Matthew 16:17-20

In Matthew 16:17-20 Christ says He will build the Church on the rock. What or who is the rock? The rock is Peter, though this does not imply the Roman Catholic doctrine of the papacy. Further, Christ tells Peter that He will give him the keys of the kingdom so that whatever he binds on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever he looses on earth will be loosed in heaven. The keys of the Kingdom is the symbol of church authority to this day. While the Church’s leaders do not have the authority to make their own laws, when they faithfully apply the law of Christ in the Church, their decisions with respect to entrance into the covenant and church discipline are ratified in heaven.