A Sacred Position
Leviticus 8:2-3
"Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."
In the Scriptures, the office of the priest was a very sacred position. There were several qualifications a person had to meet before they could be a priest. In the verses above, God set aside Aaron and his sons to fill the priesthood. When this great event happened, God told Moses to gather the congregation so they could see the great detail God had for the priest. This event was to show the children of Israel the sacredness of this position.
Though today the office of the priest in the tabernacle has been done away with, I still believe that we can look at that position and realize it can symbolize the office of the pastor. Though the Scriptures teach that every believer is a priest, and that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, I also believe that God wants us look at this illustration and see how we should treat the office of a pastor.
The priest was the representative of God to the people of Israel. Likewise, the pastor is the representative of God to the local New Testament Baptist church. Because of this, I believe we should not treat that position lightly. Let me give you some thoughts about how we should treat this position.
You will notice that God wanted the congregation to see the ordaining of Aaron and his sons. I believe this was to show the families of Israel how important the position was that Aaron and his sons held. The office of the pastor should not be treated lightly. Just like it was the responsibility of the parent to bring their child to see Aaron ordained as priest, I believe you also should make sure your child understands the sacredness of the office of pastor. Parents must be careful about tearing down their pastor with words. So many parents wonder why their children have no respect for the church or the pastor, but they tore him down every Sunday on their way home from church. What do they expect? You must make sure that your children hear you saying positive things about your pastor. Pray for your pastor with your children. Let your children hear you praise the sermons the LORD gave him. Let your children do special things for their pastor. I am not trying to lift up a man, but I am trying to lift up the position. Every Christian needs to be careful to treat the office of the pastor with the sacredness it deserves.
Furthermore, pastors should not take their position lightly. You should not use your position to abuse people. You must understand that when you abuse your position, you turn people off from Christianity because in their mind you represent God. Many people don't separate the actions of their pastor from God. Though this is wrong, this is simply a fact. As a pastor, God will hold you accountable for how you treat your position. God killed Nadab and Abihu when they didn't treat their position and duties as they should, and God will hold every pastor accountable for how he conducts himself in the sacred position.
Finally, let's be careful not to attack every preacher for the actions of a few. Though a few men may have abused their position, most men of God treat their position with dignity and respect. Be sure that your family understands the importance of this position by how you treat your pastor and honor his position. The best way to do this is to daily pray for your pastor with your family.