Only God can forgive sins, but we can declare what God has promised: those who trust in Christ are forgiven and those who reject Him remain in their sins. John 20:23 is not about believers controlling forgiveness—it is about proclaiming the gospel, which reveals who has received God's forgiveness and who has not.
John 20:23 in the ESV reads, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Jesus had just told the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit in verse 22. They had a ministry unlike any other believers who followed after them; they were unique. Although it is only God through Christ that our sins are forgiven, and only God can forgive sins, the disciples could tell people who listened and believed in Christ that their sins were forgiven, and they could also tell people that did not believe in the message of Jesus that their sins were not forgiven—that before God they stand condemned. Therefore, the “forgiving” and “withholding” language in John 20:23 is tied to the apostolic role of declaring the gospel verdict based on faith in Christ, not independently absolving sin. While believers are commanded to forgive personal wrongs done against them, that relational forgiveness is distinct from the divine forgiveness of sin before God (Matthew 6:14–15; Colossians 3:13). We as believers are called to faithfully proclaim Christ so people may know whether they stand forgiven through faith in Him or remain in their sins by unbelief.
Since only God forgives sins, the disciples were not the ultimate source of forgiveness; however, they were the ones who could declare that sins were forgiven or not. This forgiveness is based only on the person's belief in Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Although we as followers of Jesus are able to forgive someone of their personal sins against us, we do not have the power to forgive sins against God. But we do have the ability to confirm a person's forgiveness based upon their confession of faith.
Our role is not to sit in the place of God deciding who is ultimately forgiven but to faithfully point people to the only One who can forgive sin. Real forgiveness doesn’t come from us. It comes from God through Christ, and it is received by those who turn to Him in faith. That means when we speak about forgiveness, we are not controlling people’s eternal standing, but clearly declaring what God has already said is true: those who trust in Christ are forgiven, and those who reject Him remain in their sin. This gives our words real weight because we are either helping people see the way into forgiveness or warning them about the seriousness of remaining apart from it.
At the same time, we are still called to forgive personal wrongs against us, refusing to carry bitterness or repay harm with harm. Holding onto unforgiveness in our relationships contradicts the very mercy we have received and keeps our hearts tied to the very things God has freed us from. Living this way keeps us humble and focused, aware that we are not the source of forgiveness but that we have been entrusted with pointing others to it.