Section 29
* In these words of Jesus we have not only the ministry of forgiving sins, but the ministry of retaining sins. “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” The ministry of retaining sins is simply the refusal to try to bring people into something for which they are not ready. Sometimes people are so anxious to get others into the kingdom that they will try to announce their forgiveness before they have sought it or even wanted it. Unfortunately, this malady is characteristic of a great deal of modern evangelism.