HAVE YOU read or been taught about the biblical passages which describe Christians as priests to God? Yes, every true Christian, who is recreated in Christ Jesus and sealed with the Spirit of God, is a priest, according to Revelation 1:6 and 1 Peter 2:9. Each has direct access to God the Father to plead His mercy and ask for forgiveness by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.
However, Christians have not only been chosen to be royal priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices, continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God and present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. We are to be men and women of knowledge, understanding and wisdom. In fact, God does not produce ignorant children.
In both the Old and New Testament scriptures, believers are exhorted to be men and women of knowledge. Knowledge is necessary for wisdom. God instructs His children to grow in grace and in knowledge (2 Peter 3:18). God commands His children to be people of knowledge so as to escape eternal death and obtain life (Hosea 4:6).
It is written in Malachi 2:7 that “For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.” The word “guard” means “preserve or keep”. This means a Christian who is a priest to God should be knowledgeable in the Word of God and be ready and willing to teach others about the ways, acts, precepts and commandments of God. You cannot be a Christian and be ignorant of Scriptures.
The Bible is a book of books; it seems to be old yet always new and refreshing. It is the greatest source of wisdom for living. Only people who are lost, “darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart” cannot see the relevance of the Bible.
It is, however, very sad that most Christians in many parts of the world are ignorant of the sacred truths of the Word of God that make people good ambassadors of Christ and patriotic citizens of their nations. Ignorance is a sin in the sight of God as it leads to death. Yes, ignorance kills but knowledge saves. People who lack sound knowledge of God’s Word get deceived and suffer for it.
Others are distracted and misled by weird opinions that are expressed by atheists and agnostics in the media especially on the Internet. But if you are well-grounded in the Word of truth, you will not allow blind and ignorant men and women to trouble your faith about the living God. The people who know God personally, having heard Him speak to them in their hearts and through dreams and visions will not allow accursed men to reason them out of their relationship with God.
The one major problem facing many Christians including pastors is their inability to sit down, study and meditate on the Word of God. Pastors who beg their colleagues to give them messages to preach and teach clearly do not pray, study and meditate on the Word of God enough to receive revelatory knowledge and inspiration to communicate divine insights to their congregants.
The Apostle Paul urged young Pastor Timothy to “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). One reason most pastors do not preach and teach about the gospel of Jesus Christ these days is that they do not study the Bible.
And here, illiteracy is no excuse. All believers must participate in teaching services and learn. If we refuse to study the Bible, we cannot rightly divide the Word of truth. To rightly divide the Word of truth is to accurately teach and explain the gospel of salvation. The Word of truth is the gospel of salvation (Ephesians 1:13). It is the message about the birth, life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ that saves sinners from the bondage of sin and death.
When you are well grounded in the Word of truth, you will discover your standing in Christ Jesus. You will know whether you are a genuine born again Christian or not. A knowledgeable Christian is a mature Christian who can detect distortions false ministers present in their homilies to deceive, exploit and mislead the immature believers. Be a knowledgeable Christian for your freedom and salvation.
A knowledgeable Christian will not allow atheistic views to cause him or her to doubt God, knowing that atheists and all Godless folks speak of what they do not understand and cannot understand unless they are healed of their hardened hearts; the ignorance that is in them and are drawn to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
A knowledgeable Christian will not be disturbed by bishops who publicly doubt the second coming of Jesus Christ. He or she understands that in the last days there will be scoffers who will laugh at Jesus Christ’s promise to return. And they also understand that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.
jamesquansah@yahoo.com
By James Quansah