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Keys In Matthew 16.16 we
have Peter confessing Jesus to be the Son of God. After this confession, Jesus
promised to build His church in verse 18. This should bring about the question,
“How shall man enter the church?” Verse 19 tells us the means of entrance.
“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” (verse 19). I
want us to think about the word “keys.” We realize keys are necessary
because of locks. Locks are placed on homes, cars, lockers, and a number of
other things in order to restrict access. Not every one can open a locked door.
It usually depends on the owner or steward to decided who will have a key so as
to enter. This
gets us to the key. Each lock has a key that will open it. To open the lock you
have to have the right key. Not just any key will open the door to my house; it
has to be the right key. For
me to enter my house I have to have the right key and use it. Actually put it in
the lock and turn it the right way. I have a number of keys on my key ring but
only one key will unlock the door. Let
us take these ideas and relate them to Matthew 16.16-19. For
one to enter the kingdom of heaven they must have the right key. Access is
limited to those that obey the will of Christ. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will
be saved” (John 10.9).
We
have to accept Jesus as the Son of God. He is the foundation, the head, and
Savior of His body the church. To obey the will of Christ we have to listen to that which
has been bound in heaven and earth. That is we have to listen to the teachings
of those sent by Jesus. On the Day of Pentecost we have Peter and the other 11
Apostles teaching that we enter Christ when we repent and are baptized for the
remission of sins, Acts 2.38. The words of the Apostles have been preserved for
all mankind in the Bible. By reading the scriptures we can understand God’s
will. You have the right key but
you must also use it. It is one thing to know what to do but another to actually
do it. Someone reading this article at this time may be outside the kingdom of
heaven and need to use the “keys” given by Jesus. We hope you will do so
before it is everlasting too late. – Dennis Tucker
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