Jesus Christ designed two keys for his kingdom

A key is used to open or close a door.

Most doors have a lock.

You need a key to get into your house, into your car, into school, into church, and so on.

If it's good, only one key will fit on each lock.

One can of course make duplicates.

So that father and mother and the children can enter the house independently.

With a car, you usually also get a second key, in case you accidentally lock your key in the car.

These two keys are exactly the same.

However, there are also doors for which one needs different keys to open them.

One can think of a safe.

On some safe doors there are two locks, each with a different key.

Or inside the safe there is another safe with its own key.

If you give the two keys to two different people, it means that both must be present if you want to open the safe door.

In this way, it can be prevented that one of the two would secretly steal things from the safe.

 

Now one can compare the kingdom of heaven a bit with this.

Because the door to the kingdom of heaven also has two keys.

The Lord has designed the entrance to his kingdom in this way, so that people who have received a place in the kingdom of heaven cannot easily be captured by the devil.

And on the other hand, so that those who are enemies of the kingdom of heaven, cannot easily enter.

 

Theme: Jesus Christ designed two keys for his kingdom

1 The first key

2 The second key

 

1 The first key – proclamation of the Gospel

This expression - keys of the kingdom - may evoke alienation or irritation to some.

As if one could have them in one's pocket.

As if one person can shut another person out of the kingdom of Christ.

The final judgment only belongs to One, right?

Consider Revelation 3:7, where Jesus says:

“The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.”

 

If Jesus says yes to you, then no one can come in between, right?

 

But congregation, Jesus also says to Peter in Matthew 16:19:

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Jesus therefore transfers the power to Peter here - the power to determine who enters and who is excluded.

Two chapters later, Matthew 18, it becomes clear that Peter is not the only key bearer.

There are many to whom Jesus hands over the keys!

We read there about the so-called 'way of Matthew 18' - a way of loving exhortation, which begins personally and if necessary culminates in exhortation by the entire congregation.

Following that, Jesus then repeats the words (verse 18):

“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

This shows that Christ has given his congregation an important authority.

A tremendous responsibility.

And that is why it is important to be well aware of how these keys should be handled.

 

To refer back to the introduction for a moment, it obviously makes no sense to give both keys to one person if a safe has two locks.

Then one could just as well have had a normal door with only one lock.

The secured door is only effective if the rules are applied.

Thus Christ also establishes instructions for the use of these two keys.

What are Christ's instructions regarding the keys of the kingdom?

From the fact that there are two keys, we can conclude that Christ sees to it that the key power does not only come into the hands of one single office bearer.

The key power is and remains the property of the whole congregation.

And Christ appointed office bearers over his congregation to lead in this.

The church council does not act according to its own insight, by own preference or disapproval.

The church council is aware of the fact that ultimately it is Christ who opens and closes.

But with that Christ does not wait until the last day.

Even now in the present Christ is busy with it.

He entrusted the key power to his congregation.

You, you are also a key bearer.

In Matthew 18 you also receive an important task.

No one, not even the baptised members, can opt out of this.

You young people too must use these two keys.

Of course, the responsibility becomes greater, depending on your position in the congregation.

If you become a professing member, your responsibility becomes heavier.

And if you become an office bearer, your responsibility becomes even heavier.

But in principle, all of us are key bearers, who can open and lock with it.

 

The first key is, as Lord’s Day 31 mentions, the proclamation of the holy Gospel.

This gives the preaching a special dimension.

An eternal dimension.

Because in the preaching of the Gospel it is about eternal salvation and eternal death.

To be saved or be lost.

The pure preaching of the Gospel can only elicit two reactions.

Either you obey it in faith, or you lay it down beside you.

The listener of the Gospel cannot remain neutral.

And according to the testimony of what we do now, in the present, with the Gospel, God will judge us in the future.

This therefore means that the preaching is not just a human word, not just the opinion of the pastor, not just a meditation or contemplation, but a proclamation.

The kingdom has come near!

Repent and believe the Gospel!

In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul says that as a servant of the Gospel he tries to do everything to convince the people.

 

When the Gospel is preached, something essential happens.

You meet Christ in the power of his Spirit.

The key starts to turn.

Jesus lays his hand on you.

He puts you in front of a choice.

He pulls you to the good side.

