Matthew 16:19  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 Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland guides visitors through a pirate's life as they drift down a stream on the boat ride. One scene depicts prisoners in jail, calling for a stray dog to come over to their cell. The dog just so happens to be holding the keys to their cell in his teeth. Dangling a bone through the bars of the cell, the prisoners know that the dog possesses the keys that will set them free.

While most people have not been locked behind bars, we have all been in chains that bind us. In Romans 6:17-23, Paul described us as once slaves to sin but now set free because of Jesus. Our sin separates us from God and from others, but Jesus' work of salvation on our behalf opens the prison and sets us captives free, just as the prophet foretold in Isaiah 61.

The power to forgive sins is God's alone, but He entrusted His Church with His authority and power to bind and loosen the sinner's chains, saying, "Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Perhaps it is because God created us as relational beings that our churches call pastors to hear our confession and, by God's authority and because of Jesus' death on the cross, look us square in the eye to specifically tell us our sins are forgiven and proclaim liberty to the captives.

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