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Bruce Creswell | The Keys of the Kingdom
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Sunday Evening, August 2, 2026
Given by Bruce Creswell | Pastor of Senior Adults, Christ Covenant Church
The Keys of the Kingdom
Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 31
Would you join me as we look to the Lord in prayer?
Father, thank you for that blessed song, and indeed it is a reminder to us of our dependency on you. And we ask now as we look into your Word, and we ask that the Spirit of truth will guide us to understanding. We pray, dear Lord, that we may understand not only in our minds but in our hearts. And Lord, we pray that you would anoint thy servant to preach a better sermon through him than through my lips. Oh Lord, glorify yourself. We pray in your name. Amen.
You know the elements of the true church, again confirmed by our dear brother John Calvin, is made up of three elements: preaching, sacraments, and discipline. The last few Sunday nights we heard that the elders in the church have the responsibility to guard the Lord's table against being profaned by those who are unbelievers and ungodly. And we witnessed that this morning when Pastor Kevin, or Pastor Nathan rather, came and led us into the Lord's Supper. He fenced the table. He invited all believers to partake, standing in line with the Lord, and those that are here that are not believers, that are maybe seeking to not partake, but to think upon the matter of salvation and those that are not in fellowship with the Lord to seek him out before partaking. Well, tonight we learn how they do this: by exercising the keys of the kingdom. And I would invite you now tonight – we are considering Lord's Day 31, questions 83, 84, and 85, and they're found in the back of your bulletin. And if you will turn with me as we read the questions and answer them. I will read the question, and you will respond with the answer. And so, we begin with question number 83.
Q: What are the keys of the kingdom?
A: Preaching of the holy gospel and Christian discipline towards repentance. Both of them open the kingdom of heaven to believers and close it to unbelievers.
Q: How does preaching the holy gospel open and close the kingdom of heaven?
A: According to the command of Christ, the kingdom of heaven is open by proclaiming and publicly declaring to all believers, each and every one, that as often as they accept the gospel promise of true faith, God because of Christ's merit 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 wrath 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.
Q: How is the kingdom of heaven closed and opened by Christian discipline?
A: According to the command of Christ, those who, though they are called Christians, profess un-Christian teachings or live un-Christian lives and who, after repeated personal and loving admonitions, refuse to abandon their errors and evil ways, and who after being reported to the church – that is, to those ordained by the church for that purpose – fail to respond also to the church's admonitions, such persons the church excludes from the Christian community by withholding the sacraments from them, and God also 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.
With that in mind, we want to turn for our base text, Matthew's gospel, chapter 16, and turn with me if you will to that chapter, and let's look at verse 18 and 19. This is our Lord speaking to his disciples, and here we have the background for the keys of the kingdom. Our Lord says these words, "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.” Our Lord here institutes the instruments by which the people are to be admitted and excluded in the kingdom of heaven, the church. By the preaching of the gospel, we see here, the kingdom is opened, and then he uses discipline to correct those erring sheep, to exclude those who remain unrepentant. And thus, the preaching of the gospel and the use of church discipline are the two keys that he uses. He establishes the church with officers, and we know them to be the pastors, the elders and the deacons. And he has given to the pastors and the elders the authority to exercise these keys. These elders, these pastors, are the gatekeepers that open and close the kingdom.
Pastors have the responsibility of opening and closing with the first key, preaching the gospel: preaching that Jesus is the Son of God, obedient in the place of his people, that he died, he rose from the dead, is in heaven, and will return, and will judge the living and the dead. In Matthew chapter 18, just two chapters over from Matthew 16, our Lord institutes discipline for which the elders of the church are chiefly responsible. Let me read to you those verses: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you've gained your brother, but if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 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 you.” The authority of the keys is described in terms of binding and loosing, terms which were used by the Jewish elders for the authority to interpret, to apply God's law to particular cases, and to membership and who would not. And so that phrase “to bind” is to shut, to forbid. To loose is to open or permit. The keys of the kingdom are the authority to make known the will of God by the preaching of the gospel and church discipline, by which the kingdom of heaven is open to believers and shut against unbelievers, and that is the quote of the founder of the Heidelberg Catechism, Ursinus.