In the preaching, everything that Jesus has done for you is brought to the fore, exhibited.

For example, write answer 84:

“it is proclaimed and publicly testified to each and every believer that God has really forgiven all their sins for the sake of Christ’s merits, as often as they by true faith accept the promise of the gospel.”

Answer 84 further points out that man is not like a robot.

He was not pre-programmed by God.

The proclamation of the Gospel leads to a choice of man.

Everything is done to ensure that the choice will be positive.

But man is not forced.

Those who choose to remain unbelieving, or the hypocrites, those who are not serious, they are told that the wrath of God and his eternal judgment remain upon them, as long as they do not repent.

Congregation, these harsh words form part of the Gospel.

So that everyone knows what he is up to.

So that, if he rejects the Gospel, he knows what the consequences will be.

The preaching is therefore not non-binding.

This should have an impact on the attitude with which we listen to it.

This should also have an impact on the attitude with which a preacher stands on the pulpit.

It is about matters of life and death.

This is a key which indeed unlocks or locks.

It can unlock forever, it can also lock forever.

 

2 The second key – church discipline

The second key, church discipline, works in the opposite direction.

First being locked, with the intention of hopefully unlocking again as soon as possible.

Now the instructions for using this key are quite extensive.

The congregation and the church council, who take this key into their hands, must be well aware of what they are doing.

This is clear from the long answer 85.

It warns to be very careful with this key.

The purpose of this key must be well understood before you start using it.

It's not about writing someone off.

The word 'tug' is derived from the word 'pull'.

Etymologically, it even goes back to a word that means educate - to pull in the right direction.

The discipline has an educational character.

To name an example.

When I was in primary school, it sometimes happened, if you were troublesome in class, that the teacher said:

You're just going to stand in the hallway for a while.

You were then, as it were, locked out.

After a while, the teacher came to call you again.

Or if it took too long, you carefully knocked on the door yourself.

When the teacher opens, you say you're sorry.

Then you can come in again.

Actually, it is the intention that the discipline also functions in this way in the church.

To make someone think.

Therefore, even if this key works in the first place in the direction of locking out, one keeps the key at hand to be able to unlock again as soon as possible - hopefully.

When Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:20 that he delivered two brothers to Satan, it seems that he did so with the hope that the two would quickly realise that a life with Satan is something terrible, and that they would return with remorse.

This is also the thrust of what Jesus says in Matthew 18, the so-called 'way of Matthew 18'.

The emphasis here is on personal fraternal discipline.

In the church we ‘pull’ one another in the right direction.

Out of love we don't leave each other alone.

And only in the very last instance does this lead to real exclusion from the congregation.

 

Now I have already mentioned that it is not just one person who carries this key in his pocket.

The whole congregation is key bearer.

It is therefore about a responsibility in which you also share.

We don't start with someone else, but with yourself.

And that’s actually beautiful.

Because if you look at chastisement like this, then you don't have to be afraid of the chastisement.

The discipline is not to write off a sinner, but precisely to keep the sinner.

We hold fast to each other; we are on our way to the kingdom of Christ together.

We protect the new life - the rebirth - that the Holy Spirit has planted in our hearts.

We are already starting the new life.

We monitor the progress of this process, so that this new beginning progresses in each member.

Again, we may start with ourselves.

And if this is the purpose of the discipline, we need not be afraid.

You can open up without fear.

Say, for example, you have problems in your marriage.

Then, from this vision of discipline, sharing your problems with others is not something to be afraid of.

You don't have to hide your weaknesses anxiously.

Then you only make it harder for yourself.

The discipline is not meant to humiliate anyone.

The discipline is intended to help, to work towards a solution.

And then we must not only think of discipline as abstinence from the Lord's Supper, and the announcement of names.

It might come to that, but hopefully not.

Discipline is primarily that it starts with a mutual conversation, edifying each other.

And this from the starting point that we are all sinful.

Say you have an alcohol problem.

Then it suits the devil so well if it remains hidden, because then you all the time have to invent excuses, and so you increase your sins.

But when you open up, you choose the path to a solution.

Let's say your hormones pushed you to go too far in your relationship.

Even then it is true that whoever hides things increases the guilt, and you make yourself vulnerable to repetition.

He who confesses guilt finds mercy.

You can also get so absorbed in your hobby, or perhaps in your job, that it begins to negatively affect your church attendance.

