But God will break you down forever;
he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
he will uproot you from the land of the living.
The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying,
See the man who would not make God his refuge,
but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!"
Malachi 2:5-10
This passage lists some of the responsibilities of the priests, and is alittle critical of how they have abandoned some of them. The author then compares Christians to the priests.
The priest is to teach the truth. He is to be one whom people can look to for guidance. He is the messenger of GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies. He is the keeper of the covenant. He is a giver of life and peace.
How do I, as a Christian, and especially as a minister, model the work of the priest? How would I grade myself on the following list?
>giving life and peace
>keeping covenant with God
>honoring God and standing in reverant awe before God
>teaching truth and not lies
>walking with God in peace and uprightness
>keeping people out of the ditch and on the right road
I've been learning over the past week or so about giving life and peace. This has become something that I am committed to. As a worship leader, I am regularly honoring and standing in reverence before God. I defend and keep his covenant. I always try to teach the truth, because this is a "pet peeve" of mine. I detest teachers and preachers who teach things as Biblical truth that aren't. I know they mean well, and are not lying on purpose, but they need to be more careful that what they claim the Bible says, it really says. I am becoming more and more someone who walks in peace and uprightness. And I try to keep people out of the ditch.
It's too easy to look at a list like that, though, and say, "Oh, I'm doing alright, so there's no need to work on anything." I would never do that. I have not arrived. I shall never arrive until this body stops functioning. Therefore, I will always need to work on these things.
How do we mess up peoples' lives with our errant teachings and irresponsibility? Let me, first of all, say that, no matter what bad examples any "Christians" might present to an unbeliever, that person will not be able to use that as an excuse before God. Every man stands on their own before God. Either he is judged on the basis of his works (in which case he will fail miserably), or he is judged on the basis of Jesus Christ, the only way to succeed. So, while our mistakes might mislead people, ultimately, they are responsible for themselves.
Grace and peace, friends.