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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Matthew chapter 16. Matthew chapter 16. got to the point where we're 
looking at the Declaration Concerning Christ's Church. Specifically, 
we noted last time we met together its establishment in verse 18, 
and this morning we'll take up the subject of the idea of the 
Church's authority in verses 19 and 20. But I do want to begin 
reading in chapter 16 at verse 13 to the end of the chapter 
to remind us of the context. When Jesus came into the region 
of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, Who do 
men say that I, the Son of Man, am? So they said, Some say John 
the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the 
prophets. He said to them, But who do you 
say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, 
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered 
and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh 
and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is 
in heaven. And I also say to you that you 
are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates 
of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys 
of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will 
be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed 
in heaven." Then he commanded his disciples that they should 
tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ. From that time, Jesus 
began to show to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, 
and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and 
scribes, and be killed and be raised the third day. Then Peter 
took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, Far be it from you, 
Lord! This shall not happen to you. 
But he turned and said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan! You are 
an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of 
God, but the things of men. Then Jesus said to his disciples, 
if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and 
take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save 
his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will 
find it. For what profit is it to a man 
if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will 
a man give in exchange for his soul? where the Son of Man will 
come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He 
will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to 
you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death 
till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Amen." 
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for 
this opportunity to come again to Matthew's Gospel. We pray 
that you would forgive us for all of our sins and transgressions. 
We confess at the outset, Lord God, we don't live in light of 
your law as we ought. We as well do not let our conduct 
be worthy of your gospel, and for this we confess and ask that 
you would wash us and purify us in the blood of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. As well, our Father, we pray 
for the ministry and the power of your Holy Spirit. We ask that 
he would guide us and lead us and direct us. We pray that we 
would understand the truth of scripture and that it would be 
that which which protects us, and that which nourishes us, 
and that which keeps us. God, for those who've come here 
this morning outside of Christ, we pray that today would be the 
day of salvation. We pray that they too would confess 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Send forth 
your word throughout this earth. We pray your gospel would run 
swiftly and be glorified. And we pray that many would come 
out of darkness into marvelous light to confess that Jesus is 
Lord. And we pray in his most blessed 
name, amen. Well, as I said, we are in this 
section in verses 13 to 20. Jesus and his disciples go way 
up north into the region of Caesarea Philippi. The remainder of Matthew's 
Gospel will see them travel down from Caesarea Philippi to Jerusalem 
specifically where the events associated with Christ's Passion 
will take place. His betrayal into the hands of 
godless men and ultimately his crucifixion for his people. But here when they get into Caesarea 
Philippi, Jesus asked the disciples very clearly, who do men say 
that I the Son of Man am? And by way of reminder or review, 
we have seen that this is the most important question in the 
world. The most important question is 
not, what am I going to do tomorrow? What am I going to have for lunch 
this afternoon? Where am I going to go to school? 
Who am I going to marry? What sort of investments am I 
going to make? As important as those things 
might be, and as legitimate concerns as they might represent, there 
is nothing as important as this question. Who do men say that 
I, the son of man, am? What is the identity of the Lord 
Jesus Christ? Was he just another religious 
teacher? Was he just a moral man? Was 
he in the same class or category as a Gandhi? Did he just go about 
speaking good things to people to sort of help them? Along the 
way was he just a motivational speaker. Did he help people find 
their inner strength? Are these the types of things 
that are true concerning our Lord Jesus? Have you asked yourself 
this question? Who do I say that the son of 
man is? Because notice that Jesus says, 
who do men say that I the Son of Man am? And they respond, 
some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah the prophet, some 
say Jeremiah the prophet, and others say one of the other prophets. So that's the general report 
outside, but then Jesus says very particularly to the disciples, 
but who do you say that I am? It may be the case that you have 
shown up at a church for the last 20 to 30 years. It may be the case that you occupy 
your pew faithfully, and that for all intents and appearances, 
you are in Christ. But if you have not satisfactorily 
answered this question, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, 
am, you will die in your sins. You see, the Bible is absolutely 
crystal clear. God is a holy God. God is righteous. There is no moral purity in God. God isn't like a faulty father 
who kind of winks when his child does an act of rebellion. No, 
God being a holy God must punish sin. That's the reality. And so man, being a sinner, stands 
under the judgment and the wrath and the fury of God. We can't 
obey Him perfectly. we can't obey him exactly, we 
can't obey him perpetually. And as a result, if we die in 
that state, we will be cut off and damned forever in hell. This 
is what the Bible introduces as good news. That being the 
backdrop, the bad news that man has sinned against God and stands 
liable to his just punishment. God sent forth His Son. God sent 
Jesus Christ into this world. Jesus obeys perfectly. Jesus 
dies as a sacrifice and a substitute. Jesus rises on the third day. 
And in the theological shorthand of the Apostle Paul, He was delivered 
up because of our offenses. and He was raised up for our 
justification. The only way, the only means, 
the only hope that we have of an entrance into heaven is not 
because we're good, but because Jesus is the Christ, the Son 
of the Living God. And by grace, confessing that, 
believing that, holding to that, affirming that, and not letting 
go of that is the pathway to everlasting bliss. So Christ 
asks, who do you say that I am? Notice Peter's response. He gets 
it right. Isn't this beautiful? Peter doesn't 
say, well, you're just like Gandhi. You're just like Buddha. You're 
just like another philosopher. No, he says, you are the Christ, 
the Son of the Living God. That word Christ means the Anointed 
One. The Hebrew background is Messiah. 
