Word of Salvation – Vol.35 No.05 – February 1990

The Keys Of The Kingdom

Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord’s Day 31

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Most of us possess a number of keys. With these keys we can open or lock our cars and homes. Some people who have many keys need a key-rack to hang their keys on. And they also need some means of identification so that they know what keys open or shut which doors. One key may be for the garden shed, another for the back-gate, or one for the church or the hall.
If the place, for which we possess a key, is very important and valuable, then the key itself becomes very important too. And it figures that whoever has been given the key, must be a reliable and trustworthy person, for such a person has the power and authority to open and shut, to allow other people in or to keep them out. In fact, you can see where the expression “they are the key-people” has come from.
Now the Word of God speaks of “the keys of the kingdom of heaven”. (Matt.16:19). When you hear the words “the kingdom of heaven” then you must not think of a place that will be opened or shut to you at the time of your death.
The kingdom of heaven is not limited to the hereafter. The kingdom of heaven came to earth when Christ, the Son of God came to earth. And believers enter this kingdom while they live in the here and now, and not when they leave this life at death.
The kingdom of heaven is also known as the kingdom of God. They are one and the same thing. From here on we will use the expression the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God has two keys. And someone possesses those keys. With those keys the key-holder can open or shut the kingdom of God. The key-holder can do that with either of the two keys he possesses.
The one key is called Gospel preaching.
The other key is called Christian discipline.
But because both keys have the same function of opening and closing, you could almost see them as one key but with two different sides.
Well, let us now hear the Word of God about: The keys of the kingdom of God, and
1. Who has the use of the keys?
2. How must the keys be used?
1. In the first place, then, we ask in connection with the keys of the kingdom of God – who has the use of these keys? Who has been given the power and authority? Obviously such a person or persons must be reliable and trustworthy. A lot of responsibility rest on these key-people.
Well, the answer is that some people in the church have been given the keys to the kingdom of God. Didn’t Christ say to Peter, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven?
But we have to be careful how we understand Jesus’ words to Peter. When the Lord gave the keys to Peter He added: Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Matt.16:19). Now would Peter, either as a person or an apostle, have really possessed such tremendous power? Would a mere speaking of this disciple actually open or shut God’s kingdom to other people?
But what the Lord said to the apostle Peter, He later repeated to all the apostles (Matt.18:18). Actually, the Lord mentioned the “church” when He spoke of all the apostles having the power to open and shut the kingdom. And after his resurrection the Lord said to the apostles: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:22- 23).
Would the church then have that awesome power and authority to open and shut the kingdom of God? To forgive or not forgive people their sins?
Well, we know that there have been instances where some church leaders thought they had that kind of power and authority. Needless to say such people became spiritual dictators. People feared them and were careful not to incur their wrath or displeasure in case they would be summarily shut out of God’s kingdom and be condemned to hell.
However, these days most people no longer see their church leaders as having such power. And rightly so! No man or woman has the power or authority to determine who is to enter God’s kingdom or to be put out of it. In the past such assumed powers have been terribly abused. No, we thank God that the job of gate keeping to God’s kingdom is not in the hands of men. That power and authority has always belonged, and will always belong, to Christ Himself.
To the church in Philadelphia which is spoken of in Rev.3:7ff., Christ spoke these words about himself: “These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens, no-one can shut; and what he shuts no-one can open.”
This church was severely troubled by Jewish leaders from the synagogue, who probably told the Christians that the kingdom of God was closed to them. But the Lord Jesus assured those who believed in him and kept his Word, “I know your deeds. See I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.” (vs.8).
So it is Christ himself who has the keys, yes, even now as He rules from heaven. In John 10 we have Jesus describing himself as the Good Shepherd who will bring all the sheep into the sheep pen. There is only one proper way into the pen and it is through the gate. And Jesus said, “I tell you the truth I am the gate for the sheep.” (vs.7).