Let's consider these two keys tonight. Two keys of the kingdom: preaching and discipline. Since the early church, preaching of the Word has been a regular part of the church. We look in the New Testament. Preaching was an essential part of worship. There was the preaching of Paul and Peter. In the book of Acts, we have those great sermons by the apostle Peter, and when he preached the Word, the Spirit of God was in play in the heart of the preacher, and the people heard, and the people responded. And such was the case with the apostle Paul. And then in the early church, the sermons preached by the church fathers. One was a man by the name of Chrysostom. He was a man who was known for being a great expositor of holy Scripture. He was a man that Calvin referred to and had great regards for, for the way he handled the Word of God. Expository preaching has been the thrust of the church over the years. Expository preaching is the preaching of the Word of God book by book, chapter by chapter, passage by passage, verse by verse, such as what we are accustomed to here at Christ Covenant. Our good pastor Kevin has led us through the book of Romans, and he's been going through chapter by chapter, verse by verse, and we are having taught to us the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ. The Reformers were known for their strong preaching. In fact, it was the strong preaching of the Reformers that helped to chart the course of the church back on the right track. It is by preaching of the Word that the kingdom is opened and shut. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:21 – he says, “For since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.” The foolishness of preaching. People laugh and think that there's no authority and there's no impact and no result in preaching, but they do not know that when one preaches with the Spirit of God the word of God that the word of God is then spilled over into the hearers, and the gates of the gospel open, and whoever hears and believes is bought into the kingdom of heaven. Christ uses his message to save his own people. When preaching is true to the Scripture, it has power. It has authority, because Christ himself speaks through it. We hear the living Word of the living God every time this book is opened up, and the man of God is anointed by him.
Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 4, and look at verse 12. It is through his Word that he opens the door to the kingdom. We read in Hebrews 4:12 these words, “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and the intentions of the heart.” I'm afraid that we underestimate the power of the preached Word. Look at that verse again, and notice the couplets of phrases here. “For the Word of God is living and active.” God's Word is not dead history. It works powerfully in the present. Notice that it's sharper than a sword. It cuts deeper and more accurately than any human weapon. Notice here that it pierces deep. It reaches the hidden parts of a person, separating soul and spirit, joints and marrow. And it discerns the heart. It exposes what people truly think and plan inside their minds. No other book, no other way, is truth made known than through the Word of God. You remember the account in the gospel of Luke of the acts of the apostles in Acts chapter 16? He records about Paul going to the town of Philippi, and there at the shore was women who sought to worship the Lord, and there was one whose name was Lydia. And in Acts chapter 16, we're told that he preached unto Lydia the gospel, and what happened to Lydia when the gospel was preached? It says here in verse 14, “The Lord opened her heart.” You see, the gospel opens the heart of the believer, the preached Word. Can you recall the times when you have sat under the preaching of God's Word and it opened to you who he was and who you are in him? I like how the Canon of Dort puts it. It says, "Moreover, it is the promise of the gospel that whoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish but have eternal life. This promise, together with the command to repent and believe, ought to be announced and declared without differentiation or discrimination to all.” The gospel needs to be preached.
And you know, preaching the gospel includes not only the offer of salvation, but it's also a declaration of man's sinful condition. It declares the wrath of God against man and the judgment that will come if you reject the gospel. Preaching must address the unbeliever, to call them to repentance and faith, to declare to them that stand exposed that rejecting the gospel, they're under the wrath of God as long as they remain in their unbelief. I remember hearing for the first time preached John chapter 3. I was a young boy of nine. I heard John 3 many times, being in the church that I was raised in, but this time I was listening, and the Lord had opened my heart. And yes, I heard those great words of John 3:16, but also what followed, John 3:36. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Folks, those two verses clinched my heart. Yes, I saw the love of God and that believing on him, I have eternal life, but the wrath of God abides on me if I reject him. Oh, my friends, the gates of the kingdom are opened when the preaching of the Word is proclaimed and the gospel is set forth.
