Back To Sermons recorded Live Every Sunday
“THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM”
Revelation 1:18
If you were to look at the cover of this Sunday’s bulletin, you would see a little image printed there beneath the drawing of Jesus. It is the image of two keys which are crossed. Those keys symbolize what is known as the ‘Office of the Keys,’ a term used to describe the authority and responsibility that Christ has entrusted to the church to forgive sins and to retain sins, pictured by each of the keys.
The specific term, ‘the office of the keys,’ comes from another portion of Scripture where Jesus says, “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,” (Matt. 16:19).
Who is the ‘you’ that Jesus is referring to when He says, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven?” That has long been a matter of debate. The Roman Catholic Church views those words as being spoken specifically to Simon Peter. And, indeed, in that verse which was just quoted, Jesus is talking to Simon just before He speaks these words. The Lord had just finished asking the question, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” And, after various answers, it is Simon who speaks up and says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” At which point Jesus commends him, gives him a new nickname, and says, “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
But here is where there is some misunderstanding. To begin, Peter’s nickname is really the Greek word for ‘pebble,’ not ‘rock’. The true rock upon which Christ would build His Church would be the rock-solid confession of faith which Simon had made: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The church is built upon Christ, not upon Peter.
And, indeed, in the conversation that follows immediately after this one, Peter tries to prevent Jesus from going to the cross; to which Jesus admonishes Peter saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Once again, the Kingdom of God is built upon Jesus Christ, and no one else. For no other human being has given His life for the world to save mankind from its fallen state.
Nevertheless, God, in His wisdom, has sought fit to impart these heavenly blessings through earthly, sinful people. Peter, though he tried to dissuade Jesus from going to the cross, and later denied even knowing the Lord, was still restored by Jesus when He commanded the apostle to feed His sheep and the lambs of Christ’s flock.
And, to this day, God still uses earthly, sinful men, to occupy the office of the Holy Ministry, by which He continues to impart the blessings of His sacrifice. These are the Keys of the Kingdom—the Office of the Keys, whereby He forgives the sins of the penitent and retains the sins of the impenitent. As you heard in our Gospel reading for today, Jesus breathed on His apostles—He imparted to them His Holy Spirit—and told them, “If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”
And we hear this same command echoed in the words of today’s second reading from the book of Revelation, where the risen Lord proclaims, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
The keys of Death and Hades. Some see ‘Hades’ as a term for hell; others simply see it as referring to the place of the dead. Whatever the case, it is somewhere where you don’t want to be. And just what is it that is going to rescue you from that place or condition?
Well, we know what it won’t be—it won’t be our own good conduct. Once again, there are some churches that teach that it is your own good intentions or godly behavior which will secure you a place in life everlasting. But, as was pointed out in last week’s sermon, just one, seemingly small and insignificant sin is enough to earn us death. And because all have, in fact, sinned—all will face death. We cannot avoid it.
But, more than that, because all of sinned, they have automatically knocked themselves out of the running as far as earning a place in God’s glory. No one gets to heaven by being good—because you will never be good enough.
So, what is our only hope of salvation? Here’s the key—literally. It is the key that opens wide the gate of heaven to us by unlocking the guilty shackles of sin from us. It’s called ‘forgiveness.’ “If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven.”
Who is anyone? Literally, ‘anyone,’—regardless of age, race, but—not creed; for, a creed, by definition, is a statement of belief. Those who confess that they are sinners, who know that they rightfully deserve nothing but God’s punishment, but who are heartily sorry for their sins, repent of them, and trust that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness—those are the ‘anyones’ who are able to receive the forgiveness of sins by faith.
On the other hand, the Lord also makes the stipulation that, under certain circumstances, forgiveness is to be withheld. Withheld from whom? From anyone who does not believe this. This may include those who are not sorry for what they have done wrong. Who do not believe that they have earned God’s condemnation. Who are not willing to concede that their own righteousness will never secure them a place in heaven. Those who do not trust that Jesus’ death on the cross is their only assurance of salvation. To those who disbelieve in this manner, the precious gift of forgiveness should not be imparted to such impenitent people.
And to this latter point, we must always be especially aware. For, the truth is, none of us here are immune from the temptation to think that we can make it heaven on our own. Specifically, it is in the arrogance of thinking that there is a week that does go by without our need for absolution.
That is why, even as believers, we are still presented with such an alarming picture of the Lord of glory as we have in our second reading. Listen again to how St. John describes Him—and, remember, that this St. John is the same disciple whom Jesus loved, who rested upon Jesus’ bosom at the Last Supper: but listen to what John says, “The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”
This is the Christ before Whom we must all one day appear, without any shield to protect us. This is the Lord Almighty, through Whom all things were created, and Who, even now, holds the power over death. This is the Lord Whom we are called upon to worship, honor, obey, and trust for complete salvation. Is there any question, then, that this is the Lord before Whom we should humbly bow and confess all of our sins?
You may not have this Lord in mind as you look to the front of the chancel each Sunday. What you see is a poor representative of Him Who sits at the right hand of God the Father. Nonetheless, His Word is still that which is spoken; and it is an eternal Word, a powerful Word, a Word that is able to unlock the gates of paradise itself. And blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.
Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He is our conquering Savior. He paid for all of our sins and then rose from the dead as proof positive that He had accomplished that all-important mission. And now He has entrusted to us unworthy Christians, the great commission of sharing the Gospel message with the world. It is the good news that, for His sake—and only for His sake—we are forgiven all of our sins. This, dearly beloved, is what opens wide the gates us heaven to us. Because, only by having all of our sins taken away can we rightly have a place in the holiness of heaven as the holy people God’s grace declares us to be.
And what a glorious day it will be when we will walk by sight and no longer by faith, and see the blessed wounds of Jesus’ forgiving love!
Acts 5:12–20
12Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. 13None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. 17But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy 18they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. 19But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20“Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”
Revelation 1:4–18
4John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” 12Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
John 20:19–31
19On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” 24Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
|
