John 20:23, the Forgiveness of Sins, and the Fear of Church Authority

In this episode, David Fry and Johnathan Arnold discuss several questions about concerns about a recent article on "The Church’s Authority and Responsibility to Forgive Sins." Topics addressed include:

• The church's authority to forgive sins (John 20:23)
• The office of the keys (Matthew 16; 18)
• Corporate salvation
• The sacraments and excommunication
• Protestant vs. Catholic understandings of the church and its leaders
• Sacerdotalism
• The abuse of church authority
• Abusus non tollit usum ("abuse does not take away use")
• Spirit-filled exercise of authority
• Using authority for building up, not tearing down (2 Cor. 13:10)
• Eldership requirements