Jesus is the chosen one. Jesus is the anointed one. Jesus 
is the one sent by God to do a particular task. So Peter confesses, 
you are the Christ, and then he highlights this reality, the 
Son of the living God. Pastor Kim read at the outset 
of worship Psalm 115. If ever there was a contrast 
between the dead idols of man and the living and true God, 
it's Psalm 115. The idols have eyes and they 
can't see. The idols have ears and they 
can't hear. The idols have noses but they can't smell. But our 
God is in heaven and he does whatever he pleases. Thou art 
the Christ, the Son of the living God." This is Peter's confession. Is this your confession? Because 
when we talk about the authority of the church in just a few minutes, 
whether you get that accurate or not, I'll be a bit concerned 
because I want you to get it right. But you can still go to 
heaven with a faulty understanding of the authority of the church. 
You can't go to heaven with a faulty understanding of who Jesus is. If you see Him in the ranks of 
Buddha and Gandhi, if you see Him in the ranks of Socrates 
and Plato, you will die in your sins. Jesus says this in John's 
Gospel to the Pharisees. He says, unless you believe that 
I am. And there the backdrop being 
the prophet Isaiah and Yahweh's testimony to Moses in Exodus 
3.14. Unless you believe that I am. 
you will die in your sins. You see, this is the gravity 
of the situation. All those other decisions, all 
those other choices, all those other things you might do, do 
not end with eternal ramifications. If you choose a wrong university, 
you may come out stupid, but you'll still have the opportunity 
to enter into eternal life. If you choose the wrong bride 
or bridegroom, you may have a difficult life here on earth, but you can 
still enter into eternal bliss. But if you don't see Christ as 
the Bible sets in forth, if you don't understand that He is the 
Christ, the Son of the Living God, if you don't understand 
that it's by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ and 
Him alone is the only way of salvation, you will die in your 
sins. You see, the Christians that 
are in this place now, those who are rightly connected to 
God through Christ are going to go to heaven not because we're 
good, just ask any one of us. Not because we're wise. Not because 
we have successfully completed a particular course and therefore 
are fit and ready for heaven. No. God sought us out. God showed us our sin. God showed 
us the glory of Christ. And God, by His grace, enabled 
us to confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living 
God. So we see the identity of Christ as absolutely crucial. But again, by way of review, 
notice what Jesus then says to Peter. Blessed are you, Simon 
Barjona. It's not a word that's thrown 
around today that really doesn't have a lot of meaning. It's, 
I hope you're blessed. What do we mean by that? God 
bless you. Have a wonderful day. The blessedness 
that Jesus pronounces on Simon Peter here is not some cheap 
wish. It's not, I hope you get enough 
to eat today. Blessed are you, Simon Barjona. What he is saying is, truly happy 
are you, Simon Barjona. You see, we're all searching 
for happiness in this world. I have yet to meet the person 
that's searching for unhappiness. We typically find that pretty 
easily. We don't like it, do we? We want 
to seek after happiness and sometimes people seek after happiness through 
profit or monetary gain. Look at later what Jesus says 
in verse 26. What profit is it to a man if 
he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what will 
a man give in exchange for his soul? While men are pursuing 
blessedness or happiness in terms of money or sex or power or drugs 
or security or stability or whatever it may be. Notice where in true 
blessedness lies. Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah." 
This is where happiness is. It is to confess Christ, it is 
to own Christ, it is to be owned by Christ. And then notice what 
Jesus says, "'Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, Peter, 
but my Father who is in heaven.'" You see, this morning you stand 
in absolute dependence upon the God of heaven and earth. The 
Bible says we're dead in our trespasses and sins. The only 
way that someone is raised from the dead is not by the power 
of the preacher, it's by the power of the ministry of the 
Holy Spirit that works through and by the preaching to save 
his people from their sins. You say, well, if I'm absolutely 
dependent upon another, well, that must be a hopeful situation, 
a hopeless situation. No, God is in the business of 
saving. God is about raising people from the dead. God sent 
His Son into this world to save man from every tribe, tongue, 
people, and nation. There is hope in Christ. There 
is great hope in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of God 
Most High to reveal these things to you so that you may, by His 
grace, pass from death to life. So if you are not a believer 
here this morning, you need to ask yourself the question, who 
do I say that the Son of Man is? And pray to God that by His 
grace you will confess that He is the Christ, the Son of the 
Living God. Now notice what Jesus does after 
revealing this in verse 17. Gives Peter more information, 
specifically about the church. I think that those who love Jesus 
will love the church. I think that those who confess 
Him as Lord and as Son of the Living God are those who do esteem 
the church. I mentioned this a few weeks 
ago. It would be hard for me to believe that you really like 
me if in my presence you speak ill of my wife. I just wouldn't 
feel the love, as they say. You said, well, she's this, that, 
and the other, and I'm standing right there, and you say, but 
I love you. What are you talking about? You've just insulted my 
spouse. You've just insulted my helper. You've insulted the woman for 
whom I would die. Is that the case? Is that what the church is? Paul admonishing, charging, commanding 
the Ephesian elders? It says, take heed to yourselves 
and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you 
overseers. Shepherd the church of God, which 
he purchased with his own blood. Do you ever look at the church 
with that type of lens? This is a dignified body. This 
is Christ's body. This is Christ's bride. This 
is Christ's gem. This is the one for whom Christ 
died. We need to value and prize her. 
