PART 2 OF 4

Priests

The world sees priests as the spiritual leaders of a church and then there are levels of priests such as Bishops, Archbishops, Cardinals, Popes, etc. These are not to marry and are to have educations separate from the common man. They are elevated above the common man in how they are to be honored, attired, addressed, etc. The common man confesses to these priests and asks them to forgive them of their sins. God’s priests are now His children (1 Peter 2:4-10). No one is to receive special attention, honor, or worship except God (Acts 10:24-26, Revelation 19:10, 22:9). God’s priests are His children who are given spiritual privileges (Revelation 1:4-6).

Pastor or Reverend 

The world sees these as the one spiritual leader of a local congregation or an overseer of a number of congregations. Much like priest, they decide all matters for the local congregation. God’s Word disagrees with the world again. The term pastor is only used once in the NKJV in Ephesians 4:11 and it is used in a plural sense. The term is a synonym for elder, shepherd, or bishop in the NT. There always need to be at least two of these pastors of local congregations (Acts 11:30, 14:23, 15:2, 20:17, 28, Philippians 1:1, 1 Timothy 5:17, Titus 1:5-7, James 5:14, 1 Peter 5:1-4). The term reverend is not found in the NT. It is found once in the OT in Psalm 111:9 in the KJV and ASV (Awesome in the NKJV) and is a term reserved for God!

The Second Coming of Jesus

Many in the world do not believe that there will be a second coming. Once we die there is no more. Others see Jesus coming to a cleansed earth and sitting on a physical throne in Jerusalem to rule for a thousand years during which time the unfaithful will have another chance to redeem themselves. God tells us that none of these ideas are correct. Rather that Jesus ascended to his throne 2,000 years ago and is reigning in His spiritual kingdom now (Acts 2:32-33, Ephesians 1:15-21, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:1-4). When he comes again He will be coming to judge all mankind (2 Corinthians 5:9-11, 2 Timothy 4:1, 8, 1 Peter 4:5, 2 Peter 3:10-14, Revelation 20:11-15).

The world has many views that differ from those given in God’s Word. Are you a Christian this morning who has been baptized the way the Bible describes? Can you call yourself a child of God or a priest of God this morning? Maybe you at one time you obeyed the Lord but now you are not walking as a faithful child or priest of God. The fact of the matter is, that if you are not a child of God or if you are one who has fallen away, you are not ready for the Lord’s second coming. You can be ready this morning! Christians who have fallen away can repent and then bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. If you are not a child of God you need to believe in Him, confess that Jesus is the Son of God, repent of your sins, and then be baptized to wash away those sins. We all need to be ready! If you need help with either of these conditions, please come forward while we stand and sing!