Even then, it's wonderful if you can discuss it with someone.

For that reason God gives us to each other.

We are all sinners, we help each other on our way to eternal life.

In this attitude we deal with each other.

Also if you see these sins in another brother or sister.

In the good sense of the word, we don't let each other go.

Because that would mean that you would stand by and watch someone become entangled in the nets of Satan.

Just like a spider spins its prey.

The longer it takes, the less the prey can move and ‘distangle’ itself.

If help doesn't come from outside, it's done.

 

For this, therefore, Christ designed the second key.

Significantly, in question 85 we find not only the word lock, but also the word unlock.

The intention is not to get rid of anyone.

The intention is that this drastic measure makes someone think again about the direction of his life.

 

Furthermore, the intention is also to protect the congregation against infection.

Suppose there is someone in the church who lives in sin, or who advocates a heresy.

If such a person is left to advocate his opinion, and other church members hear it and the church council does nothing about it, then the danger of infection is real.

Suppose a member of the congregation is often drunk, and this is tolerated, then it affects the health of the entire congregation.

Church members who see this should speak to the person.

We must help the person with love to stop with this.

If the person does not listen time and again, it cannot remain there.

Then further help must be sought, from other fellow believers, and from the church council appointed over the congregation.

When the person ignores the admonition of the office bearers, abstinence from the sacraments follows.

In the extreme case, the church membership is in jeopardy.

The intention of this is therefore to help the person back on the right path through loving intervention.

And secondly, to take care of the health of the whole congregation.

 

In the Third Letter of the Apostle John, which we read, we see that John is guided by this motive in particular - the health of the congregation.

In verse 9 John mentions the name of a person - Diotrephes.

A man who has been lovingly admonished several times, helped to get back on the right path, but who still persevered.

With Diotrephes the ninth commandment was in question.

Diotrephes spoke badly, lashing out against John with bad words (verse 10), with the intention of harming his name.

He slandered the apostle's name.

He has been told several times that he should stop, because the whole congregation is suffering in this way.

Whoever repeatedly ignores the loving exhortation, his name must be mentioned, as John does in this letter.

In this way the congregation is protected against infection.

By mentioning his name, his bad influence is isolated.

 

There is one more matter that needs attention.

And I want everyone here in church to answer this question very honestly for himself.

When you made your confession of faith, you answered yes to the following question:

Do you promise to diligently seek the ministry of Word and sacraments as a living member, to use your gifts willingly and with joy, and to submit to Christian admonition and discipline, if youbecome delinquent either in doctrine or in conduct?

My question to each of us tonight is:

Do you still stand by this promise?

Or maybe you said yes too easily, at the time?

Are we not too soon inclined not to submit to it, either by slandering the name of the office bearer, or by withdrawing from the congregation?

Humanly speaking, it is actually convenient that, in this big city in which we live, there are still many other 'churches' that one can go to.

And other churches are only too happy to get some more people.

Brother, sister, what will you do, when that day comes for you?

Because let's be honest, that day will come for each of us.

There is none of us who can go through life without exhortation and admonition.

But with what attitude are you going to accept the admonition?

Congregation, it is really a bad thing when people move from one church to another to escape admonition.

So once again the question: Am I willing to submit to the admonition and discipline?

Do I still stand by my promise?

This is Christ's call to you tonight.

Christ does not accept it if you treat his congregation like a supermarket.

You get what you need, and if something doesn't suit you, you move on.

Christ made you part of a body, inseparable.

You cannot and must not withdraw yourself from the admonition and discipline.

 

In this sermon it was about the instructions for use of the two keys of the kingdom of heaven.

Two keys designed by Christ.

In it we taste his love and care for his congregation, for each member.

Thereby He protects us as citizens who have been chosen for his kingdom.

These are, we have seen, two keys that we must all use.

Christ gave it to each of us.

That's why we all need to know the directions for use.

These two keys are necessary, because there is still a spiritual battle raging on earth.

In this dispensation, doors must still have locks.

These locks, the keys of which Christ gives to his congregation, are very precious to us.

Christ's intention is to use these keys to get as many people as possible into his kingdom.

All whom the Father has entrusted to Him.

And to protect them, so that the devil cannot snatch them back.

All thanks and praise to our Savior for these keys!

 

Amen.