Jesus says in verse 18, And I also say to you that you are Peter, 
and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades 
shall not prevail against it. We define the term church, its 
foundation, is not Peter in his person. It's what Peter confesses 
concerning the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We saw its strength. He says the gates of Hades shall 
not prevail against it. Remember gates are a defense 
mechanism. The language of the text describes 
the church on the offense, the church taking the battering ram 
and going forward, the church calling men to repentance and 
faith, and the gates of Hades cannot prevail against it. Paul 
uses this image in Colossians 1.13, he says, the Father has 
delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us 
into the kingdom of the Son of His love. Every time a sinner 
is saved, Satan's kingdom is plundered. Every time a sinner 
is saved, Satan's kingdom is reduced and Jesus is built. That's the imagery that he uses. 
And then we saw as well that Jesus is the owner. I will build 
my church. Now it's not wrong if in popular 
conversation you refer to this as my church. I don't think you're 
going to go to hell for that. I'm just kidding. You're not 
going to go to hell for that. But when we talk about it and 
describe the church, especially in a culture that is filled with 
celebrity-styled preachers or pastors, where it does look like 
the church is theirs because they're making money off of her, 
they're exploiting her, they are seeking to grow in their 
own prestige, we need to remember it's Christ's church. He builds 
it, He owns it, He defines what's appropriate, and He then invests 
the church with authority. And that's verse 19. Notice. 
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and 
whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever 
you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. There's three observations 
I want to make on this statement. First, the stewards identify. When Jesus gives these keys of 
the kingdom to the church, there's authority there, but it's not 
absolute authority. It's not a sovereign authority. Only Christ possesses that. Only 
Christ has absolute authority. What the church possesses is 
a position of delegated authority. It's like the state or the civil 
government has authority, right? By me kings reign, Proverbs 8, 
13. Let every soul be subject to the governing authority, for 
there is no authority except from God, and those which exist 
are established by God, Romans 13. Well, we would never argue, 
unless we're Mao, or Hitler, or Stalin, or one of these other 
nut jobs, that this is absolute authority. We would recognize 
that it's delegated authority. Insofar as the state carries 
out the will of God in terms of their function, they have 
authority. They've been invested with it. 
The same thing is true with the church. Insofar as the church 
carries out her calling according to the will of God, they have 
the authority of heaven backing them. So we need to identify 
the stewards. Secondly, the authority delegated 
to the church. And then thirdly, the specific 
functions explained in verse 19. But note first, with reference 
to the stewards, the person identified. Jesus says in verse 19, and I 
will give you Peter. It's a singular pronoun, first 
person, I will give you Peter. He is speaking directly to him, 
and specifically to Peter. But as we have seen, though, 
it is not the person of Peter that is in view. Dropping down 
in the passage, when Peter gets the truth wrong, Jesus says, 
get behind me, Satan. It's Peter in his office as confessor. It's Peter in his office as the 
one who acknowledges that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the 
Living God. Calvin says, but who does not see that what he 
applies to the person of a man is set in reference to Peter's 
faith in Christ? So Peter is the one directly 
appealed to here. But this does not affirm the 
Roman Catholic view of the papacy. We tried to deal with that in 
our study in verse 18. But this passage, within the 
space of a few pages, indicates that it's not Peter as a person. 
Look at 1818 for just a moment. Matthew 1818, where he deals 
with church discipline. Remember, in Matthew 16, he's 
dealing with the universal church. In Matthew 18, he's dealing with 
particular churches, local churches. And in Matthew 18, 18, he uses 
the same language that he uses in 16, 19. Assuredly, I say to 
you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and 
whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. So we might 
say it this way, while Peter had a priority among the apostles, 
while Peter had a certain degree of prominence, the keys of the 
kingdom are not just simply given to Peter. They're given to all 
of the apostles initially, and then that authority extends down 
to the church throughout the ages, subsequent to the ascension 
of our Lord Jesus on high. I think Paul captures the sort 
of thing that's in view here in 1st Corinthians 4. He says, 
moreover it is required of stewards, and in the context he's talking 
about gospel ministers, moreover it is required of stewards that 
they be found faithful. Jesus gives the keys of the kingdom 
to the church to steward, to be porters, to be administrators, 
to be household managers, but never to exercise absolute authority 
in the church. The Catholic interpretation is 
just wrong. They say that Peter has complete 
power within the church. That's terrible. The only one 
we want with complete power in the church is Christ. Christ 
alone is Lord of the conscience. Christ isn't going to forbid 
you to eat meat on Friday according to whim. Christ isn't going to 
develop the doctrine of purgatory. For money, Christ isn't going 
to develop a whole myriad of other things to bind your consciences. This text does not invest Peter 
with primary authority. This text simply highlights that 
the risen, ascended, glorified Christ has given his church a 
particular function in this world to exercise the keys of the kingdom. The background Why does Jesus 
use this particular image? If we had time, we'd look specifically 
at Isaiah 22. You can look there later. Isaiah 
22, specifically 20 and following. It's having to do with the kingship. It's having to do with the house 
of David. And there was a man who functioned as a steward. 
