Are you familiar with the phrase: “The Office of the Keys?” These are the office of the keys. I’m just kidding—they’re the keys to the office I guess. Rather than referring to the keys of the church or maybe even a room that holds all the keys, the “Office of the Keys” is a doctrine taught in Scripture by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. More pointedly,

THE OFFICE OF THE KEYS IS A GIFT GIVEN TO THE CHURCH

The Small Catechism nicely summarizes the Office of the Keys, saying, “The Office of the Keys is that special authority which Christ has given to His Church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.”

The seat (or basis) of this doctrine comes from three primary passages. Jesus says in Matthew 16:17-19, “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.”

The keys that Jesus gave to Peter were shortly after also given to all the disciples. In other words, the Keys of the kingdom don’t belong to any one man. This special authority is given to the Church. Jesus says to all the twelve in Matthew 18:18, “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.”

The third primary passage for the doctrine of the Office of the Keys comes in our Gospel reading today. Jesus says in John 20:22-23, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

If the Keys are given to the Church, then why do we have pastors? Why isn’t everyone installed into this Office? Because God is a God of order. If all of us took upon ourselves the Office of the Keys, then there would be all kinds of chaos in the Church. Imagine 100 people or a congregation of 3000 people all trying to stand in the stead of Christ. It would be a nightmare! Therefore, Scripture teaches that men are to be called into the Office of the Ministry to publicly administer these Keys.

This call is a divine call—meaning that pastors are called by God Himself through the Church to perform this responsibility of service. The stole that I wear is one of the symbols of the yoke that has been laid upon me. Aside from all the symbols of the stole itself, it is a physical weight on the shoulders, reminding you and me that I don’t speak for myself or to benefit myself, but I speak in the place and by the command of Christ even when people don’t want to hear it. I am to perform the duties of this Office without fear, for the Lord has called me to it for your good—for your benefit.

The “Keys” of this Office include withholding forgiveness of sins, as well as loosing sins (which is to declare forgiveness). The first part of the Office might sound odd. Aren’t pastors in the role to forgive sins? Well, yes and no. We tend to think of pastors simply as Gospel preachers, but they are also preachers of the Law. Pastors should properly distinguish the Law and the Gospel (which is a very high art taught by the Holy Spirit in Scripture). It might help us understand if we remember that pastors are to do their work in accordance with the Word of God. Therefore, whatever the Word says, the pastor is to say. And therefore, it isn’t really the pastor saying it, but God speaking through the pastor who speaks God’s Word.

This means that a pastor will withhold forgiveness on the basis of God’s Word alone. If somebody refuses to repent, it would be contrary to God’s Word to forgive his or her sins. To forgive an unrepentant sinner only sends the message that sin may actually be good. It would send the message that disobeying God is good, and sinners would have no reason to repent.

Contrary to doing that, a pastor will preach the Law. He proclaims that disobeying God is bad—it is sin, unbelief, and rejection of God. And the wages earned by sin is death. All sinners (all people) are called by God’s Word to repentance, so that they may be eternally saved. However, if that message is repeatedly ignored and rejected, then the final step in trying to bring about repentance is the excommunication (or removal) of a person from the Church.

The process taught by Jesus is a very patient one. This makes sense because the Lord is merciful and patient toward us. The proper, good, right, and salutary goal in something as “extreme” as excommunication is that repentance, forgiveness, and restoration are brought forth.

Unfortunately, it is possible that sinful motivations for ungodly reasons can lead to a refusal to excommunicate when it is necessary or a willingness to excommunicate when it is uncalled for. Improper use should not take away from proper use.

An example of how excommunication and restoration works is revealed in First Corinthians, as Paul tells the congregation to excommunicate an unrepentant sinner. Then in Second Corinthians, Paul tells the congregation to restore to the congregation a repentant brother (probably the same person).

God “desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” He desires that “all should reach repentance.” He ultimately desires that every person receives forgiveness.

So, the counterpart to withholding forgiveness in the Office of the Keys is loosing sin (forgiving sin). Jesus entered this world to “save His people from their sins.” Thus, the forgiveness of sins is the mission of our Lord. He died on the cross for our sins. He rose from the dead—speaking peace to sinners as we heard this morning. Don’t overlook that! The peace that Jesus spoke to those disciples locked in the room is cross-centered, post-resurrection peace from the Lord who has been raised. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! That very peace of God is declared to those disciples so that they may be forgiven. Having shown them the proof of His resurrection, Jesus gives them authority to withhold forgiveness or to forgive sins.

A person who hears the Law’s condemnation and is terrified by it and guilt-stricken, desperately needs to hear the Lord’s peace. He or she needs to hear the total forgiveness of sins that comes through the crucified and risen Lord. They should not be left wallowing in despair or told something like “try harder” or “do better.” None of that saves a sinner—only Christ’s redeeming blood.

The Holy Spirit, working through God’s Law, shows you your sins and leads you to confess your sins. Your pastor is called by the Lord (a call that came through your congregation) to forgive the sins of all who repent. Thus, your pastor (whether done publicly on Sunday morning or privately on an individual basis) forgives your sins. In repentant faith you cling to your pastor’s Word of forgiveness as coming from Jesus Himself, because it is Jesus’ forgiveness applied to you. It is Jesus’ announcement through your pastor that your sins are indeed washed away—done away with. God will remember them no more.

You can be sure and certain that when your pastor forgives your sin, it’s not really him that’s doing it. The Lord really is forgiving your sin, using your pastor as a mouthpiece. The forgiveness that your pastor speaks is as sure and certain as if Christ our dear Lord has personally spoken to you with His own lips. Our Lord Jesus Christ calls and sends men to minister to congregations with the Word and Sacraments. It is your pastor’s joy to bring God’s Word to bear in your lives. The proclamation of the Law brings about the knowledge and confession of sins. The proclamation of Jesus’ pardon and peace leads to rejoicing over every sinner who repents.

Now, there’s one more point which people tend to get confused. If God calls pastors into the Office of the Keys, does it mean that only pastors forgive sins? Most certainly not. The distinction is that pastors are called to publicly carry out the Office of the Keys. The pastor is one whom God has called to act with this authority within the congregation. Even so, what do we pray in the Lord’s Prayer? “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” In our daily lives, we certainly should forgive others who sin against us. Scripture admonishes us repeatedly to “forgive one another” and that “love covers a multitude of sins.”

The bedrock of any marriage, any household, any friendship, and any kind of relationship is forgiveness. In a sinful and fallen world, you are given many opportunities to forgive others or to be forgiven by others. Each time in your daily lives that you forgive or are forgiven, you receive a reminder of your own forgiveness in Christ Jesus.

The Office of the Keys is a glorious teaching and gift to the Church whereby God works in our midst for the salvation of sinners. He calls us to repentance. He announces forgiveness. As we confessed together through the Creed, with the forgiveness of sins comes the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. No wonder the Lord says “Peace be with you.” Amen.