I bet every adult here carries around a handful of keys. Which of those many keys is the most important to you? Which key would you hate most to lose? The key to your garden shed? The key to your bicycle lock? The key to a suitcase? No, I don’t think you would count any of those keys as the most important. Instead I think you would hate most to lose your car key or house key. That’s because without your car key you can’t get anywhere. And without your house key you have nowhere to end up at. Of course it’s annoying to misplace any kind of key and so if you’re like me, you’re in the habit of patting every pocket before you go anywhere to make sure you have your keys.
As Christians we also possess another set of keys that, while we can’t actually hold them in our hands, these keys are more important than any other key we have. These are the Keys of the Kingdom given to us by Jesus himself and so we will want to treasure them. We do that when we understand what these keys are and when we use them faithfully.
We learn about the Keys in Matthew 16 where Jesus said to the Apostle Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). The first part of that verse is simple enough. Jesus is giving Peter, as the spokesman of the apostles, keys to the kingdom of heaven. But what does it mean that these keys can bind and loosen things on earth and in heaven? The sixteenth century reformer, Martin Luther, explains when he wrote in his catechism: “The use of the keys is that special power and right which Christ gave to his church on earth, to forgive the sins of the penitent sinners, but to refuse forgiveness to the impenitent as long as they do not repent.”
Luther’s explanation is confirmed when you consider our sermon text from Matthew 18. There Jesus told all of his disciples, and not just Peter, what they were to do if a fellow Christian was caught in a sin. They were to first and go and speak to that individual privately about his sin and call him to repentance. To repent of sin means to be sorry for the sin, to stop committing that sin, and to trust that Jesus has forgiven the sin. If the individual refuses to repent, then the disciples were to “bind” the sin to the individual. That’s kind of what a police officer does when he pulls over a speeder and gives him a ticket. That ticket binds the infraction to the driver so that he has to answer for it in court or by paying a fine. He can’t just drive away and act as if nothing has happened. In the same way when we say to an impenitent that his sin is still bound to him, we’re announcing that he’ll have to answer for his sin on Judgment Day as long as he remains impenitent.
On the other hand, if the sinner repents and says he’s sorry and expresses his trust in Jesus’ forgiveness, then we are to “loose” the sin like untying a boat on a river so that it floats downstream and out of sight. Loosing sin is just another way to say that the transgression has been forgiven and has floated out of God’s sight.
So Jesus gives us the power to forgive or not to forgive sins. That’s what the Keys of the Kingdom are? And he’s given this privilege to all believers and not just to Peter and to the Twelve Disciples, or just to pastors? That’s right. When Jesus said, “If your brother sins…” he wasn’t just thinking about the Apostle Matthew sinning against the Apostle Peter. Or the Apostle John sinning against the Apostle James. He was speaking about anyone who calls himself a believer. If such a person sins, then other believers who witness that sin should call the individual to repentance.
But isn’t it dangerous to give this power to sinful human beings? I mean what if I don’t like you? Couldn’t I just refuse to forgive your sins and in that way keep you out of heaven? And couldn’t you do the same to me? No. The Keys of the Kingdom are not a loaded gun that God is hoping we’ll use correctly. What Jesus literally said in Matthew 16 and 18 is this: “…whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven…and whatever you loose on earth will have been loosed in heaven.” In other words, our use of the Keys doesn’t force God’s hand. Just because I say to someone that their sins aren’t forgiven doesn’t obligate God to withhold forgiveness from that person. God continues to bind and loose sins according to whether one is penitent or not, not based on what I or you say or think about that person.
So why does Jesus bother to entrust the Keys of the Kingdom to us if he can and will override our misuse of the Keys? While we can’t force God’s hand, God does want to extend his hand through the proper use of the Keys. You see, God could certainly send us a text himself, or much more dramatically flash a lightning bolt down from heaven whenever we sin, but he hasn’t chosen to do that. Instead he wants his children to call each other to repentance. And so all those who would say, “What I do with my life is between God and me. Only he can judge,” don’t understand that with the Keys of the Kingdom God has made it every Christian’s business to be concerned about their fellow believers and the lifestyle choices they make. So when we announce to a fellow sinner that by his impenitence he has turned his back on forgiveness, it’s as if God himself is speaking to that individual. That’s what Jesus was getting at when he said: “…where two or three gather together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).
Unfortunately we tend to misuse that passage. We like to quote it when only a few have gathered for a worship service or a Bible class. While it’s true that God is still in the midst of that small group, it’s also true that he would be present only if one person showed up for worship. So Jesus’ point in Matthew 18 is that when God’s people use the Keys according to his will, it’s as if he himself is speaking the words of warning – even if only two or three Christians are bold enough to call sin a sin. Remember that when you’re tempted to shrug off a call to repentance because none of your friends would consider what you’re doing to be wrong. It doesn’t matter what your friends or what the majority of society think and say about what is sinful; it matters what God says, and he speaks to us through the witness of faithful Christians.
But let’s not forget about the other Key of the Kingdom – the loosing key. With this key we announce forgiveness to those who are sorry for their sins. We want them to know that because of what Jesus has done, their sin is no longer tied to them like a big rock that would drag them down to the bottom of the ocean if they tried to swim with it.
We should be happy to use this key, but sometimes we are hesitant. Sometimes we want to see proof that the person who has asked for forgiveness is really sorry. Certainly, if they are truly repentant they will make amends for what they have done and make changes to their life so they don’t fall back into that sin. But being repentant doesn’t mean that they’re going to be able to totally clean up their life. They may have to offer this prayer in connection with a particular sin for the rest of their life: “I don’t like what I have done. I don’t like the way that I am. I have disobeyed you, O God and have hurt your people. I don’t want to keep living like that. Lord forgive me! Lord help me change!” Whenever such a prayer is offered in sincerity, that is repentance and we will want to use the loosing key on such an individual.
Withholding forgiveness from the penitent until they “prove” themselves is like withholding medication from a sick patient until he can prove that he’s getting better. But friends, it is the very power of forgiveness and the message of God’s grace that will motivate and empower the individual to fight against future temptation. Be happy and eager to use the loosing key and assure each other of Jesus’ love and forgiveness.
The next time you hold a set of keys in your hand, think about the Keys of the Kingdom that have been entrusted to you – the privilege to retain or release sin. Then pray that the Lord keep you faithful in using those keys because when you treasure the Keys of the Kingdom you not only cherish God’s Word, you treasure the people around you. You show that you love them enough to care about where they will spend eternity.
Think about that when someone uses the Keys of the Kingdom on you and calls you to repent of some sin. Don’t get angry. Don’t make excuses for your sin. Confess the sin and repent. For you will then hear that, for Jesus’ sake, your sin is forgiven and the kingdom of heaven is open to you.
The Keys of the Kingdom really are better than keys to any sports car or keys to any mansion here on earth. May the Lord keep each one of us faithful in the use of those keys and may he also give us an attitude that welcomes their use! Amen.
SERMON NOTES
What are the Keys of the Kingdom? What do they do? To whom have they been entrusted?
How is this statement incomplete? “To repent means to be sorry for sin.”
Explain: Our use of the Keys doesn’t force God’s hand, it extends his hands.
Keeping in mind the context of the verse, what point was Jesus making when he said, “...where two or three gather together in my name, there am I with them”?
Why are we sometimes hesitant to use the loosing key?
Explain: The Keys of the Kingdom have been entrusted to every believer. It’s a way for us to show love for God’s Word and love for God’s people.
