There are laws that you live by. There are laws that say you can only go 55 mph on certain roads. These laws are good and can save your life if you obey them. However, if you are driving 80 mph in a 55 mph zone, a patrolman will expose your sin and you will have to pay a fine! No fine is required for those obeying the law.

There are natural laws and there are spiritual laws that God has put into motion. One of the natural laws is the law of gravity. When I drop a book, it falls to the floor. Why? Because of gravity. Gravity is a good thing.

If you were on Apollo 13 and circling around the moon, the last thing in the world you want to happen is for gravity to quit working. Gravity is a good thing. It’s a law of God. God instituted all the natural laws and He instituted all the spiritual laws. These laws can work for you or these laws can work against you.

For a guy working on a construction crew on the 42nd floor who loses his footing and falls, gravity is not a good thing. However, when that man hits the ground and dies, his wife cannot say, “I am so mad at gravity. Gravity killed my husband.”

No, gravity didn’t do it. Gravity is a law and it works the same for sinners as it works for people who are saved. Laws can work for you or they can work against you.

In the spirit realm, there are laws also. These laws can work for you or these laws can work against you. In Hosea 4:6 the Word of God says, “My people perish for a lack of knowledge.” My people, not the heathen people, perish for a lack of knowledge. But for a lack of knowledge of what? For a lack of knowledge of knowing the spiritual laws and how to move within those laws correctly.

Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The truth that you will know is the truth about how God’s kingdom operates – how God’s laws operate. In the spirit realm these laws can work for you or they can work against you.

If you operate properly in the spirit realm, they will work for you. If you operate improperly in the spirit realm, they will work against you.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus was talking with Peter. Peter was Jesus’ close friend. Here’s what Jesus said to him. “And I also say to you that you are Peter….” In the Greek language the word Peter is petros, which means a small rock; a pebble. Jesus said I say to you, you are a small rock.

Then I can picture Jesus pointing to Himself and saying, on this rock, pointing toward Himself. The word He used there was petra, which means a large boulder; a solid unshakable foundation type rock. “…and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades…” (that means the power of death) “…shall not prevail against it.”

Here Jesus gives Peter one of the spiritual laws. Actually this is the key ring that all spiritual laws are hung on. “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven….” Many times in the New Testament when Jesus was talking about heaven, He did not necessarily mean heaven as a place. He meant was referring to the spirit realm.

So what He said to Peter was I am going to give you the keys to the spirit realm. “… and whatever you bind…” (which can be translated forbid) “…on earth…” (the physical realm) “…will be bound…” (or forbidden) “…in heaven…” (the spiritual realm) “…and whatever you loose…” (whatever you permit because you have the keys) “…on earth…” (in the physical realm) “…will be loosed…” (or permitted) “…in heaven…” (the spiritual realm).

Sometimes we try to complicate this, but the Word of God is so simple. People have been confused on this for years because of the lack of good teaching and the abundance of bad teaching.

Here’s what Jesus said to Peter: Peter, I am going to build this church upon Me, the Rock. And because I am leaving, I’m going to leave you with the keys of the Kingdom. Whatever you lock in the physical realm will be locked in the spiritual realm. Whatever you unlock in the physical realm will be unlocked in the spiritual realm.

When you give somebody the keys to your car, you are giving them temporary authority over your car. Let’s say, for example, that I gave my son the keys to my car. While he has the keys, I am giving him authority to lock that car, to unlock that car, to start that car, to stop that car. With the keys my son has a choice. He can either get in it and drive it and use the power, or he can lock it up and let it sit. He has a choice because he has the keys.

Jesus said I will give you the keys of the kingdom of the spirit realm. Whatever you bind, whatever you forbid, whatever you lock up in the physical, it will be locked up, it will be forbidden in the spiritual. You may say, “What does that mean?”

Here is what it means. It means you can lock up the enemy or you can lock up yourself. The choice is yours. If you want to unlock something in the spirit realm, you have to have access to the spirit realm.

How do you get access into the spirit realm? We are told over and over again in the Word of God that there is one way that we access the spirit realm and that is with our words. The scripture tells us that life and death are in the power of the tongue. You use the keys with the words of your mouth spoken from the heart and corresponding actions. That’s faith!