John 20: 19, 22--24 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. --KJV
In the name of the One Who gives us the Holy Ghost, amen.
Such a great blessing--to whom? to you and me. We see that the Apostle John notes that the disciples were gathered together. He does not designate them as apostles. Further he notes that Thomas wasn't there, and he calls him one of the twelve, not one of the disciples.
What this tells us it that Jesus gave the Holy Ghost to all of His disciples, including us, along with the authority and responsibility to forgive and retain sins. What have you been doing with this great blessing? Have you been using it responsibly?
This week we are looking at the Holy Ministry. It is directly related to our use of what we call the office of the keys. The office of the keys is the authority and responsibility to forgive and retain sins. At another time we can look at how use this office individually. This week we look at how we use it together as a congregation. One of the ways we use this great blessing is to ordain (appoint) a man to use this power for us in the congregational setting.
Again I ask, are you using this great blessing responsibly? When your fellow Christians confess their sins shoulder to shoulder with you, are you judging them? Are you thinking that they may be hypocritical in their confession and not deserving of forgiveness? If we try to judge the hearts of others we become irresponsible in our use of the office. On the other hand, when the Church, in love, locks a person's sins to them, are we judging the Church as being manipulative and controlling? When we come together as a congregation, it is best if we leave this matter in the hands of the ones we have ordained, and trust that the Lord knows what He is doing. Then the one who is not repentant, can see the seriousness of his sin. Then we too can be forgiven for being judgmental. Then the office of the keys will be a great blessing for all of us. Amen.
Prayer:
Dear Holy Ghost, you were sent to us by our Savior Jesus. Help us to take people at their word when they confess their sins. Help us to be responsible in the use of this great blessing that Jesus gave us. Make us certain that our sins are forgiven, even though our own confession is less than perfect, amen.