BD #10 - Priesthood Of The Believer | Hebrews 10:19-25

Peter told his readers in 1 Peter 2:5, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood…” In verse 10 he wrote, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation a peculiar people…”

Believers are a holy and royal priesthood.

Revelation 1:5-6 states that Jesus Christ has “…loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father…”

I decided this week that one of my favorite Baptist Distinctives is “The Priesthood Of The Believer.”

We have many incredible spiritual gifts through Christ, but few are as miraculous as this one. Because God, in His supernatural way, grants wicked sinners like us complete access to Himself through the blood of His Son. That’s amazing.

PRAY

INTRODUCTION

Meeting the president, he says, “Come see me at the White House any time.”

Formality, but you take it seriously.

So you go to Washington, DC. And you wait till it’s dark because you don’t really want a lot of attention.

And you wear a mask because you don’t want to be embarrassed if someone spots you.

And you’re carrying your duffel bag because you need clothes while you’re there.

So you hop the fence and start running toward the White House because you’re so excited.

Then you realize that other people must have been invited too, because they’re running just behind you.

And you get more and more excited because you’re in the lead, and you might get to the front door first.

And you think things are going well until you realize the people running with you aren’t just there to visit the President. They’re there to stop you from doing it.

There’s a lot of places we don’t have access to.

We can’t just walk into the White House.

We can’t just walk into anyone’s house.

We can’t just walk onto an airplane without a ticket.

We can’t just hop in someone’s car and drive off in it.

We have freedom to do a lot of things, but we don’t have access to just go any place we want or do anything we want to do. That’s part of life.

We’ve taught this to our kids. They don’t just waltz into our bedroom any time they want.

They have to knock or stop at the door before they come in. It’s good for them to learn to be considerate that way.

I have an office at the church, but all of my kids knock before they come in.

I might be meeting with someone or in the middle of study, so they knock before entering. It’s a good habit.

But do you realize that God says to His people, “Come into my presence any time”?

The holiest person of all says, “Come any time.”

If you are a believer, you have 24/7 direct access to the Holy God of Heaven.

Why? Because all believers are priests before God. We have direct access.

I. As Priests, Believers Can Boldly Draw Near To God - 19-22

Boldness - “Without reserve” or “without fear”

This is completely different than the OT model for priests.

In the OT, God called one tribe, the Levites, to serve as priests.

They had special privileges and responsibilities, but their primary job was offer sacrifices before the Lord on Israel’s behalf

A “Priest" is defined as "one authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God."

So when the people brought an animal to be sacrificed, the priest was the one that cut its throat and drained its blood, not the people. They were a go-between.

There was one High Priest, who would offer the most important sacrifice of all. On the Day of Atonement each year, and only on the Day of Atonement, he would take a goat’s blood and go behind a thick veil into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle its blood on the Mercy Seat, which was actually the golden lid of the Ark of the Covenant.

That was a signal that the sins of the people had been atoned or covered by the blood of that sacrifice. But only the High Priest could offer that sacrifice and only on the day of Atonement every year. One man, one sacrifice, one time a year.

So in the OT, approaching God wasn’t easy. Access to God was extremely limited.

That wasn’t God’s original plan. When He created Adam and Eve, they had direct communication with God Himself.

But sin separated us from God. So sin was the reason that access to God was limited. And sin was the reason the priests had to shed the blood of an animal to atone for the sins of man.

Heb. 9:22 says “without shedding of blood is no remission.” Blood is the price God required.

So the priests would offer daily sacrifices for the sins of the people. Once a year the High Priest would go into the Holy of Holies.

But that was never God’s permanent plan. It had to be done over and over.

So God sent Jesus Christ as an offering once and for all. That was a sacrifice that God accepted. A permanent solution to the problem of sin.

No more blood has to be shed. No more animals have to die. The blood of Jesus was and is and always will be enough.

In the OT, there was an exclusive priesthood. But now, through Christ, we are the priesthood.

There’s no go-between. Every believer is a priest. This is a distinctive because many denominations have taught or still teach that only priests can go to God.

