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The Bible and Reconciliation (A Catholic Biblical Theology of the Sacraments): Confession, Repentance, and Restoration
This addition to the Catholic Biblical Theology of the Sacraments series provides readers with a deeper appreciation of God's gifts and call in the sacraments through a renewed encounter with God's Word.
James Prothro offers a biblical theology of the sacrament of reconciliation--the restoration of the sinner through forgiveness and repentance. Prothro fleshes out the patterns in which God's people in the Old and New Testaments approach the merciful God, confess, and are forgiven and called to reengage their relationship with God by growing in faith and love through God's ministry of grace.
Series editors are Timothy C. Gray and John Sehorn. Gray and Sehorn teach at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology, which prepares students for Christian mission through on-campus and distance-education programs. Gray is also president of the Augustine Institute.
James Prothro offers a biblical theology of the sacrament of reconciliation--the restoration of the sinner through forgiveness and repentance. Prothro fleshes out the patterns in which God's people in the Old and New Testaments approach the merciful God, confess, and are forgiven and called to reengage their relationship with God by growing in faith and love through God's ministry of grace.
Series editors are Timothy C. Gray and John Sehorn. Gray and Sehorn teach at the Augustine Institute Graduate School of Theology, which prepares students for Christian mission through on-campus and distance-education programs. Gray is also president of the Augustine Institute.
253 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 19, 2023
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May 2, 2025
From my forthcoming book review from the Promissio Journal at the Institute of Lutheran Theology.
Biblical Theology traces the unfolding of theological themes across the canon of Scripture. It is an essential connection between the rigourous historical exegetical study of individual passages and the broader conclusions of systematic theology. Christians from non-denominational, reformed, and free-church traditions excel in writing introductory books on Biblical Theology that are both accessible to a curious general audience and uphold a traditional view of Scripture’s integrity. As a result, many preliminary books of Biblical Theology privilege themes that all Christians share or those focused on within the free-church Christian traditions. Sacramental Christian Churches often find that some themes important to their traditions are not accessibly collected together in books easy for a general audience to engage. Within this field Baker Academic has introduced a new series, A Catholic Biblical Theology of the Sacraments, to bring attention to some of these sacramental themes, such as marriage, baptism, and the anointing of the sick.
In this vein, James Prothro provides an invaluable survey of sin, repentance, and restoration throughout Scripture in his book The Bible and Reconciliation: Confession, Repentance, and Restoration. Prothro writes as a practicing Roman Catholic worshiper, weaving in modern applications and theological statements from time to time in his exegetical survey; the book is written by a Roman Catholic for other Roman Catholics. Nevertheless, other traditional Christians, notably Lutherans, will find much valuable material and insights in his work. While writing as a Roman Catholic, Prothro, as a former Lutheran Pastor, expresses many familiar themes. While expounding biblical patterns, the book contains a constant emphasis on God’s grace and mercy, law and gospel, salvation, repentance and restoration. Christians accustomed to the regular disciplines of confession, repentance, grace in Christ, and a pursuit of holy living will find much of value in this text.
The first and last chapters of the book contain an introduction and summary of how believers encounter God’s mercy. The remaining nine chapters consist of surveys throughout the Biblical Canon of how people have encountered God’s mercy. Prothro notes that he is writing his book in the form of Biblical Theology expressed in writers such as Geerhardus Vos, Brevard Childs, and Pope Benedict XVI as he draws together the testimonies of various writers while also drawing together synthetically the truth expressed by many witnesses in light of the revelation of Jesus. As a work of Biblical Theology, the book rearticulates the images and metaphors provided by each testimony in Scripture while resisting a flattening of these images into one system (Prothro, The Bible, 20-21).
The introductory chapter proves a valuable summary, rooted in the biblical narrative and terminology, of the consequences of sin and God’s restorative acts of grace and mercy: “God’s children sin in various ways, failing to live out their identity under the Father, and some choose to leave the household altogether. But God wants his children home, and he embraces them with mercy and grace when they turn back in repentance” (Prothro, 2). Prothro weaves together the trends of human straying and God’s mercy across major biblical stories and groups, highlighting insights that are true in the lives of Christians today. In the stories of Adam and Cain God regularly meets the people after they sin, providing them a chance for repentance. God’s mercy stands behind his question: “where are you” (Gen 3:9), inviting the people to turn back to God in repentance and have their relationship healed (26). The stories of the Flood and Babel highlight the terrible consequences of impiety toward God on a global scale (32-35). Likewise, the stories of Abraham and later the children of Israel in the Exodus and Wilderness repeat the cycles of the enslavement of sin and God’s mercy and deliverance. Just as the people of Israel sin immediately in the wilderness after their deliverance through the waters of the Red Sea Egypt, this typologically parallels the life of Christians who sin after baptism and are again in need of God’s forgiveness (1 Cor 10:1-2) (46-48). While God forgives the people when they refuse to trust God and enter the Promised Land after the negative report of the spies, nevertheless there remains the consequences of wandering in the wilderness through which God desires to shape the people (Num 14:20-23, 31-34) (52-53). The book continues on to provide surveys of grace, repentance, and reconciliation across the narrative books, wisdom books, and the prophets.
