Matthew 18: 18: "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." I have heard many a preacher, usually with spit flying, saying, "I bind you devil!" They go on to bind sickness, disease, poverty and lack. The problem is, this just doesn't work. Jesus was not giving you a magic formula to get what you want. And, if everybody is binding the devil, why is he still running around causing trouble? If sickness and disease are bound, why are there people still in the hospitals? The problem is a gross misrepresentation of what this verse means. Here and in Matthew 16:19, Jesus is giving authority to the church to act in accordance with the Scriptures. The church had the authority to pronounce someone forgiven if they meant the Biblical conditions. Similarly, if they didn't meet the Scriptural conditions, the church had the right to proclaim they weren't forgiven. The person on earth can only bind what has already been bound in heaven, and only loose on earth what has already been loosed in heaven. This is not some blanket authority given to man, but instead a proper understanding of how the church is to function according to the Word. Today's devotion is about saving you from error. Run from any preacher that misuses this text.
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