Priests are Teachers

Malachi 2v7-9

19^th February 2021

In our study of Malachi, we've remembered that God has made all Christians priests. God now tells us what it is to live as His priests:

Malachi 2v7-8
"For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction – because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the Lord Almighty

We can't all speak from the front of the church meeting every Sunday morning, but we all teach our friends, our family, our colleagues and our fellow-Christians by what we say and how we live. And the lips of a priest – Christian lips – ought to preserve knowledge. We're called to hold fast to the words of the Bible, to preserve its teaching and not pervert it. As I read on Facebook recently, "The Bible doesn't need to be re-written. It needs to be re-read".

There are probably a few passages of the Bible that you don't like, perhaps including the one about God approving of Phinehas killing those two people, which we read last time. But they're there. Maybe the Bible says something about money, or marriage, or sexual ethics, or judgement, or election, or something else, that makes you uncomfortable. I think the Bible's supposed to make us uncomfortable. But a Christian – a priest – is the messenger of the Lord Almighty. He or she is called to preserve God's teaching, not to advance his own ideas, and not to accept worldly thinking.

Our generation is not unique. In every generation there's something in the Bible that's not politically correct. As God's priests, we're called to believe all the Bible and teach all the Bible, whether it's popular in our generation or not. Can God say of you, "True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips" (verse 6)?

And God says that a priest – a Christian – should find that people seek his instruction. Do people seek your instruction? Do you demonstrate such love, such meekness, such gentleness and kindness and holiness, that people want to know what you believe?

God spoke to the priests of Malachi's generation in the 5th century BC, saying, "but you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble". And many church leaders and other Christians in our generation are doing exactly the same. Our role is to promote Biblical truth and the worship of God. Tragically, many of our brothers and sisters teach whatever ideas are fashionable at the time. As a result, many people have turned away from Biblical ethics. Many more have missed the Gospel, because it isn't being preached properly.

This country is falling into the abyss, and the people who are most to blame are the Christians who should be teaching and living Biblical truth but aren't. If our fellow countrymen don't learn God's ways from us, where will they learn them?

God says "you have violated the covenant with Levi". We're not being the priesthood we're called to be, and the nation is suffering as a result.

And here's the clincher:

Malachi 2v9
"So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law."

You may have found some of this a bit controversial, though I'm confident it's all true. One thing I think we can agree about is that the church, and Christians, in this country are despised and humiliated before all the people, just as the Levites once were. This is God's judgement on us, because we're not living like priests, and we're not speaking like priests. God says this is because "you have not followed my ways".

There are churches and Christians in our generation who want to stop being despised add humiliated by our neighbours by being more like them. It will never work. The only way to improve the situation is to be faithful to God and to His word, so God lifts His curse on the English church.

God accuses the priests in Malachi's time, and many Christians in our time, of not following His ways – of ignoring Biblical teaching – and of showing partiality regarding God's law. Perhaps you might interpret that as taking bribes in court cases, but that's not what I think God means here. I think God is rebuking His priests – us – for accepting some Biblical teaching while rejecting, twisting or ignoring other Biblical teaching, showing partiality not between one person and another but between one Biblical passage and another.

Who are we to accept the parts of the Bible we happen to like, and ignore the parts we don't like? To agree with the passages that confirm what we already thought before we read them, and to ignore or pervert the passages that we wish said something else?

We're God's priesthood. What a privilege that is! To use Malachi's words, we're called to be people of true instruction, with nothing false on our lips (verse 6a). We're called to walk with God in peace and uprightness, and to turn many from sin (verse 6a). Let us live up to our calling!