The Key to Release

Much of the counseling I do is to help people deal with their offenses. How many hours would be saved if they knew their personal responsibility and acted according to Biblical principles!

I am of the opinion that one of the major ploys used by the enemy to hinder us in the battle, is the large number of hours spent by pastors (especially in North America), dealing with counseling matters that believers could handle themselves if they were more active in studying the Word.

The role of a pastor should be to do away with most counseling needs of his people, by teaching them Biblical principles. It’s his role, as a shepherds, to lead them to ‘green pastures’ where the sheep feed themselves; however, we have come to the place where the sheep still need to be bottle fed (counseled), every time there is a ‘crisis!’ Satan has robbed the church of many of its shepherds by overloading them with counseling ‘needs.’

A natural analogy is that, if we eat and exercise properly, we will stay in good health; however, one recognizes that there will come times whether through an accident or chronic sickness, that one needs the assistance of another. When there are terrible wounds and the patient is handicapped in some way, the empathy, comfort, and help of another is appreciated. This is the same with spiritual wounds.

There are many Christian books on the market dealing with wounds to the soul. They speak of ‘healing the memories’ of dysfunctional families and codependency. Many of them are very good and have given a lot of help to people seeking a new perspective of life and themselves. The ‘12-step’ program by Alcoholics Anonymous has become the basis for much of this teaching, with the goal of bringing the wounded person to a place of ‘maintenance.’ They are then able to deal with their problem in a practical way, with the use of support groups, ongoing counseling, and prescribed plans or a ‘formula’ of action. Each day, they have a prescription to ‘walk out’ their healing. I have used these books and continue to do so in part. What bothers me about most of them is that few of them mention the releasing effect of forgiveness .

I do not believe that the Lord’s intention is to bring His wounded people to ‘maintenance,’ but that He wishes to restore their souls, and bring them healing. The main purpose of this book is to teach how we can be set free from the bondage of our wounds, so that we can be most effective in the warfare against our enemy, Satan. The key of healing is found in forgiveness.

The Keys to the Kingdom → Matthew 16:19 For three years the disciples had walked with the Lord through the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. They had watched Him perform many miracles and had heard Him teaching the multitudes, but He had seldom sat down just to talk with them. Now, after a very busy time, He leads them to the far north of the country, to the regions around Caesarea Philippi, on the lower slopes of Mount Hermon. As they walk, the master turns to His disciples and asks them two questions.

The first question is concerning men’s opinions of Jesus, whereas the next question is concerning the disciples opinion of Jesus.

After the disciples answer the first question, He again turns to them, and asks, “But who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Had they come to understand that Jesus was more than just a good man or a miracle worker?

“Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in Heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 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” (Matthew 16:16-19).

For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church taught that this is the mandate given to all popes, as successors of Peter, the head of the church, to excommunicate kings, countries, and peoples who do not support their edicts, or grant indulgences.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had the key to the kingdom for your loved ones? For your spouse? For your unsaved child? For your parents? If only you could open up the way to eternal life for them! Well, I believe we have that possibility!

It is certain that many are being kept away from the joys of seeing and entering the kingdom by our failure to be the witnesses we ought to be. Much of that failure is in our attitudes of unforgiveness. There are many parents today who pray, with weeping, for their wayward child, not realizing that the unforgiveness they bear against that child is the greatest hindrance to God answering the prayer!

What did Jesus mean by the latter part of the verse above? I have been given many explanations, from the popes ‘authority,’ to ‘deliverance from the demonic,’ but I see neither here.

It is good exegesis when considering an obscure verse, to look for parallel verses, particularly from the same author. In this case, we do not have to go very far, for just two chapters later, Matthew writes it again.

“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven” (Matthew 18:18).

This time the Lord is speaking to all the disciples, not just to Peter. If the keys were given to loose and to bind (a common use of keys!), then they were given to all the disciples - including you and me!

A second principle of good exegesis is to study the context, so we will consider what the Lord was teaching in the rest of Matthew 18. We soon see that the entire chapter is dealing with restoration, reconciliation, and forgiveness. The small scenarios speak of being like children, having no guile and holding no bitterness - such believers do not offend or wound, and we should be careful not to cause them offense or wounds.

The second thing I notice is that if one is wounded or hurt, and as a result, goes away, a good shepherd will leave the others to restore that ‘sheep’ to the fold. Note again, that the story is about ‘sheep’ not ‘goats.’ It is about believers, not the ‘lost.’ How often, when a ‘problem person’ leaves the church, we wipe our hands saying, “good riddance!” God’s demand of servant shepherds, and the rest of the sheep, is that we seek their restoration, not their dis-fellowship.

“If a brother sins against you, you are to go to him, privately at first, with the one purpose of seeking understanding and reconciliation” (Matthew 18:15). Note the word “sin . ” Too often we leave when we are offended, which in turn, creates an even greater offense. We have no such injunction to go to them when we are offended - only when we are sinned against. The only exception would be, when the church pastor or elders feel it necessary to approach someone who they believe to consistently be a cause of offense, or who has sinned against others. In that case, the purpose of approaching them is always for reconciliation.

