Part 2 of Matthews 16:18-19. Christ was telling Peter that He (Christ) was about to establish the New Testament Church, lead it (Eph. 5:23), be with it always (Matt. 28:20), and that the gates of hell [Hades—the grave] would never prevail against it. God’s Church was to continue to exist, doing His Work through the ages as a “little flock” (Luke 12:32), until the end of the age, when it would circle the whole world with the good news of the kingdom of God (Matt. 24:14). This Church would be persecuted (John 15:20; 16:33), but would never die out, remaining until Christ’s Return. In Matthew 16:19, Christ continues, “And I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven…” The “keys” He is referring to here is symbolic language meaning that He gives His ministers the knowledge of how to enter the kingdom. This knowledge shows the way of life a Christian must follow in order to achieve salvation. Luke 11:52 shows Christ reproving certain lawyers for hiding or suppressing this knowledge, thus preventing themselves and others from entering the kingdom. Continuing, “…and whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven…” Some will say that this verse gives men the power or authority to change what God has said in the Bible. This is absolutely not the case! No man can change what God has said! The true ministers of God have been given the authority to bind only that which is in agreement with God’s laws. That, then, would be backed up—bound—by God. When God’s ministers make a decision, it is based on Scripture—based on God’s will. But this in no way is giving ministers the power to forgive sin. Only God can and does that (Mark 2:7). God does give ministers the ability to discern when a person has repented of certain sins, thus concluding that God has forgiven them.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 05:42:15 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015