Bound in Heaven

 Matthew 18 contains an oft-abused passage of Scripture, stemming from a common and unfortunate mistranslation. In Mat. 18:18, according to the New King James Version, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." A nearly identical passage is found in Mat. 16:19.

Does this mean "The Church" has authority to make binding judgments on earth, judgments which God Himself will enforce? Does this mean "The Church" has authority to make rulings on the Scriptures, and that its members are bound to obey whether they see Scriptural justification or not?

Not so fast.

Here's Mat. 18:18 according to Young's Literal Translation: "Verily I say to you, Whatever things ye may bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever things ye may loose on the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens." Mat. 16:19 reads similarly.

In plain English, this would read, "Whatever you bind on earth must already be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth must already be loosed in heaven."

Other literal translations agree with Young's, including the Concordant Literal Version, Green's Literal Translation, the Modern Literal Version, the Emphatic Diaglott New Testament, and more.

As the original Greek text reveals, the congregations of God do have authority to make judgments, but only insofar as those judgments agree with what God's Word says and what He Himself has already decided! God is the ultimate authority.

In fact, we have a responsibility to defy any earthly authority that orders us to do or believe anything contrary to God's Word, just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego defied King Nebuchadnezzar and refused to worship his golden image. As also the apostles said, when forbidden by the Jewish rulers to preach the gospel, "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).

Even Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has no authority apart from His Father. He told us, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me" (John 5:30). When facing death on the cross, He prayed to the Father, "Not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).

If the very Son of God makes no judgments apart from the Father, how much less can any church, pastor, or any other human being! God is not subject to any church, but every human being on earth is to be subject to Him and obey His Word.

Yes, God expects His people to respect and obey earthly authorities, as numerous passages show, but only as long as their judgments do not contradict His. This is why we must not unquestioningly follow any man or church, but rather, "Test all things; hold fast what is good" (1 Thes. 5:21).

And, as we can see from the passages in Mat. 16 and 18, that often also involves double-checking our preferred Bible translation.