Preaching closes the kingdom, though, to those who reject the gospel call and remain in their unbelief. You know, it's possible that you can hear the gospel time and time again and reject a call, and your heart grows hardened. You know, there's two kinds of people here tonight. There are the saints and the ain’ts. And each one of us belongs to one of those two groups. We're either a saint or we ain't. And if we ain't, we're under the wrath of God. The apostle Paul tells us that in preaching, it must be the whole counsel of the Word of God, and when the whole counsel of the Word of God, it has a two-fold effect. In 2 Corinthians 2:15-16, Paul writes these words: “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing: to one, a fragrance from death to death; to the other, a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?” When the Word of God is preached, to some it will be an aroma to life. To others, it will be a stench of death. The first key of the kingdom entrusted to the pastor is preaching. You notice that this pulpit is center of the church, because this book is the center of it all through Jesus Christ.
But the second key here that we think of is that of discipline. And folks, you know, the concept of church discipline has almost disappeared in the evangelical church. To many, discipline sounds harsh. It sounds judgmental, and it sounds unloving. However, our Lord gave the church the charge to use the keys of the kingdom in preaching and discipline, and thus, when the gospel is faithfully preached, the key is open to penitent sinners. When the officers, the gatekeepers, exercise discipline against an unrepentant member, they're using the key to shut the kingdom against the impenitent.
I looked into the Westminster Confession of Faith to help my understanding better, and I give to us five reasons why church discipline is necessary. Number one, church discipline is necessary for the reclaiming and the gaining of offending brethren. The primary goal of discipline is never to punish. Please get that in your minds. It is always to restore. It is a severe mercy designed to wake a sleeping believer up to the reality of their sin. That's precious. Church discipline is necessary for deterring others. You see, public discipline puts a holy fear of sin into the rest of the congregation, preventing them from falling into the same trap. Illustration: all of us at one time were children, and many of us had siblings, and one of our siblings get in trouble and get disciplined and we witness it, we got the message, didn't we? We didn't want to do what they did to get what they got. So, in the same sense, church discipline is deterring others from committing that act of sin. It puts a holy fear of sin into all of us.
Likewise, church discipline is necessary for purging out leaven, and Paul warns us about this in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. If you want to turn in your Bibles to that and look at verse 6, Paul says, “Your boasting is not good. Do you know not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” Paul here warns us that a little leaven ruins the whole lump. Tolerating open and unrepenting sin spiritually infects and corrupts the entire church body. It takes away the joy. It takes away the presence and the power of the Spirit of God to work as he should, because sin is being tolerated and put up with.
Yes, church discipline is necessary for vindicating the honor of King Jesus. When someone takes the name of Christ but lives like the devil, they drag the gospel through the mud. Discipline publicly clears the name of Jesus, demonstrating that he does not endure their wickedness.
And church discipline is necessary for preventing the wrath of God. If a church knowingly allows notorious and obstinate offenders to continually partake of the Lord's Supper, they profane God's covenant, and they invite his judgment upon the whole congregation. Oh, let me add to this, my friends, that the responsibility of discipline is difficult work. The elders in our church who are involved in discipline know this, and that is why they need our help, and they need our prayers in their work of carrying out the key of discipline. Much wisdom and humility are needed to take on this work. Those men, our elders that oversee the shepherding and the discipline aspect of our church, are humble men. They're dependent on the Lord, and they know that, and they know they need his wisdom and the leadership of the Spirit, and they need our help by lifting up their hands and praying for them.
What are the steps of discipline? We have said that the goal of discipline is not punishment, it's restoration. Therefore, discipline is not swift in its execution. It's very patient and a long process because they pray, and they meet, and they discuss, and they process, and they weigh out. The officers must proceed according to the nature of the sin and the demerit of the person. And there are three formal steps of discipline, or what we call censors, that are enacted by the gatekeepers, the elders, the officers. And that first step is that of admonition. Admonition is a formal official warning from the elders. The offender is confronted with their sin from Scripture, and they're called upon to repent of their sin. That's the first step, the step of admonition. And if you look back to Matthew 18, before it gets to the place of the elders, we're to do that one on one with each other. If I offend you and then you come and see me about it and you confront me with that and I own it and I confess it and I ask for their forgiveness, if that doesn't work, then you take the next step and call in some witnesses. And if I remain in my unbelief and hardness of heart and stubbornness and not own up to it and confess it, then the next step is to take it to the church leadership, and they are to work that through accordingly. So that first step is admonition.
