In Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, Jesus gives the keys of the Kingdom to church members. While the elders lead, the members possess the final earthly authority in the local church. Not only do members possess this authority, but they are also to exercise it. While the elders are also to exercise authority as fellow members, they are specifically tasked with leading the congregation in the exercise of its authority. In the elder-led congregational polity advocated here, members hold voting privileges in matters concerning the entire church, such as doctrine, membership, and eldership.
Specifically, members vote on receiving new members into the church; removing existing members, including when removal is the final step of formal church discipline (excommunication); nominating and electing new elders; removing existing elders; amending the doctrinal standards, or membership covenants; and any other decisions that significantly affect the church's ministry trajectory, such as the annual budget.
The authority of the members over the above decisions derives from their status as members of the new covenant; royal priests under our great high priest, Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:5, 9; Rev 1:6; 5:10; Heb 4:14; 8:6–13; cf. Jer 31:31–34). As a result, every member is tasked with ruling and reigning in his name and serving as an ambassador for his Kingdom (2 Tim 2:12; Rev 5:10; 2 Cor 5:20). This rule and reign are exercised in the church, where members are entrusted with the ministry of collectively declaring the valid proclamation of the gospel and affirming those who make a valid profession of it. This is how the keys of the Kingdom are exercised. Matthew 18:15–20 shows that church discipline is entrusted to the members to carry out as an exercise of that very authority (see also 1 Cor 5:4–5, 12–13; 2 Cor 2:6). The church is a holy nation (1 Pet 2:9; cf. Exod 19:6), and members are tasked, as the cherubim were in the Garden (Gen 3:24), with guarding the gate: protecting the gospel and promoting its advance to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8; cf. Matt 28:18–20). This is why church membership is vital to a healthy church. Without it, the priesthood of all believers goes unpracticed, and churchgoers become consumers rather than contributors. But Jesus makes clear that each of his followers has a significant role in ruling and reigning in his name as a participant in the mission of God.