Within the narrative development, the book notes that the Babylonian Exile was a form of restorative discipline, God would purify the people through this experience and the day would come when their full reconciliation would occur (Isa 4:4; 48:10; Bar 2:30). Although back in the land, the people are still in spiritual exile, waiting for God to fully reconcile with his people (Jer 50:20; 2 Macc 8:29). There remains the hope of a reversal of the consequences of sin and death through a future physical resurrection of all the people (Dan 12:2; Wis 3:2-7; Isa 25:8). This will be a time of a New Covenant which will provide the forgiveness of sin and the transformation of the hearts of the people (Jer 31:33-34; Ezek 36:25-57) (94-113). This rescue mission culminates in the Messiah Jesus who releases those captive to sin and death (John 11:14-15; 38-44; Mk 3:27; Luke 4:18). Jesus’ ministry reveals an extravagant mercy toward sinners as he continually seeks out those lost (Matt 9:11; Luke 15:12; 19:1-10). True repentance in Jesus’ ministry is characterized by doing what Jesus calls his redeemed followers to do, bearing fruit worthy of repentance (Matt 3:8; 21:28-32) (114-145).
While highlighting baptism as a physical means by which believers are united to Christ and thus receive forgiveness, he devotes a chapter to the role of the church’s ministry in mediating post-baptismal forgiveness called the keys (Matt 16:19; John 13:20; John 20:22-23). Arguing for the apostolic succession of ministry, Jesus shares his authority with Peter, which is given to the apostles, and then presbyters which they ordain (146-165); their ministry of preaching and sacraments is linked to confessions which can be provided to a presbyter/priest (198-204). Given that Prothro is writing primarily for Roman Catholics, he infers that presbyters possess a unique priestly mediating ministry. Some readers may find that his development of the sacerdotal feature of elders goes beyond what is developed in the text, while certainly recognizing that this was a development claimed by some later church fathers (i.e. Cyprian, Ep. 63). Like most Second Temple Jewish Synagogues, generally the early churches were structurally led by male presbyters/elders/bishops (Acts 14:23; 20:17, 28; Tit 1:5-7; 1 Clem 44.1-5), yet this did not preclude the ministry to which Jesus called all men and women, to be his disciples who proclaim his word and spread the kingdom of God (Luke 8:1-3; 10:1-12; Acts 9:36), and hear the confession of sin to one another (1 John 1:8-10; Jas 5:16). While certainly elders/bishops normally led churches, it isn’t clear that they were all ordained uniquely by the successors of Peter or that in emergency circumstances others could not appoint men as elders (Did 15; Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 6.1; Tertullian, Exh. cast., 7). In either case, the book highlights that the goal of confession is always the restoration of the believer by God’s grace. Prothro provides a helpful survey of apostasy and the restoration of those in mortal sin as believers await Christ’s new creation (Prothro, 175-176; 204-208). Although not commonly referenced, Lutherans likewise recognize mortal sins that accompany loss of faith (Andrew Voigt, Biblical Dogmatics, 65). It would have been interesting to explore more at this point the status of those who die with unrepentant sins given its common occurrence in the parish. Obviously, in these areas there exist differences between traditional Lutheran and Roman Catholic dogmatic positions.
At the end of the book Prothro gives an excellent survey of sin, repentance, and growing in Christ. In contrast with the old Adam, subject to sin and death, believers are given a new birth in Christ in hope of the resurrection and incorruptibility as children of God (1 John 3:1; 1 Pet 1:3; 1:23). In contrast to condemnation and death in the first Adam, believers have justification and new life in the New Adam (Rom 5:16-17; 1 Cor 1:30, 15:22). Humans naturally live in sin, apart from God’s grace, and stand as God’s enemies (Rom 5:10; Jas 4:4), yet Jesus’ work of justification brings reconciliation, restoring humans to friendships and love with God (Rom 5:1, 10) (Prothro, 168). The life of faith is a struggle. Even though believers are not under the dominion of sin, they still can submit themselves again to it by their choices and return to enslavement (Rom 6:12,16; Gal 4:8-9). God provides believers with his Spirit which empowers them to fight against the influences of sin and the fleshly desires (Gal 5:17; Rom 6:12-13; 8:5-9; 13:11-14) (166-178). Paul’s continual exhortation to fight against carnal passions and warnings against returning to enslavement assumes that believers are regularly tempted, and do sin after becoming Christians. Like plants, believers grow into salvation and bear fruit (1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18) (192-193). Sin is not simply the breaking of arbitrary rules, but the turning away from what God has made us for. Rather than hiding, the narrative of Scripture reminds us again and again that God continually acts to mercifully restore his people (213-214).
