Whose Church Is It?Sample

All Christians are priests to God

Every born-again believer should be in ministry inside and outside the meeting place. Putting the ministry into the office of the pastor alone robs the church of power and denies the community the help it desperately needs. The four men in Mark 2 carried their paralyzed friend to Jesus. So many people were crowding into the building that they could not get their friend through the door. So, they ripped a hole in the roof and lowered him in front of the Master. The Gospel writer says, “When Jesus saw their faith,” He forgave the man’s sins and healed him. Faith? All they did was tear off the roof, but they did it to position a friend to receive from God. They were not builders that day, just a demolition team, but they did it in faith and love, and miracles resulted. 

The Apostle Peter taught that all Christians are priests to God. The priesthood was central to God’s plan in the Old Testament. Under the Law, an individual seeking God would bring an offering, whatever the Law prescribed, to the house of God, and give it to the priest. The priest would present it to the Lord on behalf of the supplicant, and God would receive it. If anyone else attempted to give the offering, God would not accept it. Only a priest was ordained for that service, and only a High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place once a year with a blood sacrifice to intercede for the whole nation. Such was the process God had put into place.

Going the other way, the priest was God’s representative to the people. God spoke and taught His laws and precepts through the priest. The priest was the intermediary, representing the people to God and God to the people. 

Then comes the New Testament, as if Jesus says, “Through My blood, through salvation, and through birth into this Kingdom, all of you now are priests.” Everyone in God’s Kingdom is a priest, which means we each can go directly to God. You have direct access to the Father. God has cut out the earthly middle man. 

As a believer in Jesus Christ, the One Mediator between God and men, you can call to Him anytime with confidence that He hears, cares, and will respond. You have the constant relationship of a priest, and you are in the ministry. 

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