have “loosed” them from their sin. You have the absolute, God-given authority to declare them justified from all things (Acts 13:39). You are looking them in the eye and remitting their sin based on the authority of the completed Canon.
Retaining Sins (A Savour of Death): Conversely, if a lost person rejects the biblical witness you provide, your proclamation further confirms their damnation. By handing them the truth and watching them trample it, your witness acts as a “savour of death.” You are effectively retaining their sins upon them through their rejection of the truth.

Drop the traditions of men. You don’t need an earthly priest to absolve you, and you don’t need a corrupt religious system to find forgiveness. You need the King James Bible, the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and the boldness to go out and preach it to a dying world.