There was a man who functioned as a porter. A man who functioned 
as a household manager that wasn't good at it. His name was Shepna. And so God, through the prophet 
Isaiah, says, Eliakim will be my servant. Eliakim will control 
access to the house of David. Eliakim will open and let those 
in that he permits. And he will close and keep out 
those he forbids. Jesus picks up on this very image 
in Revelation chapter 3 when he's speaking to the church in 
Philadelphia. In 3.7 of Revelation, the angel 
of the church in Philadelphia writes, These things says, he 
who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, 
he who opens and no one shuts and shuts and no one opens. That's 
Isaiah 22. It's the language that was used 
of Eliakim, applied to the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope you see 
the consistency. You've got Eliakim over the house 
of David in the Old Covenant. You've got Christ over the house 
of God in the New Covenant. And Christ, from his position 
of authority at the right hand of the Father, has given to the 
Church this responsibility to exercise stewardship, to exercise 
this role as being administrators in the house of the living God. He says, I will give you the 
keys of the kingdom of heaven. How have we identified the kingdom 
of heaven in Matthew's gospel? Isn't this how Jesus begins his 
ministry? In verse 17 he says, repent for 
the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven is at hand. I'm sure 
that when you hear this passage in 1619, you've at least heard 
the idea that Peter stands up there at the pearly gates and 
it's all about Peter to let people in or keep them out. Has anybody 
ever heard that? Peter stands at the pearly gates 
and it's all up to Peter. That's a bad interpretation of 
this passage. It's a terrible interpretation 
of this passage. It misunderstands, first, the 
role of Peter as a steward, not as a sovereign lord. But secondly, 
it misunderstands the Kingdom of Heaven. If, as Jesus announces 
in Matthew 4.17, the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and in 
Matthew 12 He says, the Kingdom of Heaven is within you, if the 
Kingdom has arrived, then what we find is that this has binding 
influence upon the Church now. And while the Kingdom of Heaven 
comprehends more than just the Church, its visible manifestation 
in the world at this time is through the Church. You see, 
this is a passage. On the heels of us considering 
the establishment of the church, now we have the authority of 
the church. Now notice, secondly, the authority 
delegated. The connection in the context. 
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. It's interesting. 
He's referred to the gates of Hades, not prevailing against 
the church. Still thinking in terms of this sort of metaphor, 
Jesus refers to these keys of the kingdom. And when you look 
at what Peter does in the book of Acts, it's that very thing, 
isn't it? What does Peter do? He's a steward, isn't he? In 
the book of Acts. At least for the first half of 
the book. Acts chapter 2. Peter stands up on the day of 
Pentecost, and he preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ. He brings 
that sermon to a conclusion. He says, therefore, house of 
Israel, know assuredly that this Jesus, whom you crucified, God 
has made both Lord and Christ. Peter was responsible in preaching 
the gospel for loosing the kingdom of heaven. For loosing and enabling 
access into it through the faithful preaching of the gospel and the 
salvation of sinners. I'll argue in just a moment it's 
not just the faithful preaching of the gospel as we see in Matthew 
16, but it's also the exercise of church discipline in Matthew 
18. I've already read that text, 
the language of binding and loosing there in the context of church 
discipline. Do we have an example of that in Acts? Remember the 
case of Ananias and Sapphira? There's church discipline unto 
death. was Peter that was instrumental in that particular situation. 
It's Peter in Acts 8 along with John that is sent over to Samaria 
to investigate the work of God Most High. It is Peter in Acts 
chapter 10 that opens, as it were, the door of the kingdom 
to the Gentiles when he goes to preach to the household of 
Cornelius. It's Peter in Acts chapter 11 
who explains the significance that Gentiles are now entering 
into the same kingdom of heaven that the Jews are a part of. 
In Acts chapter 15 we have that Jerusalem Council. What do we 
find but the church binding? We find the church loosing. We 
find the church using that authority that has been entrusted to her 
by her Lord. And in those first sections, 
it is Peter that takes the lead. But it's not Peter only, it is 
other apostles, and by extension, it is the church. John Gill comments. He says, keys are the ensigns 
of treasurers and of stewards. Right? Who's got authority over 
a building? It's a guy with the key. Remember 
a few weeks ago I showed up and everybody was standing outside 
waiting so we could start Sunday school. I was the man with authority. 
I had a key in my pocket. That key at least argues that 
I have a right to be here. That key argues that I have a 
right to let in, who I say to let in, and a right to exclude 
those. Who shouldn't be in here? The 
guy comes in and says, I just want to kill everybody I see 
and take everything you have, and then smoke crack while I'm 
musing over your bloody bodies. We're going to exclude him. He 
doesn't belong here. We'll use the key, we'll turn 
the knob, and we'll keep him out. Listen to Gil. Keys are the ensigns, or the 
symbols, or the signs of treasurers, and of stewards, and such the 
ministers of the gospel are. They have the rich treasure of 
the Word under their care, and put into their earthen vessels 
to open and lay before others, and they are stewards of the 
mysteries and manifold grace of God, and of these things they 
have the keys. The keys of the kingdom isn't 
a literal key hung on Peter's literal waist in accordance with 
the prophecy of Isaiah concerning Eliakim. The keys are the metaphor 
of authority. The keys are the metaphor of 
power. The keys are the metaphor of 
the church having a right to forbid and to deny access. And that brings us, thirdly, 
to consider the specific functions. Notice, I will give you the keys 
of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will 
be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed 
in heaven. The use of these terms, binding 
and loosing, had a long pedigree in rabbinic literature. Essentially, 
binding means to forbid, and to loose means to permit. The 
church binds. We keep out guys that want to 
murder everybody and smoke crack and revel in our bloody bodies. 
