The Power to Forgive

Mat 9:4-6 MKJV
(4) And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil in your hearts?
(5) For which is easier? To say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise and walk!
(6) But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, then He said to the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed and go to your house.

Forgiving sin is not an issue of desire or will-power. It's an issue of authority. Most of us would not dare contest that Jesus walked in this authority. However, there is still a mentality in the church today that Jesus had no intentions of sharing this authority with His followers. In fact, the authority-less church is embraced because it relieves it's members of responsibility. Do we have the power and responsibility to forgive the trespasses of others? Absolutely!

(Joh 20:22-23 MKJV)
(22) And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.
(23) Of whomever sins you remit, they are remitted to them. Of whomever sins you retain, they are retained.

This is just another example of Jesus imparting power and authority to those called by His name. This was not Pentecost, for it was Pentecost that truly empowered Jesus-followers to undo the works of the devil. But this act of breathing upon His disciples was a basic establishment of their identity - ones who carried a core ability to forgive sin - or not to forgive sin. Again, this was not done to foster a God-complex upon Jesus' followers. It was done in order to create a heart of compassion, understanding, and responsibility in the Body of Christ, for we cannot and will not be 'like' Him if we cannot forgive as He forgives.

The converse of this is that in the eternal scope of things, being without the Holy Spirit gives a person no right to forgive - or not. It's the Holy Spirit and Him alone, the righteous judge, that empowers forgiveness. Is forgiveness healthy - even to a lost person? Absolutely! It's a picture of who God is! But without being inhabited by the Holy Spirit, there are no eternal ramifications to holding a persons actions against them.