In this volume Prothro highlights the centrality of grace and God’s mercy throughout Scripture. This text is an excellent introductory and accessible tome of Biblical Theology for the curious student. Portions of this book could easily be adapted for use in a Sunday School or Bible Study, serving as a helpful aid for Christians to piece together the overarching themes of reconciliation throughout Scripture. While Lutherans and other evangelicals will come to different conclusions about a few topics, the vast majority of the book is a concise and valuable survey of the Biblical Material for all Christians.
Biblical Theology traces the unfolding of theological themes across the canon of Scripture. It is an essential connection between the rigourous historical exegetical study of individual passages and the broader conclusions of systematic theology. Christians from non-denominational, reformed, and free-church traditions excel in writing introductory books on Biblical Theology that are both accessible to a curious general audience and uphold a traditional view of Scripture’s integrity. As a result, many preliminary books of Biblical Theology privilege themes that all Christians share or those focused on within the free-church Christian traditions. Sacramental Christian Churches often find that some themes important to their traditions are not accessibly collected together in books easy for a general audience to engage. Within this field Baker Academic has introduced a new series, A Catholic Biblical Theology of the Sacraments, to bring attention to some of these sacramental themes, such as marriage, baptism, and the anointing of the sick.
In this vein, James Prothro provides an invaluable survey of sin, repentance, and restoration throughout Scripture in his book The Bible and Reconciliation: Confession, Repentance, and Restoration. Prothro writes as a practicing Roman Catholic worshiper, weaving in modern applications and theological statements from time to time in his exegetical survey; the book is written by a Roman Catholic for other Roman Catholics. Nevertheless, other traditional Christians, notably Lutherans, will find much valuable material and insights in his work. While writing as a Roman Catholic, Prothro, as a former Lutheran Pastor, expresses many familiar themes. While expounding biblical patterns, the book contains a constant emphasis on God’s grace and mercy, law and gospel, salvation, repentance and restoration. Christians accustomed to the regular disciplines of confession, repentance, grace in Christ, and a pursuit of holy living will find much of value in this text.
The first and last chapters of the book contain an introduction and summary of how believers encounter God’s mercy. The remaining nine chapters consist of surveys throughout the Biblical Canon of how people have encountered God’s mercy. Prothro notes that he is writing his book in the form of Biblical Theology expressed in writers such as Geerhardus Vos, Brevard Childs, and Pope Benedict XVI as he draws together the testimonies of various writers while also drawing together synthetically the truth expressed by many witnesses in light of the revelation of Jesus. As a work of Biblical Theology, the book rearticulates the images and metaphors provided by each testimony in Scripture while resisting a flattening of these images into one system (Prothro, The Bible, 20-21).
The introductory chapter proves a valuable summary, rooted in the biblical narrative and terminology, of the consequences of sin and God’s restorative acts of grace and mercy: “God’s children sin in various ways, failing to live out their identity under the Father, and some choose to leave the household altogether. But God wants his children home, and he embraces them with mercy and grace when they turn back in repentance” (Prothro, 2). Prothro weaves together the trends of human straying and God’s mercy across major biblical stories and groups, highlighting insights that are true in the lives of Christians today. In the stories of Adam and Cain God regularly meets the people after they sin, providing them a chance for repentance. God’s mercy stands behind his question: “where are you” (Gen 3:9), inviting the people to turn back to God in repentance and have their relationship healed (26). The stories of the Flood and Babel highlight the terrible consequences of impiety toward God on a global scale (32-35). Likewise, the stories of Abraham and later the children of Israel in the Exodus and Wilderness repeat the cycles of the enslavement of sin and God’s mercy and deliverance. Just as the people of Israel sin immediately in the wilderness after their deliverance through the waters of the Red Sea Egypt, this typologically parallels the life of Christians who sin after baptism and are again in need of God’s forgiveness (1 Cor 10:1-2) (46-48). While God forgives the people when they refuse to trust God and enter the Promised Land after the negative report of the spies, nevertheless there remains the consequences of wandering in the wilderness through which God desires to shape the people (Num 14:20-23, 31-34) (52-53). The book continues on to provide surveys of grace, repentance, and reconciliation across the narrative books, wisdom books, and the prophets.