We keep them out. We bind them. We do not allow 
them access into the house of God. But on a more practical 
level, the church does not receive as members those who are profane 
and ungodly. Those who have not made the good 
confession of faith in Christ. Those who have not said, Thou 
art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. We have to bind. 
We have to seek by the grace of God to maintain a pure church. 
Not an absolutely pure church, that's an impossibility, but 
a pure church. Why? Because God commands it, 
and secondly because if we allow the pervasive influence of sin, 
what typically happens? It affects us all. Right? If we deal with, or we don't 
deal with, sin, and we allow it to go unchecked in the context 
of the house of God, we'll start to have arguments like, well, 
that person got away with this, so why can't I do it too? Now, 
we need to bind that type of thought. We need to regulate, 
by the grace of God, our conduct and our practice as a church. 
You'll certainly find inconsistencies here. You'll certainly find inconsistencies 
in our myths. You'll say, well, I know that 
Brother So-and-So professes faith and he does this. Yeah, I know, 
it's tough, isn't it? Perhaps one of the things that's 
most difficult in the exercise of biblical churchmanship is 
dealing properly with Matthew 18 and this whole idea of discipline. You see, but it's something that 
must be enacted. It's something that must be complied 
with. We do not have the right to allow profane and ungodly 
persons to infiltrate the membership. We need to bind. It's what the 
text tells us. The church denies access because 
persons reject faith in Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living 
God. You see, churchmanship isn't simply numbers. If somebody can just mouth the 
word church, we don't sign them up. We don't say, welcome to 
the Bride of Christ. We've got a Sunday school for 
you to teach. We've got a pulpit for you to preach in." No. It's not just numbers. Isn't 
that one of the things that's been most discouraging to see 
the trends in evangelicalism and in Reformed thinking, is 
that it's all about numbers? How many people do you have in 
your church? It's quite common. You go to 
pastor's conference, or you meet other people. How big is your 
church? Well, we've got 5,000 people. What do you think the 
report's going to be? Wow, it's great! We got 50 people. Wow, that's 
not so good. People don't typically say that. You kind of read it 
in their face. You only got 50 people? You mean 
50? That's it? 50? 5-0? 5-0, is that right? Yes, 5-0 that fear God and love 
His Word. I'd rather be with 5-0 that fear 
God and love His Word than 5,000 that can only mouth the word 
church but haven't confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son 
of the Living God. We need to bind. But as well 
we need to loose, permit, preach the free gospel of grace, preach 
Christ to every creature indiscriminately, call all men everywhere to believe 
on the Lord Jesus, to confess Him as the Christ, the Son of 
the living God. to own Him, to follow Him, to live according 
to His Word and rule. And we want to loose it and bring 
them in. We want to see such persons added 
to the church. We want to see such persons flocking 
to the Kingdom of God. This is what we pray for on the 
Lord's Day morning. This is what we pray for on Wednesday 
night. This is what I hope you pray for in your private closets, 
is that God Most High would bless the preaching of the Word, so 
that the Kingdom of God would be opened up and that sinners 
would come, that Zion would be filled. So on the one hand it's 
not a numbers game, but on the other hand we want numbers because 
numbers are people and we don't want them to go to a Christless 
eternity, we don't want them to perish in hell, we don't want 
them to suffer the vengeance and the wrath of God. So we testify 
all men everywhere, there is acceptance, there is forgiveness, 
there is free redemption in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. 
You believe on Him, you look to Him, and you will be saved. 
You see, this is the function of the church. I have heard of 
churches not preaching the gospel. They should stop! Stop being 
a church! If you're not about the gospel, 
you're not a church of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just binding 
to keep the riffraff out. It is loosing to invite the riffraff 
in to come through the Lord Jesus and to find that forgiveness 
and that membership in Christ's bride. The gospel is absolutely 
crucial for the church. We must preach, whether you're 
a believer or not. I gotta tell you, I love hearing 
the gospel as a believer. I love speaking of the gospel 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, because the gospel gets me out of my 
head. The gospel gets me away from my wickedness. The gospel 
is extraspective. It causes me to look unto Christ, 
and not introspective, to look at me. You, as Christian believers, 
need much gospel. You need to hear of Christ and 
Him crucified and resurrected. As well, unbelievers, we want 
to open the gates of heaven. We want to invite all men everywhere 
to participate. We want to say with the prophet, 
or God through the prophet, in Isaiah 55, 1, Ho! Everyone who thirsts, let him 
come and let him drink. Everyone who hungers, let him 
come and eat. You who have no money, come buy 
and eat. Why do you spend your wages on 
that which does not satisfy? This is God through the prophet, 
and I'll say that to you. Why do you spend your wages on 
that which does not satisfy? Why is it that peer pressure, 
or sex, or drugs, or rock and roll, or rap, or hip-hop, or 
whatever it is, why is that more satisfying than eternal life 
with Christ? This is what the prophet Isaiah 
asks, you ask yourself this, why am I living for this that's 
going to bring destruction? Why am I pursuing this that's 
going to bring death? Why is it the case that I'll 
reject the Christ, the Son of the Living God, so I can please 
my friends? Are your friends going to be 
there on the Day of Judgment? Are your friends going to provide 
a human shield between you and a holy, holy, holy God? No, they're 
not going to be there. They're not going to say, well, 
he really didn't do it, he's really innocent, just let him 
go. No, your friends are not going to stand there. Your relationships, 
and again, I'm not saying friends and relationships are bad. I 
can see the blog post today. Butler said friends and relationships 
are bad, don't have them. That's not what Butler said. 