The second step is suspension from the Lord's Supper. If the person remains stubborn, we are temporarily barred from coming to the table. And that's one reason why we fence the table. That's why we heard from Pastor Nathan this morning that as we come to the table that we are to examine our hearts, that if we are not in relationship right with the Lord or with others that we should abstain and take care of those matters and follow through before we take the Lord's Supper. This is a severe spiritual timeout, designated to make us feel the weight of the severed fellowship with Christ and his body.
And then the third is excommunication. If the person remains utterly obstinate and unrepentant, the church exercises the final key. An excommunication is the formal removal of a person from the membership of the visible church. Paul describes that for us in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. It's delivering a person to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. To reject church discipline is to reject the church. And to reject the church is to reject the head of the church, Jesus Christ. But even in this final step, the goal remains the same. Restoration. The door is always open for the prodigal to return in true repentance and be joyfully welcomed back into the fold. Over the years of ministry, I've seen that take place, and the joy and the blessed communion that is reestablished as that is unfolded and taken care of.
Well, tonight, beloved, we've seen the keys of the kingdom are represented by the preaching of the gospel and the Christian discipline within the church. The responsibility of the keys falls on the office bearers, the pastor and the elders. And tonight, I want to leave you with three takeaways. Number one, we must pray for the wisdom and the protection of the church officers, that as they lead, they may do so, as Pastor Nathan pointed out to us from Galatians 6:1, to do discipline in a spirit of gentleness. We need to uphold our elders tonight. They represent the Lord to us, and they're doing his work, and oh, how we must pray for them. Pray for their protection, their marriages, their families, for their own walk, that they would guard their heart and their doctrine.
The second thing we must pray for is our pastors to preach the Word, that they will not give in to false doctrine or water down the gospel or get caught up in the trendy way of preaching that you can find anytime on TV. Folks, we're at a sweet spot here at Christ Covenant. Our senior pastor is a student of the Word, and he walks with the Lord, and we know that. Oh, we must pray for him and for all of us that serve along with him, that we walk in obedience and truth.
The second thing we must pray for is for the continual peace and purity of the church. You know, the devil knows that something is going on here. He doesn't like it, and he's got something up his sleeve to try to bring discord and division in this church. We must pray and ask the Lord to give us eyes to find out where he is, but we also do that by praying for the peace and the purity of this body. Isn't it beautiful for the believers to dwell in unity? Isn't it good to gather here tonight and be able to reach out your hand and to greet each other in the Lord? We need to preserve that, and so we do that by praying for the purity and the peace.
And then the third thing that we take away tonight, we must personally guard our own hearts and doctrines. We must guard our hearts. Remember what Paul said, "Examine yourself to see if you're in the faith." Oh, the songwriter said, "Jesus, keep me near the cross. There's a precious fountain, free to all, a healing stream that flows from Calvary's mountain. In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.” Folks, we must pray for ourselves in this last day. Remember what Jesus said when he will turn, will he find faith on the face of the earth? Yes, we must examine ourselves. We must pray for the peace and the purity of our church. We must pray for our elders, our pastors, and that the Lord will continue to be lifted up and draw all men to himself through the doors of this church by the preaching of the Word and the discipline of the church. Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, there's a lot more that could be said tonight, but I've said all I could find right now. I ask that you would take what you have given us and apply it to our hearts. Lord, make us continue to be a praying people. Lord, I thank you for all the elders in our church – those that are serving, those that are inactive, emeriti, and sabbatical. Lord, grant to them a hedge of protection. Grant them wisdom from on high. Grant them, Lord, patience and wisdom and gentleness of heart. And Lord, I pray for our church. May Lord, the unity of the brethren, the peace and purity will be maintained here. And Lord, show us where the devil is. Keep him out of this church. And Lord, we pray for ourselves tonight. Oh Lord, we do pray that we would walk close to thee, that we would lean on the everlasting arms, and that we would walk in obedience and truth. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.