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Understanding Baptist Distinctives
Part Three:
P-the Priesthood of the Believer
As we continue on with the third part of our study of why we are Baptists, or Baptist distinctives. We come to one of the distinctives that caused our forefathers the most persecution from the church at Rome, that being the priesthood of the believer.
This is the belief that all born-again believers have the privilege of direct access to God. It is not necessary to go through any other human channel. The Old Testament priest stood between God and man and represented man to God. They offered the sacrifices and performed all ceremonial acts of worship. They were keepers of the Tabernacle and later the Temple. They would burn the incense and sprinkle the blood of the sacrifices upon the altar. But now, because of the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, (which makes access to God possible), we can go directly to God as a result of our right standing before Him. We have the necessary way to be priests before a Holy God.
In many of today’s religions (Most notably the Roman Whore) There is a priest that stands between God and man. An understanding of what the Bible teaches on this subject will lead to the realization that we can go to God ourselves with out the help of a priest, because at salvation we were made priests.
I. The requirements are fulfilled
The first thing we need to understand is that salvation fulfilled all of the OT requirements of the OT Priesthood. Realize that not just anyone could be an OT Priest. Even some of those from the tribe of Levi were excluded because they didn’t meet the requirements. What follows are the requirements of the OT Priest and the New Testament verses that show that we as believers meet the requirements.
· The OT Priest had to be without blemish. Leviticus 21:16-23 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, saying, Whosoever he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. For whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not approach: a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or any thing superfluous, Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded, Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken No man that hath a blemish of the seed of Aaron the priest shall come nigh to offer the offerings of the LORD made by fire: he hath a blemish; he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God. He shall eat the bread of his God, both of the most holy, and of the holy. Only he shall not go in unto the vail, nor come nigh unto the altar, because he hath a blemish; that he profane not my sanctuaries: for I the LORD do sanctify them.”
· The NT Believer is found without blemish through Christ. Ephesians 5:25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
· The OT Priest had to have proof of his genealogy Ezra 2:62 “These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.”
· The NT Believer has proof of his genealogy John 1:12, 13 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
· The OT Priest had special garments, Exodus 28:40-43 “And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach: And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.”
· The NT Believer has been given special garments, Romans 13:12-14 “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” Revelation 19:7,8 “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”
· The OT Priest had to be purified by Blood, Exodus 29:20,21 “Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.”
· The NT Believer has been purified by the Blood, I Peter 1:18,19 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”
II. Entrance has been made possible
A) Matthew 27:50, 51 tell us that at the death of Christ the veil in the temple, which separated all but the high priest from the presence of God was rent in half “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”
B) Ephesians 2:14-18 tells us that the partition has been broken down. “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in
ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he
might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
III. Key verses to remember
A) I Peter 2:9 “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”
B) Revelation 1:6 “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be
glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
C) Hebrews 4:14-16 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high
priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
We see by these verses that we don’t need a priest because we as believers have been made priests and by that we have direct access to God. That is the third Baptist distinctive.