Beth-El Baptist Church

06/07/2009

Greg Tomlinson


What does Jesus mean by binding on earth and loosing in heaven?


There are several views of the binding and loosing description. One such view is that the church itself assumes the role of deciding who enters into heaven and who does not. There is the view that men are able to forgive all of men's sins so that they might be pure.


  1. What is the context of the binding and loosing?

Matthew 16:15-19 (singular) Matthew 18:1-22 (plural)


The phrase “whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” occurs twice in the Bible, both in Matthew. The first time the message is in the singular indicating it is given to a single individual or to a collective treated as a singular. The context makes it clear that Jesus is talking to Peter. The second time, it is in the plural indicating it is given to multiple people. The context makes it clear that Jesus is talking to all of the disciples.


The first one is associated with the giving of the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter. This passage points to the opening up of heaven by way of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that will be distributed by men. Peter is the first to proclaim the message in Acts 2.


The second one is associated with the need for being converted as a child, the need for seeking the lost, the need for church discipline, and the need for forgiveness. Each of these issues is associated with evangelizing and discipling people concerning the things of God. In other words, the opening up of heaven by way of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that will be distributed by men. This message is taken throughout the entire world.


  1. What things are to be bound?

Proverbs 3:3-4; 6:20-23; 7:1-3 Isaiah 8:13-16; 61:1-2

Matthew 13:27-30 1 Corinthians 5:3-7

2 Corinthians 10:1-6


There are many things that we are to bind. We are to bind mercy, truth, and the law upon us so that they are held tight. We are to bind up the broken hearted to restore them in fellowship with God. The wicked are to be bound and sent for destruction. At most this may involve a form of excommunication in which those who refuse to repent are removed from fellowship. We cannot bind for an eternal burning for we have the keys to the kingdom of heaven and not the keys to hell (Revelation 1:18). Most importantly though is our own binding of the sins of the flesh that they may be departed from us as we submit ourself to God.


Ezekiel 34:12-16 Hosea 6:1


When all is said and done, we need to understand that it is truly the Lord himself who does the true binding. We are used as His instruments for the binding but He is the one that accomplishes the task.



  1. What things are to be loosed?

Mark 5:1-8 Luke 13:11-17

John 11:43-44 Acts 2:23-24 cmp 1 Corinthians 15:20-26

Psalm 102:20-21 James 5:20

Isaiah 52:1-2; 58:4-7 Romans 6:3-8, 17-22; 8:1-3

John 8:31-36 Galatians 5:1

1 Peter 2:16 2 Timothy 2:25-26


Men are to be loosed from the bondage of sin. Men are to be loosed from the reality of death knowing that death is the final destroyer but that there is one and only one way to escape death.


  1. How can we bind and loose?

Romans 5:17-19 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

James 5:20 1 Peter 5:6


The only way of salvation is to humble yourself before God and recognize the reality of your own sinfulness and your need for the one and only eternal redeemer. It is through obedience to the very words of God that man become capable of “casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God”.


Summary:


In the final analysis, the loosing and binding has to do with the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ being used by God, delivered by men, in order to result in a life transformation for God's honor and glory.