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KEYS OF THE KINGDOM
The story is told
of a well-to-do man who gave his son a Bible upon graduation. The young
man, expecting something more glamorous, was so disgusted that he went
out and joined up with the Devil. Years later, after he had made a mess
of his life and his dad had passed on, he ran across that Bible which
had been such a stumbling block for him before. Inside he found a key to
a new car from yesteryear, along with a fatherly note to keep his
priorities straight. The key had been in that Bible the whole while, but
his refusal to look inside had deprived him of the blessings of a father
who had his best interest at heart.
Keys are like that: they may be small and concealed, but without
them we are without access. Actually, inside the Bible there are several
keys which open (or close) doors important to us now and in the
judgment.
FIRST, THERE IS THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE: "Woe unto you,
lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in
yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered" (Lk. 11:52).
He spoke of entering the kingdom of heaven, where salvation is (Matt.
23:13).
Knowledge is the key, and the Jewish elite were not accepting the
message that "the kingdom is at hand" (Mk. 1:15; Lk. 7:30). These
blind leaders of the blind hindered and sabotaged the Lord's work at
every turn, including attempts on His life, and finally succeeding in a
spectacular
public execution of the Nazarene.
Those who discourage Bible knowledge, religious discussion, open
debate, and sincere study in the twenty first century are guilty of the
same injustice. How many would enter the kingdom, but cannot enter
because the key of knowledge has been kept from them? Religious teachers
have a great responsibility, and listeners have a responsibility to
check them out against the Scripture (Acts 17:11; 1 Jno. 4:1,6).
SECOND, THERE ARE THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM: "And I
will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven: and whatsoever
thou shalt loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven" (Matt. 16:19
NASB). These keys are similar to those just mentioned, but more
specific.
Peter and the other apostles used the keys to bind and loose on
Pentecost, when the church first began. Their preaching gave the
multitude of listeners the information of God's salvation through
Christ, and three thousand of them were moved to ask what specifically
they could do to be saved from the wrath of God. They were told,
"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit" (Acts 2:38). These three thousand responded and he preached
more to them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation!"
And "they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine..." (Acts
2:40-42).
What exactly causes a generation to be crooked? The specific sins
of which it is guilty. What exactly saves a person from those sins? The
specific acts of obedience which are commanded by the Lord. "Repent
and be baptized...for remission of sins..."
These keys to the kingdom are still with us today, right there in
the Bible, telling us how to become Christians -- how to be saved from
our past sins, and how to continue to walk acceptably before God in the
light of His Word.
THIRD, IN HIS REVELATION, JOHN WRITES OF A KEY TO THE BOTTOMLESS
PIT: This key binds Satan and limits his destructive power over our
lives: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of
the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on
the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound
him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him
up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more,
till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be
loosed a little season" (Rev. 20:1-3).
The knowledge God gives us enables us to stay out of the devil's
grasp (2 Cor. 2:11), and the key spoken of in Revelation is God's
providence and care in limiting the devil's power. God's power and
protection are provided by Him for the faithful.
"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to
man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above
that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to
escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (1 Cor. 10:13).
The Devil makes fools of us all, as he did Peter when the apostle
even denied the Lord (Lk. 22:54-61). Christ had said, "Simon,
Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as
wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when
thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren" (vss. 31,32). Do you
see how we should not despair in our struggle against sin, and how we
should draw near to God for protection from the tempter?
"...Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to
God and He will draw nigh to you..." (Jas. 4:7,8). That is the key,
knowing that the God of Heaven is on our side (Rom. 8:31).
THE FOURTH SET OF KEYS IN THE BIBLE ARE THE KEYS OF HELL AND OF
DEATH: "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am
alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death" (Rev.
1:18). Of course, these keys are not physical keys, but they are
just as real as the other keys mentioned; the key of knowledge, the
binding and loosing keys to the kingdom, and the key of the bottomless
pit which limits the powers of the Dragon.
So, Hell is a real place -- just as real as Heaven, and we do not
want to go there, the place described as a "lake of fire". Christ
has the keys to that place. He will judge us in the last day, deciding
if we enter into life eternal or into "the second death," which
is just as eternal as heaven.
One of the comedy staples of the Andy Griffith Show was the jail
key, which hung on a nail just outside the cell for anyone to grab,
including Otis, the town drunk. Of course, the power to lock someone
away is a very serious thing, especially if that someone will be put
away eternally. We can rest assured that Jesus keeps the keys to Hell
close and guarded.
Judges must take their job seriously, realizing that the power of
deciding a person's destiny demands the utmost consideration. Jesus
first shed His blood to atone for the sins of each man and woman, so we
can know that He is not eager to use the keys of Hell against any soul.
However, those who take His blood lightly -- who do not use the keys of
knowledge and to the kingdom, or who do not care if the devil has power
over them -- disclose to Christ the Judge just how aligned with evil
they are. The Lord will be vindicated of His decisions by the knowledge
that everything has been done to save the wicked before the last great
day of judgment (Psa. 51:4).
"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us
have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly
fear: For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:28).
So, look in your Bible, my friend. There you will find, not the
keys to a new car, but the keys to the kingdom, to knowing how to please
God, to put the Devil in his place, and the keys to escape Hell.
----- George Hutto in
Tidings, Vol. 22, No. 8, August 2007.
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