PROTESTANT ERROR: CALL NO MAN FATHER

Matthew 23:9 states "“Call no man father”, does this mean really that no man should be called a father? But God’s 4th commandment says “Honor thy Father and Mother”. Our Lord Jesus himself recalled the force of this "commandment of God." ( Mk 7:8-13.) And so if a man has fathered children, then he is called father to his children. Jesus would not have meant to dishonor the fathers by teaching children not to address their fathers in the way they should be called, father.

One strong argument against the literal interpretation of Protestants in Matthew 23:9 is that Jesus even used the title to Abraham saying John 8:56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.” If he used it to others like Abraham and not just to God the Father as he said in Matthew 23:9 then we can be sure that such title as a father can be used to those that act as a father to others like St. Paul to the church members.

St. Paul teaches Ephesians 6:1-4 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother,' (This is the first commandment with a promise.) 'that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth. (Deut 5:16.). Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Here St. Paul teaches the Christians to honor the father as it is the first commandment with a promise of long life and teaches the Fathers to bring up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord. He called them fathers. Is St. Paul disobeying Jesus? Certainly not, it only shows that St. Paul understood fully well that Jesus did not mean not to use the title father in calling those deserving to be called father. In fact, even Jesus followed this commandment according to Luke 2:51, Jesus was obedient to his mother and foster father “He was obedient to them.”.

Even St. Paul used the title of father referring to himself in Philippians 2:22, saying “But Timothy’s worth you know, how like a son with a “father” he has served with me in the work of the gospel.” And again in Philemon 10, “I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose “father” I have become during my imprisonment. Finally, he also refers to himself as the “father” of believers in 1 Corinthians 4;14-15, “I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you might have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many “fathers”. Indeed, in Christ Jesus, I became your “father” through the gospel. If we follow those who teach that Priest and Bishops cannot and should not be called father because Jesus commanded such, then it is like saying St. Paul is guilty of disobeying Jesus which is certainly not. Therefore the Apostles did not take the belief of the protestants against using the title father. They are in error in believing such doctrine based only on the verse Matthew 23:9. If the said verse is not what it appears then what is meant by it? What is the right interpretation?

To know exactly what Jesus was meant and what was he referring to when he said "call no man father" we should include the verses preceding verse 9 and following it we mean reading the entire Matthew 23:8-12 by which we can then understand the "context" of what Jesus said. As we read on we will learn that  he was rebuking the Pharisees for making themselves above God the Father. Pharisees love to be put in places of honor acting like gods. So what Jesus meant by saying “call no man a father” is in reference to making them equal to God who is our only Father or even more than God. That is why he said there is only “one” father your Father in heaven because the Pharisees use their titles (Rabbi, teacher, father) not to serve but to be served. They use their titles not to honor God but to honor themselves like God. The title “father” therefore must be used properly by those called as such. Calling the Priest or Bishop “father” is in the context of St. Paul’s teaching that in Christ Jesus they have become “father” to the faithful believers under their care.

But we may ask how can then the priests and bishops become like fathers to the believers? Now going back to Abraham who Jesus referred to the Jews as "your father" Isaiah said, "Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth; Though he was but one when I called him, I blessed him and made him many." God who pointed to Abraham as a father to the Jews said "I bless him and made him many". Therefore there are many Abrahams who are like fathers to those that believe in God. This is the very same principle that Paul called Abraham our spiritual father in Romans 4:11-12 what is the meaning of this spiritual father? Scripture says that Abraham was the “father of all those who believe” Genesis 15:6 the Israelites or the Jews as we know them today believes in our Lord God. Likewise today, those who believe in Jesus as our Lord and God, the Christians of the Catholic Church have spiritual fathers, the priests, and bishops who have succeeded the Apostles and Apostolic fathers and we refer to them as "Father" in the image of Abraham, the "father of all those who believe" because they are given the responsibility by the Lord to take care of the Christians in their jurisdiction like Parishes, Dioceses, Metropolitan, Archdioceses in every place in the world. 

By: Bro. Manny Santos, OTFS Apologist

Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholes (Acts 9:31)

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.

PROTESTANT ERROR: ONLY GOD CAN FORGIVE SINS

According to Protestants and other non-Catholic religions, only God can forgive sin and they use the scripture 1 John 1:9 for this doctrine. But is this true? Yes, it's true that Jesus forgives sin but he has likewise given this authority and power to forgive sins to his Apostles and to their successors. Jesus being God himself has given such authority and power to men whom he called to build up his church this is very clear in the scriptures and no amount of twisting its interpretation can change what is written.

1 John 1:9 does not even say it is only Jesus that can forgive sins, those that say and teach such doctrine is mistaken and just making an interpretation of the verse that says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Nothing in this verse that says Jesus alone forgives sins. In fact, it teaches us to confess our sins and the effect of that confession is forgiveness and purification from all unrighteousness. Confession makes us clean. But as far as the Catholics are concerned, our sins are washed away by Baptism which is our initiation into a new life as a Christian and member of the Catholic Church the Church Jesus founded and that by faith in Christ we are justified meaning we are made righteous. Why then is John here teaching us to confess our sins? To better understand this there are two things to consider, sin and confession.