Butler said, with the profit, why do you spend your wages on 
that which does not satisfy? Why do you throw it away? Why 
do you take your time, your energy, your talents, your efforts, your 
life, and pour it into the sewer? Why is that? Why is it that sin 
is far more appealing than Christ and righteousness? Why is it 
that you'll always choose the evil over the good? It goes back 
to what I said. God must reveal. God must break 
in. God must raise dead men and women 
and boys and girls. There's hope beyond hope because 
God is in the business of doing those very things. The church 
not only binds or forbids, the church loosens, permits, preaches, 
publishes, writes, blogs, Twitters, proclaims on Sunday, whatever 
the case may be. The church hopefully is equipping 
her members so that when they go out in the workplace, they 
can testify concerning the Lord. You'll notice in verse 20 that 
Jesus forbids his disciples to discuss his status as Messiah. Spurgeon commenting says, we're 
under no such embargo in these days. It is our privilege and 
our blessing and our joy to be able to testify that Jesus is 
the Christ, the Son of the living God. The Church has authority 
to bind. The Church has authority to loose. In the proclamation of the Gospel, 
in forbidding and in permitting members to the Church, and as 
well in judicial pronouncements, Acts 15. What did they do when 
they convened that Jerusalem Council? They laid down very 
specific rules for the Gentiles. You don't need to be circumcised 
in order to be a believer in Christ. But these are some things 
that you should stay away from. These are some things that will 
facilitate relationship between Gentile and Jew. So the church 
binds, the church looses. The church binds and forbids 
the proclamation of the gospel by works. The church freely permits 
and openly looses the gospel of salvation by faith alone. 
You see, this is what Christ calls His church to do. And if 
you look at the verse, notice again in verse 19, whatever you 
bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on 
earth will be loosed in heaven. If you have the New King James, 
you'll notice a marginal reading. That marginal reading is probably 
represented by the NIV and the ESV. I didn't check it for certain, 
but I would suspect that they've got the marginal reading in the 
main text. But notice the difference. Whatever you bind on earth will 
be bound in heaven. The margin says, whatever you 
bind on earth will have been bound in heaven. Whatever you 
loose on earth will have been bound in heaven. Either interpretation 
gives us a bit of difficulty if we don't watch it. We could 
be Roman Catholic and end up saying, whatever we bind on earth, 
God will ensure that that's bound in heaven. Well, that's not right. 
We don't tell God what to bind and what to loose, do we? But 
if we take the second interpretation, whatever we bind on earth will 
have been bound in heaven. It's almost like we certainly 
know exactly what God's will is for us. Almost this direct 
line sort of thing. Now we know what God's will is 
for us in terms of revealed scripture, but we don't know what God's 
will is for us in terms of particular persons. We may have principles, 
we may have guidelines, we may seek under wisdom to do the best 
that we can. But we can't say every action 
that we ever take in the church is something that necessarily 
is endorsed by heaven. So what if we do something wrong? 
What if we as fallible men make a mistake? What if we as fallible 
men sin? We can't expect the endorsement 
of heaven on such a foolish action. probably the idea, and I'm just, 
you know, the best I can see it here, is that insofar as the 
church does what she's supposed to do, insofar as the church 
carries out her role, binding and loosing according to the 
scriptures, insofar as she does that, heaven ratifies her decision. In other words, she is not on 
earth functioning on her own, but rather she has the affirmation 
of heaven that when she does what she's supposed to do, heaven 
stands behind it. That's probably where the interpretation 
goes. And then as I said, when we compare 
this verse with 1818, The keys are primarily seen in terms of 
denial and access in 1619. They are seen primarily in terms 
of discipline in 1818. So the church, in terms of her 
authority, has these keys. And the primary manifestation 
of this authority is in her proclamation of the truth and in her exercise 
of church discipline. Raymond summarizes very well 
and says, to proclaim the liberating gospel 
and the authority to take disciplinary steps to ensure that the church 
remains pure. You see? 1619, proclaim. Preach. Bind and loose through the word. 1818, bind and loose through normal 
day in and day out church life where you exercise discipline 
on those who are going astray. Now I think when we hear church 
discipline we think of, you know, this sort of formal announcement, 
you know, the elders wear robes and white wigs and we make this 
pronouncement that you're out of here. You're a heathen and 
a tax collector. No longer come back. Now that 
eventuality may take place, save the black robes and the white 
wigs. Discipline can be as simple as 
asking somebody, have you been faithful in your life? How come 
you haven't attended the Lord's table? What's the problem in 
terms of obedience and compliance to the Lord? You see, that's 
discipline as well. It's discipling persons with 
a view to become like Christ. It's not just slapping them with 
the whammy at every step of the way. You terrible monster, you're 
out of here. No, that's the last step in a 
long process according to Matthew 18. If your brother sins, go 
to him. If he hears you, you've won him. 
