Baptist Basics: Priesthood of Believers

Priesthood of Believers, HEBREWS 10:19-25

Read Hebrews 10:19-25

Pray

What makes you different than others.?

What makes you distinct?

-Is it your personality. Your style? The culture you live in? Your job?

A ball team’s distinctiveness is in its - jersey, key skill players, fans, distinct offense or defense. There is what makes you different.

There are distinctives that make Baptists different than other denominations.

-Most people look at a churches style as the biggest distinctive.

-What we believe is significantly distinct from others.

-If you are a member of our church please know membership is not about your preference in music style, your preference in preaching style, or what friends come to your church.

-A big part of being a member of a church is saying, “We believe these truths together.”

So far in our series on Baptist distinctives we have looked at The Word of God, Baptism, & today we look at something with a weird name,

“Priesthood of Believers”.

What does this “Priesthood of Believers” mean?

It’s found in our big idea.

Big idea is this - All Christ Followers are called into minister together. We are all called to be priests/ministers to one another and to God.

From a calling standpoint - There is equality in calling among believers.

Those who are called to be involved in ministry are not those who have been to Seminary and who are in the office of Pastor. doesn’t seperate us in calling to ministry.

Ministry is not reserved for the Seminary trained and those who hold the office of pastor.

All Christ Followers are called into ministry.

You are called to be a priesthood.

All believers are called to be priests.

-All Christ Followers are called to: Read and interpret God’s Word, Disciple Believers, Share Their Faith, Minister within their giftedness.

You are all called to be ministers.

You are all called to be priests to God and to others.

At this church - every member is a minister.

God has placed a ministry calling on each and every Christ Follower’s life.

Every Christ Follower is a minister.

If you are a Christ Follower you are a Minister.

You have as part of your God given identity the identity of a priest.

You express that within your unique personality and gifting.

In our passage today we will see 5 distinct actions that our text calls you to as a priest.

-Have confidence to enter holy places

-Draw near to God

-Hold Fast to our beliefs

-Stir each other up spiritually

-Meet together to worship

Transition

Believer, God calls you a priest.

In the Old Testament - The priest went to God on behalf of others.

-They led in worship by sacrificing the animals.

-Asked God to forgive individuals and the nation.

-They read and taught God’s Word.

-While you certainly could pray & give a financial offering, there were spiritual acts you could not do for yourself.

Sacrifice was done through the priest.

Final forgiveness was done through the priest at the

passover sacrifice, sin offering, guilt offering, release of the scapegoat, burnt offering, peace offering, meal offering, drink offering, incense offering, thank offering.

Determine if your leprosy was cured.

Priests had the Bible, very few copies because they were hand done by scribes and very expensive.

-SO, the priest - read -understood and taught God’s Word.

-On Tuesday if you want to worship God you simply do it in your home or car.

-A significant part of your worship came through the priests.

-Dedicating your children to the Lord came through the priest.

Because Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Law perfectly by obeying every one of it’s commands and requirements. And because Jesus became the final, once for all sacrifice for sin. There is no longer a need for the Temple or for temple priests.

BUT - there is still need for ministering priests.

-Christ Follower, That’s you

There is a need for people to help others grow spiritually and walk with Jesus.

Who are those called to be ministering priests to others.

You, Every Christ Follower is called into ministry.

Every Christ Follower is given the calling and ability to help others grow spiritually.

Will you accept the calling that God has placed on your life to help others grow spiritually?

1 Peter 2:9–10 ESV

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Our passage today gives you 5 areas of action as a Priest of God you can walk in.

The First is this

Hebrews 10:19-25

Enter Holy Places with Confidence. vs. 19-20

-There are spiritual places, places where God is, that God is calling you to enter.

In the Old Testament in the priests had sacred jobs before the Lord.

Every day a priest was chosen to go into the Holy Place and light the incense that was burned before the Lord.

The priest entered into a very personal ministry to God.

Once a year the High Priest went beyond the Holy Place to the Holy of Holies - where God’s presence was to sprinkle blood on the Ark of the Covenant for the forgiveness of the nation of Israel.

