lieve they interpreted our Lord's words in tkis place accord- ingly.
(c) There is not a single instance in the Acts or Epistles, of an Apostle taking on himself to absolve, pardon, or forgive any one. The Apostles and preachers of the New Testament de- clare in the plainest language whose sin is pardoned and ab- solved, but they never take on themselves to pardon and ab- solve. When Peter said to Cornelius and his friends, " Whoso- eve: believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins" (Acts xvi. 43) ; when Paul said at Antioch, in Pisidia, " We declare unto you glad tidings ; " " Through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins " (Acts xiii. 82, 38) ; and when Paul said to the Philippian jailor, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved " (Acts xvi. 31), — in each case they fulfilled the commission of the text before us. They " de- clared whose sins were remitted, and whose were retained."
(d) There is not a single word in the three pastoral Epistles, written by St. Paul to Timothy and Titus, to show that the Apostle regarded absolution as part of tlie ministerial office. If it was he would surely have mentioned it, and urged the practice of it on young ministers, for the relief of burdened souls.
(e) The weakness of human nature is so great, that it is grossly improbable that such a tremendous power as that of absolutely pardoning and absolving souls, would ever be com- mitted to any mortal man. It would be highly injurious to any man to trust him with such a power, and would be a continued temptation to him to usurp the office of a Mediator between God and man.
(/) The experience of the Romish Church, in which the priests are practically regarded as having the power to absolve sinners, and shut heaven against persons not absolved, affords the strongest indirect evidence that our Lord's words can only have meant to bear a " declarative " sense. Anything worse or more mischievous, both to minister and people, than the re- sults of the Romish system of penance and absolution, it is im- possible to conceive. It is a system which has practically de- graded the laity, puffed up and damaged the clergy, turned peo- ple away from Christ, and kept them in spiritual darkness and bondage.
A question of no small interest arises out of the text before us, which it may be well to consider. Was the ministerial office and commission conferred on the Apostles by our Lord in this place an office which they transmitted to others, with all its privileges and powers ?
I answer, without hesitation, that in the strictest sense the commission of the Apostles was not transmitted, but was con- fined to them and St. Paul. I challenge any one to deny that the Apostles possessed certain ministerial qualifications which