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“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:19

Yesterday, we learned that the Church was built upon the truth that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah. He is the Founder of the Church, the Cornerstone. The Lord gives Peter the keys to the Kingdom of heaven (not heaven per se), and the authority to bind or set things loose on earth. Jesus later shows the same command to all of His disciples (John 20:22-23).

In Jewish culture, only the most trusted servant was given the keys to the doors of the estate. By doing so, the master shares his authority to open or close, to lock or unlock the doors to his house. This is an illustration of how the apostles were the first to be given the right to proclaim the Gospel to unbelievers—first in Jerusalem, in all Judea, then to Samaria, and then to the rest of the world (Acts 1:8).

This authority does not give the Apostles the right to deviate from God’s sovereign will. When they “bind” or “loose” something, it means that they are only carrying out what was already preordained in heaven. In other words, they do not have autonomy; instead, they are obeying God’s will, which was first made known in heaven. Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 vividly demonstrates the application of this principle.

Jesus never told His disciples to act on their wisdom as they lead the church in its formative years. Instead, He gave them the authority, responsibility, and enablement to lead His Church according to His will.

While the Church is autonomous in the sense that the state cannot interfere with the church’s rules, regulations, and activities, this doesn’t mean that the congregation can do whatever it pleases. The Church does not belong to the lay people—not even the pastor or the board; the Church belongs only to the One who gave up His life for His Bride.

As a church, we are to submit to the authority of Scripture and only do things that correspond to biblical guidelines. Not only is going outside of God’s inspired word wrong, but it is also perilous. Our binding or unbinding should only be based on what God had already declared in heaven, which is written in His authoritative and infallible Word.

Pursue the Savior today!