So I was thinking today about the Catholic Church and it's emphasis on the priesthood. The Roman Church teaches that priests are necessary for the sacrifice of the Mass, which in their view, is the literal body and blood of Christ offered anew for the sins of the people or laity. Priests are necessary to hear confessions and pronounce absolution of sins they say. Priests say Mass once each day whether anyone else is present or not, for the Mass is offered for the whole Church and persons both living and dead. They teach that this is necessary to shorten the time one must spend in Purgatory. Of course none of this is found in the New Testament, but did Jesus really do away with priests under the new covenant?
Then I look at the Protestants and their focus on the laity. They for the most part give the laity more power over decisions, yet they still retain certain "priestly" functions still reserved for the ministers, such as presiding over Communion, baptisms, marriages etc, with many still effectively functioning as priests in the Catholic sense. This would include Anglicans, Lutherans, and to a lesser degree Presbyterians and Methodists. After all, George Whitefield and the Wesley's remained ordained Anglican priests until their deaths. To their credit, both Whitefield and the Wesleys went over the heads of other priests and bishops, and went after the lost sheep even outside the bounds of authority of their respective bishops. Perhaps they saw that being a "priest" was not an office to attain, but a calling to be lived.
So what does the New Testament say about priests? 1 Peter 2:5 says "you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God..." 1 Peter 2:9 says "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out." In Revelation 1:6 it says " and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father". Also, Revelation 5:10 says "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”. And lastly, Revelation 20:6 says "Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years."
So from these verses we can see the whole house of God which we call the Church, are priests. We offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. The apostle Paul says such when he wrote "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship". (Rom 12:1) We see from the verses above, that we offer spiritual sacrifices, and we are living stones built up as the temple of God. We are to declare the praises of Him who called us out. We are to demonstrate the Kingdom. And lastly, we will be priests of our God and reign with Him for a thousand years.
Unfortunately, most Christians either do not know that they have been called to be a priest, or are not living it out. We are to offer sacrifices everyday, by both praising God and by being a living sacrifice. We are to intercede for each other for strength, protection and blessing, as well as the lost, that they may come to faith in Christ Jesus. We are now at the door of the Time of Troubles, in which our priesthood will be put to the test, after which we will reign with Christ our High Priest.
Charles Spurgeon once said, "Consider how precious a soul must be, when both God and the devil are after it." Is it not the priests of God, who by offering themselves a living sacrifice, are the ones to intercede to God for such persons, praying that they might be saved? Is it not the job of a priest to show where reconciliation can be found? Is it not for the priests sake, the elect, that those days of tribulation will be shortened?
One of the greatest errors of Protestants is "elevating" the laity. The error of the Catholic Church, is that the laity need priests to attain salvation. Priests are definitely needed, but not for the laity. The Roman Church needs laity in order to validate its existence. Protestants tried to do away with priests, but Catholics needed laity to survive.You see, in the true Church of Christ, it is the laity that has been done away with. The real church has no laity, and only has priests, with one High Priest, which can be accessed by any priest in God's church. If all those who belonged to Christ could really grab hold of this concept, we would understand that for us, we can go directly to the Father as priests, but for those who are unbelievers, they need a real priest who intercedes for them. Once we realize, that it is up to us, a nation of priests, to bring the lost to God and God to the lost, maybe then we will realize what it is we are here for. Jesus didn't come to do away with priests. He came that we might become one.
Ken Mann
No comments:
Post a Comment