Some denominations have confessional booths where you confess your sins to a man who acts as a mediator between God and man.

But vs. 19 tells us that we can enter into God’s presence by the blood of Jesus.

The essence of priesthood is access to God.

Because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus’ blood, we have direct 24/7 access into the presence of God. He calls it the “holiest” in vs. 19. The holy of holies. The place where God’s glory dwells.

And we don’t just have access. We have bold access. No reserve. No fear.

The OT priests didn’t have that.

They had fearful access. If a High Priest entered the Holy of Holies unworthily, he died. Entering God’s presence was no joke.

It was more serious than jumping the White House fence.

All they was a temporary, insufficient sacrifice. An animal’s blood could never fully atone for sins.

But we have Jesus’ blood. And He provided a perfect sacrifice.

Look at Hebrews 10:10-14

Based on what Christ has done, we have access to God at any time without fear or hesitation.

He has perfectly satisfied God’s wrath. All of our sin guilt was nailed to the cross and He took it all away.

And He is now our High Priest. Which means we can come boldly.

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 have a perfect High Priest who knows exactly what we’re facing and yet has full access to the Father.

Vs. 22 says, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”

The writer of Hebrews uses the washing rituals the OT priests had to go through as an illustration. Washing with normal water and using regular old animal blood didn’t inspire full assurance.

How much assurance do you think Aaron had? We can assume He entered God’s presence with fear.

But the message of this passage is this:

If you’re a believer, the blood of Christ allows you to draw near to God with boldness and assurance.

We need no human priest. We have Jesus. And we have direct access to God.

So that’s the foundation of this text: As Priests, Believers Can Boldly Draw Near To God.

II. As Priests, God Expect Us To Encourage Other Priests - vs. 24-25

These verses are typically used to highlight the importance of assembling with your church family.

But the context is priesthood. The idea is, “You’re all part of a local congregation made up of believer priests.”

You have boldness to enter into God’s presence. You have direct access to God. His blood has cleansed you of your sins once and for all.

And part of our responsibility as a believer priest is to encourage other believer priests.

So catch this: As we draw near to God with boldness, we draw near to each with encouragement.

Encouragement To Do What?

1. To Love Others Like We Should - 23-24

Provoke means to “stir up.” I like the “poke.”

Our kids at times poke at each other. They stir each other up.

That’s a negative usage, but this is positive.

The idea is if we spend time in God’s presence, His traits are going to rub off on us.

And God is love. You can’t spend time in God’s presence without being affected by His love.

Time with God will be reflected in our love for each other.

Not only that, God is Holy. If you spend time in His presence, your desire for holiness will be elevated.

2. To Be Holy Like God Is Holy - vs. 24 (to good works)

Someone who spend time in God’s presence will reflect His holiness in their words, and actions, and attitudes and appearance, and habits. A person with that kind of time with God will not reflect the world.

Like someone who picks up the accent of whoever they’re around.

We will do the same when we spend time in God’s presence and holiness. It will impact our good works.

When the writer says, “Provoke unto love and good works,” it’s assuming that the priests are spending time in the throne room and coming away saying, “I’ve been with God, and I don’t think He would speak like that. I’ve been with God, and that’s not the kind of attitude that wouldn’t please Him.

Time with God will be reflected in our good works.

We’re a gathering of priests. That’s what we’re doing tonight. As believers, we’re priests.

And when priests get together, it should be obvious that they’ve been with God.

It will be obvious in our love and in our good works.

We’ll encourage each other in those ways.

One more application of encouragement:

Remember, a priest takes the needs of others to God. Part of the priestly ministry is intercessory prayer.

One more way that we can encourage other priest believers is by…

3. Taking The Needs Of Our Church Family Into The Throne Room

I know we can go to God on our own, but I believe we downplay the necessity of intercessory prayer for each other.

And if we, as priests, have direct access to God, why are we not taking each other’s needs like sacrifices into God’s presence?

We have people with needs. Health needs, personal burdens, loneliness, hurt, addictions, struggles, losses — those are all part of the lives of people in our own church family. Maybe even reflected in this room tonight.