These were sacred ministries.

Verse 19 tells us, that we have confidence that we can enter these places because we are forgiven and covered by Jesus blood.

There are some in this room that think - I cannot approach God.

But God has called you to enter into where He is.

Your job is to take the first step and let God do the rest. Will you take the first step?

If you are someone who is saved, but your walk with Christ has not grown, you may be someone who is uncomfortable to enter into holy places - where God is present.

Verse 19 tells us to “Have confidence and enter into Holy Places.”

The door to the most Holy Place into the presence of God Jesus has opened for you.

In the temple the presence of God was in a 2nd room called the Holy of Holies. Only a priest could go in once a year.

In that room on the lid of he Ark of the Covenant rested the presence of God Himself. The Shekinah.

The presence of God was separated from the worshiper by a thick curtain.

The curtain was a massive piece of fabric believed to be as thick as the breadth of a mans hand (about 4 inches).

Look at verse 19-20,

When Jesus sacrifice was complete on the Cross and his flesh was torn, Jesus opened up what once was unapproachable - the presence of God.

This 4 inch thick curtain was torn from top to bottom.

The way was opened for all who believed to come into the presence of God.

Jesus has opened up the way for you to the Glory of God. Jesus has done the work for you.

The tearing open of Jesus flesh was the payment by which we approach God and a symbol of us approaching God.

How was it the symbol?

As Priest, God calls you into His presence.

Will you step in? Will you take a step closer to Him.

Will you take your first step? Pause

Transition - In our passage today we see that we are called to more than just to take a step into the presence of God.

As Priests, God calls us to intimacy with Him.

vs. 22 “let us draw near”

Read verse 22

How is it that I can draw near to God?

In the Old Testament only 1 priest per year could truly draw near to God.

-On the Day of Attonement the priest would go behind the curtain and sprinkle blood on the Ark of God.

-One man, once a year, who did so with trembling.

Today we think ...

-It is only special people who can draw near to God. Those that are spiritually different. Those who just seem to have that spiritual gift to draw near.

I’m not one of those holy people everyone looks up to. I’m just average me.

I’m just an average Joe.

No, you are not just an average person. Your identity is that you are a priest.

Listen to what Isaiah says about those who follow God.

IS 61:6

Hebrews 10, verse 22 tell us this. Read

In other words … Our hearts were cleaned and washed.

Sprinkled clean is referring to the blood that would be sprinkled on the Ark of God and on the people.

Pure water is referring to the ceremonial washing priests would do before a sacrifice.

The point is this … Christ Follower, Fellow Priest, God has cleaned you.

God has made you ready.

You have accepted His cleansing in faith.

God makes the average person a priest in His Kingdom,

He changes who you are.

All believers are priests.

All believers are ministers.

Application -

One thing I hear from more mature Christians - I wish people knew your walk with Christ is about your “personal relationship” your “daily walk”.

-These Believers are talking about walking with God. Learning to invite God into their life more and more. They are talking about learning to draw near to God God more often and more deeply during their day.

-Yes, drawing near to God does start with spending time with God each day. Reading the Bible and praying. This is the only foundation possible.

-Drawing near to God is intimate.

Illustration - Your child draws near to you. They let you ask them about things in their life that are difficult or scare them.

They share with you what is hurting them. You listen to them, they listen to you the parent.

Isn’t drawing near to God similar.

Drawing near to God is about inviting God into sensitive places in your life...

The places that hurt, places that are anxious, places of anger, even places of sin.

Would you say right now in your heart to God.

-God, Would you come in and help me deal with this area of my life I struggle dealing with? Will you help me?

Will you draw near to Him?

Transition - The priests in the Old Testament were tasked with knowing God and knowing who He was so they could pass on to the people the character and greatness of God.

As priests you are charged with a similar command in vs 23.

“Hold tightly the confession of hope” vs. 23

-What is a confession?

2 things:

A) A legal statement of belief

It is more than just a statement of personal belief.