That's discipline, brethren. Every bit as much as telling 
someone or telling the church that this person is now a tax 
collector and a heathen. If you go to your spouse and 
you say, honey, you did something and it was sinful and I would 
hope that you'll repent and forsake. I'd like to think that nine times 
out of ten a Christian man or woman will say, yeah, you're 
right, please forgive me. That's discipline. That's okay. Not everything has to be this 
epic, massive, dramatic thing. Discipline includes excommunication, 
but it's not exhausted by excommunication. Spurgeon says it this way, for 
practical purposes, the people of God would need discipline 
and the power to receive, refuse, retain, or exclude members. You see, Christ, on the heels 
of this lofty confession, thou art the Christ, the son of the 
living God, pronounces Peter personally blessed for having 
made this discovery, not in his own strength, not by his own 
wisdom, but because of the revelating grace or the revealing grace 
of God most high. And on the heels of this, Christ 
takes the opportunity to teach Peter and the other apostles 
something about the church. You see, the church is important 
to Jesus. I've said this before, and I 
hope I'll say it again. Of the three lawful, God-ordained 
institutions on this earth, one of them extends into eternity. 
God's over the family. We ought to thank Him for our 
families. In fact, at the luncheon today, 
we hope to give opportunity for persons to express thankfulness. 
You probably have noticed the Thanksgiving theme. There's turkey 
sandwiches up there, and there's cranberry sauce, all those Thanksgiving 
sort of concepts. But brethren, if you have something 
for which you're thankful, and we say, does anybody have anything 
for which they're thankful? It's okay to get up and say it. 
And one of those things may be your family. One of those things 
may be the state, though I totally doubt it. I highly, highly doubt 
it. The state, that's God-ordained, 
isn't it? I already cited Romans 13, let 
every soul be subject to the governing authority. The state 
is sanctioned by God. The Lord God Most High clothes 
or arms the state, not with the keys of the kingdom, but with 
the sword. What's the state's function? 
It's not to bind and loose the kingdom, it's to punish evildoers. You see how simple it really 
is? The church's business is clearly defined. The state's 
business is clearly defined. We have convoluted and complicated 
it so much that everybody scratches their head thinking that the 
state should do churchly duties and the church should do stately 
duties when God's ordained them separately to do specific functions. Anyways, the family will be ended 
Doesn't mean you won't recognize your wife. I like to think I'm 
going to recognize my wife. I like to think my kids are going 
to recognize me. I like to think that all my grandkids 
are going to be there so that they can recognize me too. But 
in heaven, we'll be like the angels, neither given in marriage 
or marrying, right? The family as we know it is going 
to change dramatically. When we get to heaven, there 
will be no more Parliament, there will be no more Senate, there 
will be no more executive branch or judicial branch, because God 
and the Lamb will be present. So no more state. But who's going 
to be in the presence of God and the Lamb? Men from every 
tribe and tongue and people and nation. What the Bible calls 
or describes as the Church. We will pass into the eschaton 
and live forever, world without end, as the church before our 
head who has saved us." See why I think we ought to like the 
church? I'm not necessarily saying this church. You may not like 
this church. That's fine. Find a church that you can like. 
Find a church that you can love. Find a church that you can support, 
find a church that you can pray for that is in the act of binding 
and loosing through the preaching of the gospel, that is in the 
act of binding and loosing through the exercise of discipline, that 
is in the act of binding and loosing and utilizing the key 
entrusted to her by the Lord Jesus Christ. That final verse 
in the section, verse 20, He commanded His disciples that 
they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ. Why? 
Because they weren't ready to hear it. They simply were not 
ready to hear it. The common conception of concerning 
Jesus was that He was John the Baptist, that He was Elijah, 
that He was Jeremiah, that He was one of the prophets. The 
common conception concerning Messiah was that He would come 
in power and glory and impose His rule upon man. They did not 
conceive of a Messiah that would be lowly. They did not conceive 
of a Messiah that would be crucified. They did not conceive of a Messiah 
that would have a crown of thorns implanted in his head. They did 
not conceive of a Messiah that would be hung upon a cross, even 
subsequent to Jesus' resurrection. Paul says, The cross is foolishness 
or a scandal to the Jews. It's foolishness to the Greeks. 
It's a scandal to the Jews because they're not expecting a crucified 
Messiah. The same thing is true here. 
When Jesus commanded his disciples that they should tell no one 
that he was Jesus Christ, he's not inhibiting evangelism. He's 
saying the time is not now. Notice how badly Peter gets it. Peter's the one that's just been 
called rock. Peter's the one that's just been 
handed the keys of the kingdom. Peter's probably soaring at this 
particular time saying, wow, Jesus loves me, this I know, 
for he just told me so. And then Peter denies the work 
of the Lord Jesus as he describes it in terms of dying and rising 
again. And what does Peter say? May 
it never be, Lord. Jesus then says, get behind me, 
Satan. As France says, if Peter could 
get it so badly wrong, how much more the wider public? They weren't 
ready for it. In summary, as we look at this 
verse, as we compare it with Isaiah, as we compare it with 
Revelation 3, we understand that the Lord Jesus Christ is the 
Son of God tasked with building a house for God that will continue 
without end. Isn't that beautiful? and succeed 
he most certainly will. He is the owner. He is the builder. He is the one that has promised 
victory and triumph to his beloved bride. The Lord Jesus is the 
ultimate one who denies or controls access into the house. It's not 
us. Remember, we're stewards, porters, 
we are functioning in a particular way. Interesting, porter and 
butler. Just dawned on me, never made that connection during the 
week and boom, all of a sudden I had an epiphany, a porter and 
a butler. That's it. That's how we're supposed 
to function. It's Christ ultimately that has 
the authority to bind and to lose. Christ does give the keys 
of the kingdom so that the church will operate for Him in this 
present world. We are to bind and loose through 
the preaching of the gospel. We are to bind and loose through 
the exercise of church discipline. We are to bind and loose according 
to the mind and the will of God revealed to us in the scriptures, 
not some direct line, not a time on Mount Shem, not a visionary 
thing from your prophetic leaders. No, it's pretty simple. It's 
pretty garden variety. It's pretty run-of-the-mill. 