1 John 3:4 states: "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact sin, is lawlessness." Lawlessness means a lack of order, chaos, and anarchy.  If sin is lawlessness it means the one in sin does not follow the law or breaks the law. A sin, therefore, is the result of an act of the person against the established law or transgression of the law. To cut our article short we will not delve here into the law but on sin as an act of one that breaks the Law. On the other hand, confession means admission, acknowledgment, and revelation of one's action already committed. To confess therefore is an act of making a statement of what one has done, it can be in written form or orally. To confess our sins is to make a statement of admission to one who is authorized to hear our confession for the purpose of asking forgiveness and make repentance an act of being sorry and remorseful of having committed the transgression of the law also known as penance.

The next question we asked is to whom are we going to confess our sins? Non-Catholics would say, well we confess it directly to Jesus and to God but, not to priests or bishops. Yes, we can do that, but since God is all-knowing he already knows our sins and we don't have to confess to him our sins but ask forgiveness from him. But Jesus himself said, not all who call on me Lord, Lord will be saved. So confessing it directly to Jesus does not guarantee that he will hear us since he said, not all who call on him will be saved, and being saved is having our sins forgiven. What one can do in confessing directly to Jesus is to make assumptions that he hears us and that he will forgive us. Definitely, we cannot call on God the Father to confess our sins since he has given all the power and authority to the Son and that no one can come to the Father except through the Son. In fact, if we follow the bible how our prayers that include confession of our sins reach God it is through the Angels and Saints in heaven. But since non-Catholics reject these "protocols" of heaven, they have no one to hear their prayers and confession. If that is so, the chances that one's sins are not yet forgiven are higher and one may still be living in a sinful state because God has not forgiven him yet.

Now consider the effect of confession and the implication of what John teaches in his Gospel. It is that confession is a must for our salvation.

To whom are we to confess our sins? Non-Catholic or Protestants would say only God can forgive sins but the bible also teaches that the power and authority to forgive sins are likewise given to men as shown by the "man" Jesus Christ. This is true in Matthew 9:8 it says that God has given authority to forgive sins to men as it is written: “When the crowds saw this (Jesus forgiving sin and healing a paralytic), they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” What is that authority they are saying? It’s the authority given to men to forgive sins as exemplified by Jesus in the earlier verse of the same chapter. 

On the other hand, the same power and authority to forgive sins have also been given by Jesus to the leaders of the church, the Apostles in John 20:21-23 saying: “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” And with that, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” How can Jesus say this? In Matthew 28:18-20, this is what we will read "Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Having given all power and with it authority from the Father, Jesus too gave the Apostles and their successors the same power and authority.

So to say Jesus alone can forgive sins is incorrect because he handed over the same power and authority to the Apostles who he sent to build his church, the Church of God, which is Catholic in nature and reach (Ekkelsia Katholes, Acts 9:31). It is to be built throughout the world thus it is called the Catholic Church of Christians. Did the Apostles also send others as Jesus sent them? Yes, they appointed Bishops and Presbyters (priests) and send them for the mission of the Church with the same power as given to them by the Lord for the building of the Church.  

Now under John 20:21-23, how can the Apostles and their successors the Bishops and priests forgive the sins they are authorized to forgive if they don’t know the sins of the person they will forgive? Only by confession will the Apostles and their successors the Bishops and Priests know what they are going to forgive or not to forgive. That is the context of 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins [to those empowered by the Lord to receive our confession] he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." The power of the Bishop and Priest to forgive sins comes directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. They serve as the channel used by the Lord. The Priest would always say “I absolved you of your sins in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” He does not own up the forgiveness itself but only the channel of the sacrament of forgiving sins instituted by Jesus himself in John 20:21-23 although they are given power and authority to forgive or not to forgive freely.

Do they really practice confession of sins in the biblical times of the Apostles? St. James said it well in James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." Confession of sins is not only obligatory for the Christian but is also part of the healing process of the penitent sinner. There are however two types of sins, one is a public sin where the public is scandalized by the acts of the person or persons and one is private Those public sins in the past include heretical acts of apostasy and the sinner or sinners make an act of public confession but for sin that is made in private, the penitent makes a private confession with the priest and or bishop and these are sealed because it is between the penitent and God through the priest having given authority to either forgive the sins or retain them.

Confession of sin is an act that is hard for the person but it is not only a must according to the command of Jesus but it is also a part of the healing process of guilt that the person suffers and carries in himself or herself. When anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned. Leviticus 5:5 because keeping the sins committed to oneself will always live with that guilt and will find no peace. That is why Proverbs 28:13 says "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."

Jesus gave us the gift of the sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation that we may find peace and assurance of hearing that God forgives us or our sins from the mouth of the Priest or Bishop to which he gave authority and power to forgive sins. Its music to the ears to hear the Priest "I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".

By: Bro. Manny Santos, OTFS Apologist

Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholes (Acts 9:31)

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.