Paul and Barnabas appointed elders in each church on their missionary journey (Acts 14:23). Peter referred to himself as an elder and encouraged his fellow elders to shepherd God’s flock (1 Peter 5:1-2). Their primary tasks were teaching, praying, leading, shepherding, and equipping the local church. The primary office was a position alternatively called elders ( presbyterous), overseers/bishops ( episkopon), or pastors ( poimenas). In the New Testament, we read about different church leaders. Meanwhile, the early church was growing and getting established in Asia, Africa, and Europe. But several decades later, the Jewish priesthood ended in AD 70 when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, and the last Jewish high priest, Phannias ben Samuel, was killed. When Jesus died on the cross as the final sacrifice, the priests no longer needed to offer sacrifices for the people, although the Jewish priests didn’t yet understand that. God set apart Moses’ brother Aaron and his descendants to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s presence, serve the Lord, and pronounce blessings in His name (1 Chronicles 23:13). He offers gifts and sacrifices for sin (Hebrews 5:1-4).Īlmost 3500 years ago, when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, God set up the Aaronic priesthood. In the Bible, a priest is a man called by God who represents people in things relating to God. But a pastor doesn’t absolve people of sin. He might help the person pray for forgiveness and encourage that person to ask forgiveness of any people he has wronged. A pastor would encourage the person to confess his sins to God and receive His forgiveness. We can and should forgive people if they sin against us, but that doesn’t wipe the slate clean before God. However, a pastor wouldn’t give that person pardon only God can pardon sin. On the other hand, a person might confess their sins to a pastor, and there’s nothing wrong with that the Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another so that we will be healed (James 5:16). However, they represent different denominations with different concepts of church leadership and theology.įor instance, a priest hears people’s confessions of sin, saying, “I absolve you from your sins.” Absolve means “to free from a charge of wrongdoing,” so the priest essentially pardons people from their sin. They are both shepherds of the flock, caring for the spiritual needs of people in a church.
0 kommentar(er)
