DID JESUS GIVE PETER THE KEYS TO HEAVEN?

1. Was Peter given the KEYS to heaven?

a) Did Jesus give Peter the KEYS to the kingdom of God? Catholics claim that Peter and the other eleven apostles received the power to make decisions affecting others, or even the church, that God in heaven would enforce no matter what. Has God ever given ANY human the power and authority to make decrees He will ALWAYS support and uphold? Would God uphold any decision even if it was AGAINST what the Bible taught?

b) Catholics base their doctrine that the Pope can making binding or loosening decisions for the church based on two quotes from the book of Matthew.

i) "'And I also say to you that you are Peter . . . AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN . . .'"

ii) "'Assuredly, I say to you (Jesus was speaking to ALL the disciples - verse 1) , whatever you BIND on earth will be BOUND in heaven, and whatever you LOOSE on earth will be LOOSED in heaven.'" (Matthew 16:18-19, 18:18)

c) A closer look at the original Greek text from which the above verses are translated from, however, shows that the Catholic church's teaching on this subject is NOT based on the Bible! The book Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar by William Mounce states that what SEEMS to be a unilateral binding / loosening power given to the disciples in Matthew 16 and 18 is something a little different.

i) ". . . the actions described in heaven are future perfect passives - (a better translation of which would be) ‘will have already been bound in heaven.' . . . the heavenly decree (by God) confirming the earthly one (made by the disciples) is based on a prior verdict. (page 121)

d) This means God did NOT promise to back any and all decisions made by the disciples, some of which might be against his will. Rather, if the disciples decided something based on what GOD had already decreed or that was already in his will, he would back the decision.

e) A good way to think about this teaching is through the example of a Judge. The job of the average modern Judge is to use existing laws and previous decisions (precedence) as a base from which a decision can be made in a particular case. Their job (ideally) is not to CREATE laws (a job done by other branches of government) or make decisions that totally contradict existing rules of law. God backed the disciples if a decision was based on his already existing laws, commandments, statutes and judgments. If a decision was not based on what God had already commanded (precedence), He was under no obligation to enforce a decision no matter WHO made it!

2. What authority did Jesus give His disciples?

a) The Bible truth is that Christ did NOT endow ANY of his followers with the unilateral power to make decisions that are binding on others regardless of what his Word teaches. Jesus specifically stated that his Father's laws and the other writings of the Old Testament were NOT abolished. Rather, God's words in the Law, Prophets or Psalms are STILL (with the New Testament) the standard by which any decision must be judged against (see Matthew 5:17-19).

b) Whatever is decided within the church CANNOT be contradictory to God's commandments. As Matthew 5 states, those who break the commandments and teach others to do so as well are the LEAST! Jesus, however, DID give the disciples the power to release people from the sometimes silly religious traditions others taught that were not supported in the Bible (see Mark 7:1-13, etc.).

3. What Old Testament teachings are still valid? 

a) Some of the teachings in the New Testament, foreshadowed in the Old before Jesus arrived on earth, include the following.

i) Jesus would be born, live a sinless life, then die for the world (Psalms 22; Isaiah 53; John 1:36, etc.) 

ii) Jesus would lift up the law of God and make the keeping of it glorious (Isaiah 52:14; Matthew 5-7)

iii) Sin would be forgiven upon repentance (Psalms 32:1-2; Romans 3:20-24, etc.)

iv) True circumcision would come from the heart, and not the flesh (Deuteronomy 10:16; Romans 2:28-29, etc.)

v) The Seventh-day Sabbath and God's annual feast days would still need to be kept, even by Gentiles (Isaiah 56:1-6, Hebrews 4:9, etc.) 

4. Does heaven honor ALL church decisions? 

a) Any fellowship, church or denomination that, in its decisions, endorses sin, is doing so against what the Bible teaches and against God's will. Such sinful decisions are nothing more than man's inventions and will not be backed by God in heaven. Examples of decisions not honored in heaven are below.

i) Worshiping pagan gods (Exodus 20:2-3;1Corinthians 10:20-21)

ii) Endorsing the worship of idols (Exodus 20:4-6; 1Corinthians 10:14, etc.)

iii) Adding to or taking away from the Bible (Deuteronomy 12:30-32; Revelation 22:18-19)

iv) The worship of saints who are dead (Isaiah 8:19-20)

v) Adopting pagan worship practices and holidays like worship on Sunday, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc., in place of Biblical practices and Holy days.

b) God has never given a single human, not even Peter, or a single church, the sole authority to make decisions for all. ANY decision made by those in the church has to be in harmony with the Bible.