What a shame that God has given us direct access to Himself and says:

I’ll even send my Son to once and for all die for your sins and erase all of your guilt

I’ll give you boldness assurance, that you have a perfect sacrifice in Jesus

I’ll give you direct access into my presence any time you desire it

That’s what I’ll do for you. And all I ask is that you encourage your fellow priests.

To Love Them, To Be Holy, and To Bring Their Needs Into My Presence

Think about what God has done for us:

He has made us priests through His Son’s blood and given us direct access to Himself.

What does He ask of us? To encourage each other in love, holiness and intercession.

He’s done a lot for us.

My question is: With all that God has made available to us believer priests, what have we done with it?

I would submit to you that, while He has given us incredible priestly privileges, we often do very little with them.

Oh we pray. We cry out to Him when we need it.

If something impacts us, you bet we’re on our knees.

But it’s fairly self-focused. And only when necessary.

And even if we pray, our takeaway is not, “How can I encourage my brothers and sisters through love, holiness, and intercession.”

Oh, we say, “I’m so thankful I have access to God!”

But how much do we honestly appreciate the gift of priesthood if we rarely, if ever, enter into God’s presence in prayer? And when we do, it’s because we want something.

I love my kids and I love when they come to me for something, but I don’t only want them to come to me when they need something.

I want them to come to me because they know they can, at any time.

I want them to come to me because they want to come to me.

I want them to come to me because they love their dad. Not just because they have a need.

We’ve been given an amazing gift. We’re priests. With full access. 24/7.

So how many days have we gone without entering the throne room?

How many weeks do we go without acting on this incredible gift from God to every believer?

It’s okay to enter into God’s presence through Jesus Christ simply because you want some time.

In fact, you might realize that fellowship is stronger with God when we’re not asking for anything. When we simply enter His presence to fellowship, that’s when we realize the true gift of priesthood.

CONCLUSION

Let’s say you have full access to White House. Special Pass only a few have.

President gives it to you because of something special you did.

And it’s good for a visit to the WH any time. So you intend to use it.

First month goes by, “Ooh, I need to make some time to go.”

President texts and says, “Any time this week would be great.”

“This week is tough. Actually this month is busy. I’ll let you know.”

Months go by. First year goes by. His invitations start to dwindle.

You keep putting it off, and you get to the last month of his presidency.

But you’ve got a full calendar and you can’t make it work.

And when his term ends, you spend the rest of your life regretting your procrastination.

I wonder if we’ll get to Heaven and recognize that we made awfully little use of one of the greatest gifts God ever gave His people: Unlimited access into His holy presence.

But we put it off. We got busy.

Or we only used it for emergencies.

God help us to be Priests That Appreciate The Gift Of Priesthood.

How can we appreciate

Enter with confidence - It’s not about you, it’s about Jesus. When you enter, do it recognizing your unworthiness, but don’t hesitate because you’ve been made worthy through Jesus Christ. The OT priests didn’t have that assurance, but we do.

Enter with consistency - Same time, same place, every day. The OT priests had clearly defined times of sacrifice. Very consistent. The more it becomes part of our routine, the more likely we are to do it. Don’t go days on end without exercising your priesthood.

Enter with compassion - Every time you pray, spend time addressing the needs of others, not just yourself. Prayer is a wonderful habit, but it can be so self-focused that there’s no intercession taking place.

I don’t think we recognize the importance of intercessory prayer in our church’s health.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses. I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me. His face, that hitherto may have been strange and intolerable to me, is transformed in intercession into the countenance of a brother for whom Christ died, the face of a forgiven sinner. This is a happy discovery for the Christian who begins to pray for others.

And that perfectly gets to the heart of this text:

Bold intercession transforms us from selfish people to selfless priests.

When you enter into God’s presence:

You’ll begin to love others like He loves.

You’ll begin to be holy like He is.

And you’ll begin to care for the needs of others like you care for your own.

So confidently, consistently, and compassionately be the priest God has made you to be. And watch Him transform you from a selfish person to a selfless priest.

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