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ALL Christians are Priests and Saints

All Christians are both priests of God and saints.   If you are a Christian, you are a saint and will be made a priest of God in heaven.   Therefore, there is no need for a Christian priesthood if we are all priests and canonization of saints if God has already declared us saints.   If there is no need for these, then the Catholic and Orthodox churches have adopted not the true thing but crude substitutes.  

SAINT
In the New Testament, saint was used to refer to other believers.   Saint means someone who is called out, who is sanctifies, who has separated themselves from the world to serve God.   We are all called to be saints.   But the Roman Catholic definition of saint is someone who possesses “heroic virtue” who are “beautified” and “canonized” by the Catholic church AFTER they die.   They don't become a saint until the Catholic church says that they are one!!   And it isn't cheap either.   The whole ritual will cost your loved ones over $40,000 to make you a saint.   It costs $40,000 to be made a saint!!!   Who can afford that?

In the New Testament, saint is used to refer to believers in Christ, either living or dead:
13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
32 And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.
40 But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
41 And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.

Acts 9:13, 32, 40-41

Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
Acts 26:10

To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 1:7

For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
Rom 15:26
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”   1Cor 1:2   The Bible associates sainthood with living the sanctified, separate life, not being canonized by the Catholic Church.   If you are sanctified, if you are separate from the world and all its lusts and sins, you are a saint in God's eyes.     (If you 'call' yourself a Christian but are still lusting, fornicating, gambling, lying, cheating on your taxes, you need to REPENT.   God hath called us to holiness and sainthood, not worldliness and carnal lusts.)   So if you are a sincere Christian, then you are a saint.   And it doesn't cost you forty grand either!!!   If you are not a saint, you can become one TODAY by accepting Jesus Christ as the ONLY way to heaven, and living your life for Him.   It's that simple.   If you are a Christian, being a saint is part of your inheritance in Christ.   Don't be deceived into thinking that sainthood is only for “special” Christians.   You are all special in His eyes: “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. ”     (Tit 2:14).

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?     (1Cor 6:2).   If the saints should judge the world, and the world should be judged by you, then you are a saint!!  

To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, CALLED TO BE SAINTS...”     (Rom 1:7).   Were all the early Christians at Rome declared saints by the Catholic or Orthodox churches, or is their definition of a saint different from God's?  

PRIEST
Therefore, if any man (or woman) be in Christ, than he is a saint, regardless of what man-made tradition teaches.   But, all Christians are also priests of God.   This is another part of our inheritance that has been stolen from us by man's traditions.   For the Bible teaches that we are a holy priesthood:
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ
9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1 Peter 2:5, 9
Nowhere in the New Testament is there an office of “priest” mentioned in the church.   We find elders, deacons, bishops (head pastor), but no office of priest.   In the NT, the word priest is used mostly to refer to the Jewish priests of the day.   The word priest is found 118 times in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts, and EVERY time it is referring to Jewish priests.   After Acts, it is not found again unto the book of Hebrews, where it either refers to the Old Testament priesthood or to Jesus Christ as the final, eternal High Priest.   In the book of Revelation, priest is used three times, each time referring to all believers.:    
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Rev 1:6

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Rev 5:10

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev 20:6
.    
Notice that this says that everyone who partakes in the First Resurrection will be priests of God and of Christ.   The first resurrection involves ALL Christians!   Therefore, if you are a Christian, you must be a priest of God and of Christ.   Peter tells us that we are both a “holy priesthood” (1 Pet 2:5) and a “royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9)   Now if we are a “royal priesthood”, and Rev 1:6 says we are “kings and priests unto God” and Rev 20:6 says “they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him”, don't you think that the Bible is referring to the same group of people here?   We are not just priests and saints, we are also kings under God!   Jesus is the High Priest (Heb 9:11), and we are His lower priests, serving Him in His temple (Rev 7:15).

Therefore there is no need for an office of the priesthood in the church, for we are all priests.   And there is no need to “canonize” saints for we are all already saints.   The canonization ritual is just a money maker for the Catholic church, with all of that money going to them or to the pope.   If we are all priests, saints, and kings, we need to start living like.   A saint lives separate from the world, seeking after God with all his heart. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. ” (Jer 29:13).   A priest offers up “spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. ” (1 Pet 2:5).   And as a king, you should know that your inheritance in Christ includes priesthood and sainthood!





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