Within the narrative development, the book notes that the Babylonian Exile was a form of restorative discipline, God would purify the people through this experience and the day would come when their full reconciliation would occur (Isa 4:4; 48:10; Bar 2:30). Although back in the land, the people are still in spiritual exile, waiting for God to fully reconcile with his people (Jer 50:20; 2 Macc 8:29). There remains the hope of a reversal of the consequences of sin and death through a future physical resurrection of all the people (Dan 12:2; Wis 3:2-7; Isa 25:8). This will be a time of a New Covenant which will provide the forgiveness of sin and the transformation of the hearts of the people (Jer 31:33-34; Ezek 36:25-57) (94-113). This rescue mission culminates in the Messiah Jesus who releases those captive to sin and death (John 11:14-15; 38-44; Mk 3:27; Luke 4:18). Jesus’ ministry reveals an extravagant mercy toward sinners as he continually seeks out those lost (Matt 9:11; Luke 15:12; 19:1-10). True repentance in Jesus’ ministry is characterized by doing what Jesus calls his redeemed followers to do, bearing fruit worthy of repentance (Matt 3:8; 21:28-32) (114-145).
While highlighting baptism as a physical means by which believers are united to Christ and thus receive forgiveness, he devotes a chapter to the role of the church’s ministry in mediating post-baptismal forgiveness called the keys (Matt 16:19; John 13:20; John 20:22-23). Arguing for the apostolic succession of ministry, Jesus shares his authority with Peter, which is given to the apostles, and then presbyters which they ordain (146-165); their ministry of preaching and sacraments is linked to confessions which can be provided to a presbyter/priest (198-204). Given that Prothro is writing primarily for Roman Catholics, he infers that presbyters possess a unique priestly mediating ministry. Some readers may find that his development of the sacerdotal feature of elders goes beyond what is developed in the text, while certainly recognizing that this was a development claimed by some later church fathers (i.e. Cyprian, Ep. 63). Like most Second Temple Jewish Synagogues, generally the early churches were structurally led by male presbyters/elders/bishops (Acts 14:23; 20:17, 28; Tit 1:5-7; 1 Clem 44.1-5), yet this did not preclude the ministry to which Jesus called all men and women, to be his disciples who proclaim his word and spread the kingdom of God (Luke 8:1-3; 10:1-12; Acts 9:36), and hear the confession of sin to one another (1 John 1:8-10; Jas 5:16). While certainly elders/bishops normally led churches, it isn’t clear that they were all ordained uniquely by the successors of Peter or that in emergency circumstances others could not appoint men as elders (Did 15; Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 6.1; Tertullian, Exh. cast., 7). In either case, the book highlights that the goal of confession is always the restoration of the believer by God’s grace. Prothro provides a helpful survey of apostasy and the restoration of those in mortal sin as believers await Christ’s new creation (Prothro, 175-176; 204-208). Although not commonly referenced, Lutherans likewise recognize mortal sins that accompany loss of faith (Andrew Voigt, Biblical Dogmatics, 65). It would have been interesting to explore more at this point the status of those who die with unrepentant sins given its common occurrence in the parish. Obviously, in these areas there exist differences between traditional Lutheran and Roman Catholic dogmatic positions.
At the end of the book Prothro gives an excellent survey of sin, repentance, and growing in Christ. In contrast with the old Adam, subject to sin and death, believers are given a new birth in Christ in hope of the resurrection and incorruptibility as children of God (1 John 3:1; 1 Pet 1:3; 1:23). In contrast to condemnation and death in the first Adam, believers have justification and new life in the New Adam (Rom 5:16-17; 1 Cor 1:30, 15:22). Humans naturally live in sin, apart from God’s grace, and stand as God’s enemies (Rom 5:10; Jas 4:4), yet Jesus’ work of justification brings reconciliation, restoring humans to friendships and love with God (Rom 5:1, 10) (Prothro, 168). The life of faith is a struggle. Even though believers are not under the dominion of sin, they still can submit themselves again to it by their choices and return to enslavement (Rom 6:12,16; Gal 4:8-9). God provides believers with his Spirit which empowers them to fight against the influences of sin and the fleshly desires (Gal 5:17; Rom 6:12-13; 8:5-9; 13:11-14) (166-178). Paul’s continual exhortation to fight against carnal passions and warnings against returning to enslavement assumes that believers are regularly tempted, and do sin after becoming Christians. Like plants, believers grow into salvation and bear fruit (1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18) (192-193). Sin is not simply the breaking of arbitrary rules, but the turning away from what God has made us for. Rather than hiding, the narrative of Scripture reminds us again and again that God continually acts to mercifully restore his people (213-214).
In this volume Prothro highlights the centrality of grace and God’s mercy throughout Scripture. This text is an excellent introductory and accessible tome of Biblical Theology for the curious student. Portions of this book could easily be adapted for use in a Sunday School or Bible Study, serving as a helpful aid for Christians to piece together the overarching themes of reconciliation throughout Scripture. While Lutherans and other evangelicals will come to different conclusions about a few topics, the vast majority of the book is a concise and valuable survey of the Biblical Material for all Christians.
December 27, 2025
Fantastic book
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