“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18)
Many find Jesus’ famous words to His disciples a bit confusing. Some take it to mean we have the power to bind or loosen anything in heaven, but this is not what Jesus means. He is referring to the church.
Matthew 18:18 relates to Matthew 16:19, where Jesus gives the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” to Peter. In this instance, Jesus directly gave him authority, not over demonic or sinful activity, as some think, but over congregational matters.
To understand Matthew 18:18 in context, the reader must go back to verses 15-17, where Jesus instructs on how to handle offenses within a congregation. He provides a multi-step process.
- If someone offends us, we must first tell that person privately. If the person apologizes, everything’s fine. But…
- If he or she ignores us, we must take one or two others to help us mend the problem.
- If the offensive person still does not apologize, we must tell the entire church (or at least a few pastors or those in authority).
- If the person still refuses to apologize, the church should kick that person out of the church so he does not negatively influence others, and the church can then pursue him again as an unsaved person.
Binding and loosening, then, all have to do with congregational issues. In both Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, Jesus grants the church the authority to declare judgment about whether someone is forgiven or unforgiven based on the Scriptures. Whatever the church decides, based on sound biblical doctrine, the church can be sure that heaven will agree.
Jesus’ instructions also refer to other congregational matters. If the church approves something, then it is loosed in heaven. If it has decided against something, then it is bound in heaven.
It does not mean the church or any of us has the power to bind or loosen anything in heaven. Only God can do that. Jesus only says that God will agree with a church’s decision if it is based on His holy word.
Handling More Church Matters
Interestingly, following Matthew 18:18, we find probably the worst-understood verse in the Bible: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (v20).
Again, Jesus is not saying He is with us when two or more people gather to pray in unison. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH PRAYER. He is still referring to congregational matters, particularly with step 2 of the process listed above. He is only pointing out that if two or more people agree that an offense has occurred, then He approves of taking it before the entire church.
Matthew 16:19, 18:18, and 18:20 are commonly misunderstood and misapplied biblical verses. But if they are read in context (reading the surrounding chapters and verses), we gain a greater understanding of God’s instructions concerning church matters and congregational conduct.
