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Rotal Priesthood


But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (I Peter 2:9)

          The second thing Peter tells us about our identity is that Christians are a royal priesthood. God didn’t choose us and grant us salvation in order for us to enjoy a good life doing whatever we want. He had a purpose in mind. It’s a purpose with a grand and miserable tradition. God called Israel to be priests to the world. They refused. God called the tribe of Levi to be priests. Two of Aaron’s sons failed miserably. Eli’s sons were worse. Samuel’s sons we bad enough that Israel asked for a king. Just as Israel had bad kings, it also had bad priests from that time forward. 
          One of the important bits of life for the priests of the Old Testament was that they were not given an inheritance among Israel. God told them that He would be their inheritance. 
          Then came the new covenant and the New Testament Church. Now all of us are priests, and the old reality is true – our inheritance is not of this world.  God has specific tasks for us to do. We are to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.
          Being a priest requires that we place God at the forefront of our lives, that we serve Him and obey Him. Being a priest also requires that we act as a mediator between man and God. We are to be holy and to teach the ways of holiness to others. We are to stand between man and God and between God and man – worshipping, admonishing, teaching, encouraging…

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