Dear Pastor Ron: Did not God give the keys of the church to Peter, symbolizing that he has authority to do anything, even to change the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday?
Dear Reader, in Matthew 16:18 after Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ, the son of the living God, Jesus said to him, “you are Peter” (GK. petros, meaning stone), and upon this rock (GK. Petra, meaning rock), I will build my church. In the Aramaic the word for rock or stone is Keefa. It is understood by many that like Greek, with its petros and petra, there’s a play in the Aramaic as well with keefa. One represents the frailty and weakness of humanity while the other represents the omnipotence of God.
In fact the Hebrews always understood their God to be their Rock and their Salva- tion. Deut. 32:4 and Ps. 18:2 make this very clear. Even Peter himself makes this clear when in Acts 4:8-12 and 1 Pet. 2:4-8. He speaks of Jesus as the stone which the builders rejected and which has become the chief corner stone. While the gates of hell did prevail against Peter and the other disciples, they, the gates of hell, can and will never prevail against Christ, the Rock and chief corner stone.
Jesus used Peter as representative of the group or small church when He said that He would give him “the keys of the kingdom.” Peter was not made ‘the leader’ of the church or group. The church has only one leader and that is Christ. The rest of us are under shepherds to carry out His will. The only one we call Father on earth (excepting our biological father) is God. And we are not to be masters over the church for only Christ is the Master of us all. Mat. 23:9. So, no; the church has no authority to change what God has enjoined upon humanity. God gave mankind the Sabbath to be a memorial of His creation. Had everyone recognized this there would have been little room for atheism or agnosticism.
God has strictly forbidden His people to tamper with His written Word. In 1 Tim 3:16, 17 it says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and profitable to man’s spiritual growth. In 1 Peter 1:20, 21 it says that the Holy Scriptures did not come from man’s designing nor is subject to private interpretation, but came directly through God’s Holy Spirit. And Revelation 22:19 tells us that no one is to modify the Revelation of God. This applies also to all Scripture, for it is from the Scriptures we find the will of God for humanity.
To alter the scriptures or its teachings would be to deceive those who read it and create a misunderstanding of the Word of God. As we journey along this life, let us do so with confidence believing that God through His Spirit will continue to lead us into all truth. Let us recognize Him as Creator, and recognize that God gave us the Sabbath as a reminder of His creatorship. Let the Sabbath be a day to rejoice reminding us that God is our LORD, Creator, and Saviour. I want to wish you all God’s richest blessings; and that He may provide for you each day. May your walk with God be productive and happy. While evil proliferates God preserves those that love Him and serve Him. God bless.
Pastor Ron Henderson is a retired SDA pastor. You can contact him at ron.hende@gmail.com if you have any questions.