A godly and learned exposition or commentary upon the three first chapters of the…A godly and learned exposition or commentarie vpon the three first chapters of the…

The third part of the distinction is this: Though I was dead, ye• I have the keys of death and of hell. Here we must not imagine that hell is a bodily place kept with lock and key, and doors, as mens dwelling houses are: that cannot be proved by any place of Gods word. Neither yet that the torments thereof are bodily, such as be inflicted in this world: but rather they are spiritual, being the apprehension and feeling of Gods wrath and vengeance, whose jealousy burns like fire. But Christ in this phrase borroweth a comparison from stewards of great houses, who at their installing into their stewardships, have the keys of all things given unto them. Which giving of the keys is a token of regiment and authority bestowed upon them And the meaning is this, That Jesus Christ though he once died, yet by his death did vanquish hell and death, and hath obtained full power & dominion over them both for evermore.

The third part of the distinction is this: Though I was dead, ye• I haue the keyes of death and of hell. Here we must not imagine that hell is a bodily place kept with locke and key, and dores, as mens dwelling houses are: that cannot bee proued by any place of Gods word. Neither yet that the torments thereof are bodily, such as bee inflicted in this world: but rather they are spirituall, being the apprehension and feeling of Gods wrath and vengeance, whose iealousie burnes like fire. But Christ in this phrase borroweth a comparison from stewards of great houses, who at their installing into their stewardships, haue the keyes of all things giuen vnto them. Which giuing of the keyes is a token of regiment and authoritie bestowed vpon them And the meaning is this, That Iesus Christ thogh he once died, yet by his death did vanquish hell and death, and hath obtained full power & dominion ouer them both for euermore.

Hence arise sundry instructions: first, that power and authority to forgive ⟨p. 68⟩sins properly, belongeth only unto Christ. No mere creature hath this power; for he that can forgive sins, must be able to take away the punishments of sin, namely, hell and death, which none can do but Christ alone, who only hath the keys thereof. And to say that a man can properly forgive sins, is to say, that a man hath power in himself over hell and death. And therefore the priesthood of the church of Rome is full of blasphemy, who take upon them properly to pronounce unto men the pardon of their sins of themselves: and they deride the custom of reformed churches, who from God pronounce the pardon of sins unto them that repent.