Jesus then is the gate-keeper and He has never given that task away. And when we read through the four gospels of the New Testament, then we are presented with a very clear picture of Jesus being the one who opens and shuts the kingdom of God. He preaches the good news of salvation and stresses that all are sinners and need to repent and believe in him as the Saviour from sin. To those who do, the Lord assures them of their entry into the kingdom of God. But He warns the unbeliever, and unrepentant that they will remain where they are, in outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The parables of the Lord Jesus in particular stress the need for sinners to enter the kingdom of God. You cannot read them and not be aware, that the imaginary people in the parables, portray us and others and what it means to be saved or unsaved.
That would be true of the well-known parables like The Good Samaritan, The Great Banquet, The Lost Sheep, The Lost Sons, The Rich Man and Lazarus, and The Pharisee and Tax-collector.
But already during his earthly ministry, Christ began using his disciples to preach the same gospel as Jesus did and in his name. He even gave them some of his power and authority. And when Jesus ascended to heaven, He equipped the apostles with the Holy Spirit so that they could carry on with the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. Not everyone could be an apostle. An apostle had to be an ear-witness of Jesus’ teaching and an eye-witness of what Jesus did, especially of his resurrection.
Only when the apostles truly represented the acts and teachings of Christ, did the keys of God’s kingdom function with them. For the very purpose of carrying on Jesus’ work of salvation, did the apostles receive the Holy spirit. The power and authority of the keys was not in their person but in their gospel preaching and Christian discipline. The false teaching of those, who were not true apostles but impostors, could not open or shut the kingdom.
When the apostles died, they were not replaced. The church did not appoint successors after the twelve had gone from the scene. But what the church was commanded to do was to guard the teachings of the apostles. Through his apostles, Christ laid the foundation of the New Testament church. And God saw to it that this foundation was permanently recorded in the Scriptures through the New Testament writers whom He inspired.
Thus the church, now possessing an infallible record of what Jesus did and said, became the instrument in God’s hand to use the keys of the kingdom. The church has been entrusted with the gospel of Christ, and she has been instructed to exercise Christian discipline. They are the keys of the kingdom of God and when the church faithfully uses them then the kingdom of God will be opened to every sinner whenever and as often as that sinner repents and believes the gospel promises.
But when the church sees that sin is not repented of and that God’s offer of salvation is stubbornly rejected, yes, where there is plain unbelief and hypocrisy, then the church must preach the righteous anger of God, and his eternal judgement, just as faithfully as she preaches forgiveness and salvation. Thus through the church’s faithful handling of the keys is the kingdom of God opened and shut.
2. This brings us to our second point – how must the church use the keys? We just spoke of the church’s responsibility to faithfully preach the gospel and exercise Christian discipline. The function of the keys of God’s kingdom is to open or shut its entrance.
To open it to those who repent and believe and to shut it to those who remain in unbelief and in sin.
But now our question is: how must the church use the keys? The church can do it both rightly and wrongly. The church, for instance, can one-sidedly emphasize the sinfulness of human nature and the wrath of God on sin and the result will be that even God’s people will start to doubt their salvation.
A child that is constantly warned that sin is lurking underneath everything and that whatever the child does is not really good, will more and more begin to feel hopelessly inadequate and inferior.
But the church can also go to the other extreme and ignore the presence and power of sin. It can one-sidedly emphasize that God is love and always very keen to forgive.
Here you can think of a child that is never given warnings and always getting the impression that everything is just fine, Eventually such a child will be quite irresponsible.
The church in its preaching of the gospel and in the exercise of discipline must always seek a balance. The church must preach the whole counsel of God. It must ask searching questions: Do you really love the Lord? Are you being truly obedient to Christ, the king? Do you see your sin and shortcomings?
But that is only the one side. What is also needed is the emphasis on God’s love for sinners, and other questions, equally heart-searching, need to be asked also: Can you see that God reaches out to you? Do you know that God so loved us that He gave his only Son to die on the cross for us? Can you see in your life that God cares for you?
So not only the question – how often do you read your Bible and pray, because if you don’t then you won’t know God and you will find the kingdom shut to you? But also – God would like to talk to you each day and let you know what to do and what to believe in, hope for, and trust in. He would love it if you open your heart to him. Go ahead and pray to him. He has promised to hear you.
It is heart-warming for us to find that the Heidelberg Catechism has captured the balance of Scripture concerning the opening and shutting of the kingdom of God.
