What did Jesus mean by these words?  At first glance, this topic is about as interesting as watching paint dry.  People are struggling with issues of life and the church talks about authority.  People come to church seeking eternal answers and the church responds with dusty platitudes about loosing and binding.  But wait a minute!  These words of Jesus, while not His most famous, are about forgiveness, heaven and hell.  Those are important issues.  The price of gas at the pump is the minor thing.  Whether I can pay my bills really isn't the big issue in life.

          So what did Jesus mean by these words?  For centuries Roman Catholicism has said these words mean Jesus made Peter the Bishop of Rome with special authority.  They later called the Bishop of Rome the "pope", which is Latin for "father."  Over the centuries the Pope was given power over all other churches.  But biblical scholars today generally agree that the "rock" was Peter's statement of faith, not Peter himself.

          Peter, whose name means "pebble", gave the cardinal statement of faith, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  That statement is a "rock."  It is the the foundation of the whole Christian faith.  Peter is a pebble of strength, but faith in Christ is the solid rock.  There's no doubt Jesus wanted Peter to be a central figure in His future church, but Peter was never meant to be venerated, or declared infallible or given the power the Pope has today.

          Jesus did not give power to a man, but made man a servant.  "Feed my lambs and sheep," He later told him (John 21:16).  That's plain talk we understand.  Here Jesus gave Peter, and all of Christianity, the authority to forgive sins, as well as to refuse to forgive sins when there is no repentance.  God's forgiveness comes because of His grace and mercy.

          Grace is God's unconditional love for people, but it carries a responsibility.  Some think grace means they're free to do anything.  They say grace must accept them, no matter what they do or what they believe.  "If a person advocates that certain acts are okay, they should be accepted by grace," they say.  I recently read on a bulletin of another Lutheran Church, "Grace is for everyone or it isn't grace."  This statement followed a general welcome to all who came, regardless of status or life situation, including sexual orientation.

          But that statement is wrong.  God's grace does not excuse sin.  Grace doesn't fill people with pride, it brings people to their knees.  It opens the doors of heaven for all to come in humility.  But those who come in arrogance will find the door of heaven locked.  God's grace means He accepts and loves all, no matter how sinful.  But His grace does not accept our sin.  "God loves me, no matter what" does not mean God loves my sin.  God hates my sin, and unless I, the sinner repent, the door to the kingdom is locked to me.

          Grace does not excuse sin.  "Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven" is followed by "Whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven."  You can't have one without the other.  Those who think so are in danger of the gates of Hell.  The BTK killer who repents will be in heaven long before the one who believes, "The Bible is wrong - my behavior is not sinful."

          Jesus gave His church authority to forgive the repentant, but also to refuse forgiveness to the unrepentant.  Repentance means to stop doing wrong, to ask for forgiveness and to start doing right - according to God's standard.  Repentance knows God makes the rules, not us.  It means sorrow over sin and then doing something to stop it.  Merely feeling bad about sin it is not repentance.  Repentance is not being sorry we got caught, but being sorry we did wrong.  Anything less is not repentance, and without repentance there is no forgiveness.

          Jesus gave His church authority to forgive sins.  That authority is given to the local congregation.  The local congregation exercises forgiveness through its called worker, the pastor.  The pastor has no authority to forgive sins or to lead public worship or to administer the sacraments without the congregation giving him that authority.  And if the congregation does not have a regular pastor to do this, it can appoint or "ordain" another person to do it.  In our congregation, the Elders are the ones appointed to fill in for the pastor if another pastor cannot be present.

          The pastor forgives sin, "as a called and ordained servant of the Word," and not by any personal authority.  To "ordain" means to invest functions in a person.  Ordination gives a qualified pastor the right to do his work in that congregation.  Without your ordaining me to lead worship, give communion or publicly to baptize, I couldn't do it.

          Without a call, I cannot start a church.  That's why I was called by another church to begin Epiphany back in 1999.  St. John's of Denver called me to start Epiphany.  A pastor ministers because the congregation allows him to.  This's the way the Lutheran Church interprets the the authority of the Public Ministry.  We call this authority the "Office of the Keys."  Christ gave it to His church, and the church gives it to persons qualified to exercise it.

          I bring this up today for two reasons: One is that some pastors are coming out of seminary today thinking they own the Office of the Keys.  They mistakenly take ownership of something that is not theirs.  Ordination is a public ceremony showing the Church this man is qualified and ready to serve as a pastor.  The ordained pastor needs a congregation to call him to exercise the Office of the Keys.  He does not have such authority in and of himself.

          The second reason is that some people think only a pastor is capable of leading worship.  True, a pastor is trained and qualified to do so, but in the event of his absence, the church may appoint another to do this work.  Our Elder Ministry is working on a policy to follow if a pastor cannot be present on Sunday.  As it stands now, if I am scheduled to be away, the policy is for me to find another pastor.  The Elders are working on policy that will allow me to ask other qualified persons to lead worship, such as John, our Director of Christian Education.  He is trained and experienced, and if the congregation approves of his service in this way, then he can readily serve.

          But what if your pastor wakes up sick on Sunday morning?  Or has an accident or a heart attack?  God forbid this should happen, but if it does, then what?  The answer is simple: our Elders step forward.  They conduct the worship service.  If there is Communion, they serve it.  If there is a baptism, they can do it.  Christ gave this authority to His church.

          During my year of internship, I was asked to lead worship at two small rural churches twice a month, and both "ordained" me to preach and give them communion.  I was not, however, ordained to baptize, or to marry couples or to bury the dead.  They could have said so, but did not, so I only led public worship and gave Holy Communion at those locations.  To have done those acts anywhere else would have been wrong.

          And we all need to understand that an Elder or Pastor announcing forgiveness or giving Holy Communion is as valid as if Christ Himself were doing it.  Christ gave the Office of Keys to the Church, which exercises it through the local congregation, which ordains the pastor or others designated to do so.  It's all part of "order in the church."

          Sorry if this message seems like a dusty lecture.  Yet we need clarity of what the church does.  God is a God of order.  St. Paul says, "Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way." (1 Corinthians 14:40)   If all church things were left to the whims of the moment, there would be chaos.  Democracy does not settle all church matters.  Public opinion is not the last word.  And anarchy is certainly not the right way.  God's Word is the standard, and the Bible IS God's Word.  Some think it only contains God's Word, but we believe it IS God's Word, cover to cover.  Only the Bible shows us the good and real way.

          God is Triune, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons in one God.  He is a God of grace.  He loves us with an everlasting love.  If His love seems harsh and unbending, it is for our good.  A loving parent doesn't submit every decision to a vote.  A loving parent does what is best and seeks obedience.  God is our Heavenly Father.  Though He loves us, He will not be mocked.  His Word binds us.  Sin remains sin until He forgives it.  And God calls people to do His work.

          Someone has said the Gospel can be summed up this way:  "God loves you, but you're no good.  That's why He sent Jesus - praise the Lord!"  There are more complete ways to say it, but those few words sum it up well.  Jesus came into the world to do God's Work.  He was ordained to be our Savior, our life preserver.  Because of sin, the world was lost and so are we.  Without Christ's work, we are lost forever.  But with His merit and mercy, you and I can have eternal life by faith in Him.  Praise God He loves us so, amen!

Copyright © 2005 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.