PANIC PODCAST

Series – Freedom 250

The Priesthood of All Believers

The Priesthood of Each Believer:  Spiritual Freedom and Equality in Christ

Scripture Reading:  1 Peter 2:1 – 17.

Introduction.  As we gather for worship we do so a free people in a free land.  In our Freedom 250 series, we are exploring the spiritual freedoms that undergirds every earthly liberty and give those liberties their true meaning and purpose.  Today we come to one of the most dignifying and liberating truths in all the Bible:  The priesthood of each believer in Jesus Christ.

Our Scripture reading is from 1 Peter 2:1 – 17.  The apostle Peter writes to believers who were scattered all over the place and suffering for their faith.  He reminds them – and us – of who we really are in Christ.  Verse 5, our text, is powerful:

[Y]ou also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  (1 Peter 2:5 | TNIV)

Look down at your Bibles and take notice of those two small words – “you also.”  Peter isn’t speaking to a professional class of religious leaders or a spiritual elite.  He’s speaking to every believer in Christ – to you, and to me.  In the New Covenant established by the Blood of Christ, every Christian is a priest.  Today, we’ll see how this doctrine serves as the antidote to any notion that the church’s professional clergy form a favored or privileged class.  We’ll rejoice in the free and direct access to God that belongs to every priest.  And we will embrace this high calling t serve others.  My prayer is that these truth will strengthen your faith, lift your spirits, and send you out with a fresh purpose to live as God’s free people.

The first truth we must see is that the doctrine of the priesthood of each believer is the antidote to the view that the church’s professional clergy is a favored, privileged class among Christians.

Under the Old Covenant, God established a special priesthood from the tribe of Levi.  Only they could offer sacrifices at the Tabernacle and later the Temple.  Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and he could do so only once a year on the Day of Atonement, carrying blood to atone for the sins of the nation.  The ordinary Israelite couldn’t approach God directly.  There was a clear distinction between the clergy and the laity, between those who had access and those who needed a human intercessor.

All that changed with Jesus Christ.  When our Lord cried out from His cross, “It is finished,” and released His Spirit, the thick curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  The way into the presence of God was opened once for all by the perfect High Priest who offered the perfect sacrifice – Himself.  Because of Jesus, the old system of limited access and special priestly classes has been fulfilled and replaced forever.

Peter declares the glorious result in out text.

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by human beings but chosen by God and precious to him— [5] you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  (1 Peter 2:4, 5 | TNIV)

As I mentioned earlier, the “you also” is truly revolutionary.  We who have come to Christ, the living stone rejected by man but chosen by God and precious to Him, are being built together into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.  This priestly identity we carry is not reserved for those who have been to a seminary and are ordained and stand behind a pulpit.  It belongs to every man, woman, and child who has trusted in Jesus for salvation.  Yes, you are priest.  The believer sitting next to you is a priest.  The factory worker, and homemaker, the student and the retiree, the one who preaches from this pulpit and the one who teaches the kids – all stand on the same ground before God.  There is no spiritual aristocracy in the household of faith.

This incredible truth was one of the great recoveries of the Protestant Reformation.  For many centuries the church had been drifting back toward an Old Testament model in which a professional priesthood stood between God and His people.  The reformers went back to the Bible and rediscovered that in Christ all believers are priests.  They taught that every Christian had the right and responsibility to read the Bible for themselves, to pray directly to God, and to minister to one another in the Body of Christ.  The clergy were not a higher order of Christian; they were servants called to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…  (Ephesians 4:11, 12 | TNIV)

This recovery of Biblical truth gave ordinary people dignity, direct access to God, and a vital role in the church.  It challenged every form of spiritual tyranny and helped fuel the spread of the Gospel.

We need this antidote in our own day.  It’s easy for churches to drift into a consumer model in which the professionals perform the ministry (so-called worship teams,m soloists, and speakers) while the people just watch and listen.  It’s very easy for those in leadership to begin thinking of themselves as a special spiritual class.  But Peter, God bless him, would have none of it.  He says “you also” are being built into this spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.  Pastors and elders have important callings to shepherd, teach, and lead by example, yet they stand before God on exactly the same footing as every other believer.  They need the same grace, the same forgiveness, and the same access.  When we understand this truth, it protects the church from authoritarianism on one side and from passivity on the other.  Every member matters.  Every member has a ministry.  Every member is essential to the health and mission of the Body of Christ.

This Biblical equality also resonates deeply with the ideals upon which our nation was founded.  When the Founders declared that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, they were giving voice to a principle rooted in the Biblical truth that every human being bears God’s image and that, in Christ, every believer stands on equal footing before the throne of grace.  Our nation rejected the idea of heredity monarchy and a state church with a privileged class that could control religious belief and practice.  The First Amendment’s protections for religious liberty flow in part from this conviction that no human institution or religious elite should stand between the individual conscience and God.  As Christians, we can give thanks for these civil freedoms while recognizing that they are only a dim reflection of the far greater spiritual freedom and equality we enjoy in Christ.  In Him there is neither clergy nor laity when it comes to priestly access and dignity.

So if you have felt like a second-class Christian because you aren’t in full time vocational ministry, hear the good news of the Gospel today:  You are a priest.  If you have ever wondered whether your prayers, your service, or your witness really count as much as those of the professionals, hear this:  You are a priest.  God doesn’t have favorites in His family when it comes to access to His presence or standing in His household.  This is your dignity.  This is your freedom.  This is your equality in Christ.  Let it sink deep into your soul and set you free from every lingering sense of spiritual inferiority or second-class status.