Here's what the Bible says, and this is what it means to us. 
It's not complicated, brethren. And as we consider this whole 
idea of Christ possessing sole authority or sovereign authority 
and then Christ delegating the keys to the kingdom of heaven 
to the church, isn't it folly? Isn't it bad? Isn't it unrighteous? Isn't it disobedience? And isn't 
it just silly when the church hangs up those keys and does 
foolish stuff like tries to inspire? Or does foolish stuff by trying 
to give therapy? Or does foolish stuff by simply 
giving you pep talks so you'll bounce into this week and be 
a better you? Or does foolish stuff and seeks 
to entertain rather than bind and loose? It is wicked to hang 
up God-given authority and put on the entertainer's cap and 
seek to rally the people up and make them feel good. That is 
not the task of the steward. That is not the task of the porter 
or the butler. The task of the porter and the 
butler is to preach the whole counsel of God, and in that binding 
takes place, and in that, loosing takes place. Because our God 
is sovereign, He sends the real spirit to do the work of saving 
souls, bringing them out of darkness into marvelous light, and that 
self-same spirit gives wisdom to the church to spot the fakes, 
to see the charlatans, and by God's grace, to keep them out. 
It's terrible what goes on in the name of church today. It's 
terrible to consider some of these men that lead congregations, 
they're not stewards, they're not butlers, they're not porters, 
they are the prophetic leaders, the visionary leader. It's wrong, 
brethren. If ever Pastor Porter or I stand 
up and say, I want to give you a vision that I saw, out It's 
time to bind the kingdom from wretches like you. No vision. There's no direct line to God. We don't spend time in our studies 
in some esoteric way. We don't sort of burn incense 
and throw pillows around and get this feeling or impression 
from God. What does Paul tell Timothy? 
Study to show yourself approved. A workman who need not be ashamed. 
Rightly dividing the word of truth. How are these keys applied? How are these keys effective? 
How are these keys utilized? It's through the Word of God. 
That's the authority that we have. And when we substitute 
that authority in the name of relevance, we have become irrelevant. The most relevant thing we can 
do for our culture and for our society is to preach the Word 
of the Living God. That's it. That's what it's about. That's what's going on. Calvin 
says, we know that there is no other way in which the gate of 
life is open to us than by the Word of God and hence it follows 
that the key is placed as it were in the hands of the ministers 
of the Word. Then as I mentioned finally, 
when he says he commanded his disciples that they should tell 
no one that he was Jesus the Christ, Spurgeon said this, it 
was dangerous to tell such an ill-instructed multitude what 
they would be sure to misunderstand and misuse. That's the reason 
for the prohibition. Jesus is not ashamed of himself 
or of his ministry. It's all about timing. It's all 
about steps. It's all about revelation according 
to God's mind and will. Jesus says, don't tell anybody 
right now because they're not going to get it. After the shame 
of the cross, after the empty tomb, after the ascension on 
high, certainly people will get it. But even then they'll only 
get it by the grace of God. Because we preach Christ crucified 
to the Greeks foolishness, to the Jews, or to the Greeks foolishness, 
I'm sorry, and to the Jews a stumbling block. That's the word I was 
looking for earlier, a scandal. But we preach Christ crucified, 
the wisdom and the power of God. Spurgeon goes on to say, and 
hence, I'm sorry, we are under no such embargo and therefore 
we will tell to all that our Lord is the Savior. the anointed 
of God, or as he himself worded it, Jesus the Christ. So brethren, Christian, believer, 
you are not under embargo. You are not forbidden from testifying 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are 
permitted to speak. you are permitted and invited 
to tell others. You ought to be telling others 
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. We end 
where we began, and again I ask, who do you say that Jesus, the 
Son of Man, is? Please, by God's grace, believe 
on Him. Look to Him and you will have 
everlasting life. I don't care how old you are, 
I don't care how young you are, you need the Lord Jesus Christ. There is none righteous, no not 
one. There is none who understands, 
there is none who seeks after God, there is no fear of God 
before our eyes. All we like sheep have gone astray. The only thing that is fit for 
a sheep that goes astray is judgment, punishment, curse, wrath. It's 
God's grace that brings us from that place of straying into the 
blessed sheepfold of Christ's people. grace, faith, Christ, 
and Him alone. Believe and you will be saved. 
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word and we thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ and for 
the church that He has built. God, help us to pray for this 
church. Help us to love one another in 
this church. Help us to just implore you to 
send your Spirit so that things would be done according to your 
word in this place. We thank you for your mercy to 
us. We thank you for your grace. We pray that today would be the 
day of salvation, that people wouldn't continue to spend their 
wages on that which does not satisfy. May they come and buy 
and eat, those even without money. We ask these things through Christ 
our Lord. Amen.