B) A written statement of truth.

Today, All denominations have confessions or statements of belief.

I’m proud to say Baptists have very solid statements of belief both modern and historic.

Our statements of belief or confessions are very Biblical.

When the writer of Hebrews speaks to holding on to our confession,

He is speaking about these sprouts of these statements of belief starting to spring forth in the early church that find full maturity many centuries later.

-Who is the confession of our hope in? vs. 23 tells us, one who is faithful.

-We have hope in eternal life, because we believe that Jesus is Lord and that He has paid the price for our sin on the cross and risen again.

-We believe that He has cleansed the one who comes to Him in faith.

-The challenge is to have this hope without wavering, without doubting, but in full assurance.

-Why can we have full assurance of our confession about who Jesus is?

-He who has promised is faithful.

-Jesus doesn’t fail.

-If Jesus tell you He will do something, you can take it to the bank.

we have seen so far that as a priest, you are called to:

-Have confidence and enter

-Draw near to God

-Hold fast to your belief in Jesus

Transition - Notice how the first part of our text has pointed us a priests to tend to our own spiritual walk & the second part of our text points us to minister to others.

This second part of our text we can apply as ministering priests to others.

Read, vs 24

“Stir one another up”

-What does it mean to stir one another up?

Illustration of fanning a flame - making an outdoor fire

-If an outdoor fire has died down, how do you get it blazing again?

-How do you stir up the flames?

Hint? You don’t act passively. You don’t hope the fire will come to life and get stronger.

-You stoke it. You move around the logs. You create new air flow.

-You pour diesel fuel on it.

-You add more wood to it.

-You blow on it....

This is what we do with one another.

We stir one another up.

-We spiritually shake each other by the shoulders.

-We encourage each other.

-We ask each other challenging questions.

-We go in with others and set spiritual goals for growth.

Application -

We stir one another up by meeting together.

And we don’t meet together to just catch up, talk about the kids and football. We meet together with the specific reason of talking about spiritual things. We meet together to lift each other up.

-When you have a conversation you were not expecting - you take advantage of it. Ask them if you can pray for something. Ask them if their time with God is regular and how they are doing spiritually.

-Take at the end of that conversation to pray for each other.

This is the spiritual work of a priest. God has called you to be priest to Him and His people.

Transition - And the scripture goes on in instructing us how to be a priest to another believer. Look in our last verse, vs. 25.

“Not neglect meeting together”, Read verse 25

Finally, God desires you to gather with God’s people on the Lord’s Day and worship Him together.

A sign that you are a Christ Follower is that you gather on the Lord’s Day.

Notice, the scripture does not say, “Go to church.” If you talked to a Christ Follower in the 1st century about “going to church” they would be completely confused.

Why - They believed rightly that the people are the church. The church is not a place. So, the people of God gathered. They would understand the gathering of the church.

2nd - There were not church houses - church buildings in the 1st century. People met in homes on Sunday, and it was usually in the evening when the slaves could get away from their morning duties.

People met:

They prayed, they sang, they shared testimony, they had God’s Word taught, they encouraged each other.

-In a house setting they didn’t have a choir or instruments. They didn’t have a bulletin or a strict order of service.

-They had a plan, they took turns, & they had spiritual relationships with each other.

-They probably ate a meal together.

-It was very relational & very real.

-This is why we encourage you to come to Sunday school. There is discussion, sharing, relationship … it ads to more of that early church relational experience.

-God wants you spiritually rubbing shoulders with others.

-Their is no - being a Christian Lone Ranger. We need others spiritually to thrive.

Online church is only for the sick or the homebound. Why

God commands us to gather.

There is nothing like gathering.

In our gatherings, you are called to be a priest to others. To minister to others.

Summary.

So as a ministering priest of God, What area is God challenging you to step into?

-Stepping into Holy places,

-Drawing closer to Him?

-Holding tightly to your belief in Jesus?

-Stirring up others

-Being faithful to worship with other believers?

Pray