Apart from this passage,
there is no background in biblical
language for binding and
loosening. In Rabbinical Judaism,
the words signify rabbinical decisions; to
bind is to give a
decision that imposes an
obligation, and to loose is to give
a decision that removes an
obligation.
Matthew 18:15-18
"If your brother sins (against you), go and tell
him his
fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you,
you have won over your brother. If he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you, so that 'every
fact may be established on the testimony of two or
three
witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell the
church
(ekklesia). If he refuses to listen even to the
church, then
treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen,
I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound
in
heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth shall be
loosed
in heaven."