Notice how in Answer 84 it says that the kingdom is opened when the church proclaims to each and every believer that, as often as he accepts the gospel promise in true faith, God, because of what Christ has done, truly forgives all his sins.
Please notice the words, “as often”. Yes, as often as the believer accepts God’s promises of salvation, he will as often experience forgiveness. That’s saying that God is so patient, so faithful, so loving, and so much wanting his children to love and serve him in true obedience. No sinner, no matter how deep he has fallen, or how often, is ever beyond the reach of God’s hands of grace.
And even to the sinner who hardens his heart and stubbornly hangs on to sin, note how with Christian discipline, in answer 85, it speaks of repeated brotherly counsel. Not an attitude of: let’s get rid of this person as quickly as we can. No, he is to receive counsel in brotherly love, and repeatedly.
And even if there is no turning to God and Christian discipline leads to excommunication from the church and God’s kingdom, note how even then the door can still be opened again if such a person promises and shows genuine reform.
One finds in all of that a true reflection of God’s teaching in Scripture that he would want none to perish but all to come to him and be saved.
But if the catechism has truly reflected God’s love and forbearance, then it has equally given true witness to God’s holiness and true justice. Answer 84 speaks of God’s anger and condemnation resting on the unbelieving and hypocrites. Furthermore, there is a judgement to come and it will be based on how men have responded to the gospel of Christ.
Answer 85 says that those who refuse to abandon their errors and wickedness, and not respond to admonition, that such will be excluded from Christian fellowship by being barred from the Lord’s Supper and baptism, and eventually, after many warnings, will be shut out of the kingdom.
Now all of that is our confession of faith. This is what we believe the Scriptures to be teaching us. We must now make sure that our confession is not a hollow one. It must be put it into practice.
Surely, the force of all this opening and shutting of God’s kingdom by means of the keys is there in Ezekiel 33. Let’s try to capture the picture it presents.
Imagine an ancient village with a solid, thick wall around it for its protection. The people live in the village but work outside the wall in the fields nearby where they grow their food. On the wall stands the watchman. The height of the wall gives him a good view into the far distance. He has a trumpet which he must immediately start blowing, loud and clear, when he sees the enemy coming. He can see the danger a long way off. Usually there will be a great cloud of dust in the distance. If he blows his trumpet then he has warned the villagers and it’s up to them to hurry inside the walls and shut the gate. Should the enemy conquer the village and people die, then the watchman is not held responsible, for he did his job.
However, if the watchman sees the enemy coming and does not blow his trumpet and the enemy comes and kills people; then the watchman will be held responsible. He has failed to sound the warning.
Now who in the New Testament church is the watchman? Is it the one whose task it is to proclaim the gospel, that is, the minister of the church? Yes, he must be a watchman!
But what about the elders whose task it is to supervise the church and visit the members? Yes, they also are watchmen! And the deacons? Yes, they too, for they must teach the church to help the needy and not neglect to be compassionate.
So that’s it then, the watchmen are the office-bearers of the church? What? Not only they but the whole church is to be a watchman! Christ entrusted the keys of the kingdom to the church. And the church is all of us. Someone has put it like this: “Church people who take the gospel seriously don’t allow each other to live and die quietly in sin. Christians who love each other have the courage to warn each other against the fires of hell. People who really care wouldn’t mind dragging each other into the kingdom, if that were possible. Discipline in the church is the sure signal of Christian love.” (A.Kuyvenhoven).
Yes, Jesus has told us, “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” (Matt.18:15).
Jesus went on to say that if a fellow Christian doesn’t listen, then take one or two others. That is, there is mutual discipline here. If that still doesn’t help, then the whole church becomes involved through its office-bearers. (vs.17).
But before all that happens, before a fellow Christian has to come along and show us our faults in Christian love, there is something else that comes first. It is self-discipline! The preaching of the Word is to bring us to repentance, time and again. It is to make us respond to the love of God in Christ. It is to have us say to God” “Father, I have sinned… against you” (Luke 15:17). And, “God, have mercy on me…!” (Luke 18:13).
As often, as we do that, God, because of what Christ has done, will truly forgive us all our sins.
AMEN