Heidelberg Catechism Week 31

83. Q. What are the keys of the kingdom? A. The preaching of the holy gospel and Christian discipline toward repentance. Both preaching and discipline open the kingdom of heaven to believers and close it to unbelievers.

84. Q. How does preaching the gospel open and close the kingdom of heaven? A. According to the command of Christ: The kingdom of heaven is opened by proclaiming and publicly declaring to all believers, each and every one, that, as often as they accept the gospel promise in true faith, God, because of what Christ has done, truly forgives all their sins. The kingdom of heaven is closed, however, by proclaiming and publicly declaring to unbelievers and hypocrites that, as long as they do not repent, the anger of God and eternal condemnation rest on them. God's judgment, both in this life and in the life to come, is based on this gospel testimony.

85. Q. How is the kingdom of heaven closed and opened by Christian discipline? A. According to the command of Christ: Those who, though called Christians, profess unchristian teachings or live unchristian lives, and after repeated and loving counsel refuse to abandon their errors and wickedness, and after being reported to the church, that is, to its officers, fail to respond also to their admonition - such persons the officers exclude from the Christian fellowship by withholding the sacraments from them, and God Himself excludes them from the kingdom of Christ. Such persons, when promising and demonstrating genuine reform, are received again as members of Christ and of His church.

My reflections on the reading from the book...

The phrase "keys of the kingdom" is taken from Matthew 16:19, where Christ 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." Christ is truly the one with the authority to hold the keys, and the Church, as His Body, seek the will of Christ in prayerful use of those keys: preaching and discipline.

DeYoung observes, "Too many of our churches are like the false prophets of old, crying 'Peace, peace,' where there is no peace." I am thankful to be in a church that takes the preaching ministry seriously. My pastors declare the whole counsel of God, not twisting it to tickle the ears or padding it to soothe legitimately troubled consciences.

My church also takes discipline seriously. Chronic unfruitfulness, backsliding, or hard-heartedness in the life of one who claims the name of Christ must be taken seriously and sometimes necessitates excluding that one from fellowship around the Lord's Table, but always with the hopeful prayer for that one's repentance and restoration.