Jesus did not, by this assurance, give the apostles or their successors power to forgive sins, as his representatives. The Roman Catholic Church directs its people to confess the secrets of their lives to the priest, and from him, acting in the place of Christ, to receive absolution from their sins. The Saviour taught that his is the only name given under Heaven whereby men shall be saved. Jesus, however, delegated to his church upon earth, in her organized capacity, the power to censure and to remove censure according to the rules prescribed by inspiration; but these acts were only to be done by men of good repute, who were consecrated by the great Head of the church, and who showed by their lives that they were earnestly seeking to follow the guidance of the Spirit of God. {3SP 244.3}

Jesus gav ikke ved denne forsikring apostlene eller deres efterfølgere magt til på hans vegne at forlade synd. (245) Den romersk-katolske kirke fortæller sine medlemmer, at de skal bekende sit livs hemmeligheder for præsten, og at de af ham der handler på Kristi vegne skal få syndernes forladelse. Frelseren lærte, " at hans" navn givet under himlen, hvorved menneskene skal være frelste. Jesus gav dog sin menighed på jorden magt til at udøve menighedstugt og til at løse vedkommende fra menighedens straf i overensstemmelse med Guds ords for skifter. Men denne magt skulle blot udøves af mænd med godt rygte - mænd, som menighedens store overhoved selv havde helliget, og som i sit liv viste, at de alvorlig søgte at følge Guds Ånds vejledning.