When Jesus is giving the teaching of Matthew 18:18-20, a question comes to Peter asking the Lord how many times he should forgive. “Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:22). Peter probably thought his question was going to be good, but the Lord used it to emphasize that forgiveness is to be unlimited.

Love demands that we always forgive.

The entire context of chapter 18 is to do with restoration, reconciliation, and forgiveness, all without causing offense yourself… the theme of this book!

John 20:23 This verse is another parallel verse to the two above, though it is written by John in John 20:23.

In this verse, the disciples are all in a locked room because they are afraid that the Jewish leaders would soon come to take them, just as they had taken their Lord. Their emotions are running high, and some there claimed that they had seen the Lord, risen from the dead! The story was going around that Jesus had appeared to Peter and Mary Magdalene as well as two others on the Emmaus Road. Others would not believe unless they also saw the risen Lord.

Suddenly, even though the doors were locked, Jesus stood in their midst! He said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you… receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:21-22).

The Greek tense of “receive,” is the aorist imperative which always demands an immediate response. At that moment, the disciples received their new life in the Spirit. Then later, on the day of Pentecost, they would receive His fullness to empower them for service. They had been given a new authority! “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (John 20:23). Allow me to paraphrase, “Those you loose (set free) are loosed; those you bind, are bound.”

“Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7) asked the Pharisees. In a sense, they were correct because the Lord’s mandate to us does not ‘forgive’ sins to the same measure as His forgiveness. When He forgives it is “as far as the east is from the west to the depths of the sea, never to be remembered anymore” (Psalm 103: 12) . You and I cannot do that - for our own sins, let alone anyone else’s. The only sins we can ‘forgive’ are those committed against ourselves - sins that have likely caused the soul-wounds we bear, by which Satan has hindered us.

Removing the Barrier of Sin Should I sin against you, I also sin against God. Immediately, a barrier comes between me and my Lord. I find it more difficult to pray, the Word loses its interest, and fellowship is not so sweet -my sin has become a cloud above my head!

There are two ways in which that ‘cloud’ can be removed.

First, is to “confess my sin, [because] He is faithful and just to forgive me my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness!” (1 John 1:9). Hallelujah! I have found that promise to be true.

However, I have also discovered that the Lord has this little ‘habit’ of talking to me about the sin. Having forgiven me, He then whispers to my soul, “Now, go to your brother and for him to forgive you. I don’t just desire to cleanse you from the sin, but I want to see you reconciled.” His priority is not forgiveness - it is reconciliation! The confession is not complete unless it brings about reconciliation. That is not His responsibility - it is mine, for “Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5: 18-19).

The second way that my ‘cloud’ can be removed, so that Heaven is once more opened to me, is if you remove it by your forgiveness. The King James Version of the Bible uses a special word in its translation of John 20:23, which writes, “Whosoever’s sins you remit…” The word “remit” speaks of ‘setting aside.’ You can remit my sin, which was committed against you, and in doing so, open Heaven up to me. As you ‘set aside’ my sin, you move the ‘cloud’ away, and the way is open for the Father to speak to me just as when I sought His forgiveness for myself. He again will move upon my heart, in order to bring about our reconciliation!

You might choose to forgive me because you know the Scripture demands that, but it is essential if we are to be reconciled, that you also loose me from God’s judgment upon me by seeking to set aside the ‘cloud’ of sin above me.

I always speak of “forgiveness and release” - they must be preached together! A good example would be Stephen, the first martyr. He had just been appointed as a leader in the early church when the Jewish leaders took him and stoned him to death. Saul of Tarsus stood by, in hearty agreement with their actions, for he had a great hatred for these followers of Jesus.

As Stephen died, he cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge!” (Acts 7: 60) . He did not pray on behalf of himself for courage, strength, or even to be released, but rather, he released them of their guilt.

I wonder, would Saul have ever become the great apostle Paul, if Stephen had not prayed that prayer? It is my conviction that he ‘opened Heaven’ for Saul! Jesus also prayed a similar prayer where He cried out, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34) as He died for you and me.

One wonderful result of releasing others is that we are also released! It’s like having a horse on the end of a rope - we might say that the horse is bound as it runs around us in the paddock; however, should the horse decide to gallop off across the muddy field, we are going to get dragged along through the mud unless we let go of the rope!

That knot you feel in your stomach after someone has sinned against you, is just like that rope. You are emotionally bound to those who hurt you . That pain is part of the wound they caused. Though you have forgiven them, the knot is there whenever you meet them or hear someone talk about them.

You, and they, need to be released!

Jesus in the Midst It is sad how often Matthew 18:18-20 is quoted out of context! These verses are referring to forgiveness, release, and reconciliation, not God’s presence when multiple people come together! The promises of Jesus given there, are for those who actively seek to be reconciled.

“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:19-10). The emphasis here is not His presence, for He is always with each of us who are believers, but instead His blessing for reconciliation - His priority!

We have been given a key that will open Heaven for others and that will set us free from the wounds, the bondages they have caused in our soul! Let us learn how to use that key!