No Collar Required

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9; ESV)

Scripture clearly identifies Jesus Christ as our great high priest.  (Hebrews 5:1-10) As the Old Testament unfolds God’s plan of redemption, the prophets revealed that the Messiah would be the ultimate sacrifice. Israel would no longer have to rely on the blood of sacrificed bulls and goats to atone for its sins, which was a picture of what was to come. Believers would now look to the Messiah, the perfect unblemished Lamb of God, who would be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, bear our griefs, and carry our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4-5). The Messiah would be both the ultimate sacrifice and the great High Priest. 

God considers believers in Christ Jesus to be a holy nation – a special people who share in all that Christ is and does.  Through our testimony, we proclaim the excellencies of the God who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light, and we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service. (Romans 12:1) Although we will never be morally or spiritually perfect in this lifetime, God still calls for us to live holy and be set apart with a genuine passion to please Him in all we do.  In Christ, we become God’s prized possession, and He sends us out as ambassadors of Christ to share the good news with the world – that salvation is free to those who believe and confess Christ as their Lord and Savior. God also does not require us to obtain a formal education before we share our own personal testimony of His grace and mercy over our lives. He has given us His Living Word and His Holy Spirit to teach and guide us as we spread the good news worldwide.

As followers of Christ, we now have union, communion, and fellowship with God through our great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. When Christ took His last breath on the cross, He tore in two the temple veil that shrouded the Holy of Holies. Christ’s work on the cross allows all believers to have immediate access to God, who is in the heavenly Holy of Holies. Believers can rejoice in knowing that they, too, are a holy and royal priesthood set apart to proclaim the good news of the Gospel.

Peace and Grace!