The second truth is that as a priest, each believer has free access to God.

Because Jesus opened the way once for all, every believer can approach the throne of grace with confidence.  We don’t come cowering in fear, hoping that someone holier than we will grant us an audience.  We come boldly because our great High Priest has already entered the Most Holy Place with His own Blood and now intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father.  We don’t need a human mediator to confess our sins or to bring our requests to God.  We can speak directly to our heavenly Father ourselves, in the Name of Jesus, at any time and in any place..  Whether you are kneeling by your bedside at dawn, driving down the highway at noon, sitting in a hospital waiting room in the afternoon, or lying awake at midnight with a heavy heart, the line to heaven is always open.  The Holy Spirit helps you pray when you don’t know what to say.  The Son intercedes for you even when your words fail.  The Father welcomes you as His own beloved child, not because of your worthiness but because of the worthiness of Jesus.

This access also means we have the privilege of hearing from God.  As priests we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who guides into all truth and reminds us of everything Jesus said.  We have the written Word of God that is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.  When we open a Bible with a humble and hungry heart, God speaks to us personally.  He corrects us, encourages us, directs our paths, and comforts our hearts.  We don’t need a special class of interpreters standing between us and the text; the same Spirit who inspired the Scriptures illuminates them for every believer who approaches them in faith and dependence.

What spiritual sacrifices do we offer as priests who enjoy this access?  Peter tells us we offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  The New Testament gives us several beautiful examples.  We offer the sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess the name of Jesus.  We offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is or true and proper worship.  We offer the sacrifices of good works and sharing with those in need, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.  We offer the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart, which God will never despise.  And we offer the sacrifice of our witness of the One who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light.

This free access is one of the most practical and encouraging realities in the entire Christian life, especially for believers facing trials as Peter’s original readers were.  When guilt weighs you down, you don’t have to wonder whether you are worthy to approach God.  You come in the name of Jesus, you confess your sin, and you receive cleansing and forgiveness.  When anxiety grips your heart about the future, your family, or your health, you cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you.  When you need wisdom for a difficult decision or strength for a hard day, you ask, who gives generously without finding fault.  When you are grieving a loss, facing opposition, or just feeling lonely, you come to the throne and find mercy and grace in your time of need.  This is the freedom of the Gospel.  This is the privilege of ever priest in the household of God.

In our nation we enjoy remarkable civil and religious liberties.  We can gather for worship without fear of government interference.  We can own and read the Bible openly.  We can pray in our homes and churches and, in many settings, even in public.  These freedoms are precious gifts from God and worth preserving and defending with gratitude.  Yet they are only a shadow of the greater freedom we have in Christ – the freedom of unrestricted, direct access to the living God Himself.  Let’s never take either for granted.  Let’s use our access well, coming to the throne of grace with praises, our petitions, our thanksgivings, and our intercessions for a watching world.  Let’s listen to His voice in the Word and by the Spirit.  And let’s do so with confidence, knowing that we are welcomed not because of anything we have done but because of everything Christ has done for us.

The third truth is that as a priest, the believer has responsibility over others.

Yet this freedom is never freedom FROM responsibility.  It is freedom FOR responsibility.  As priests, we don’t simply enjoy access for ourselves; we are called to represent God to others and to bring others before God.  We are a royal priesthood, Peter writes, that we may declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light.  This responsibility has several practical dimensions that Peter develops right here in our passage.

First, we have the responsibility of intercession.  Just as the Old Testament priests stood between God and the people, offering sacrifices and prayers on their behalf, so we are called to pray for others.  We pray for our families, for our brothers and sisters in this church family, for our neighbors and co-workers, for those who are suffering, and for those who do not yet know the Lord Jesus.  We pray for our elected authorities and for all in authority.  In a free society this priestly intercession is one of the most important and powerful contributions any citizen can make to the common good.  We bring the needs of our nation and its people before the throne of the King of kings.

Second, we have the responsibility of holy living that points others to God.

Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. [12] Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.  (1 Peter 2:11, 12 | TNIV)

Yes, even our conduct is a form of priestly ministry and witness.  When we work with integrity and diligence, when we speak with grace and truth, when we serve with generosity, and compassion, when we endure suffering or opposition with patience and hope, we are offering spiritual sacrifices that can draw others to Christ.  We are living stones built in a spiritual house, and that house is meant to shine as a light in a dark world.

Third, we have the responsibility of living as free people in a way that honors God and serves others.  In verses 13 – 17, Peter gives very practical and timely instructions for believers living in a pagan society.  Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority, or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to comment those who do right.

For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of the foolish.  (1 Peter 2:15 | TNIV)

There is a beautiful and essential balance in Christian freedom.  We are free in Christ – free form the guilt and penalty of sin, free from the ceremonial shadows of the Old Covenant, free to approach God without fear or hindrance.  But freedom isn’t a license to live selfishly or rebelliously.  It’s the freedom to live as God’s slaves, to submit to legitimate human authority for the Lord’s sake, to do good even when it’s costly, and to show respect to everyone.  In our American context, this means we honor the rule of law, we participate responsibly in the democratic process, we pray for our elected officials even when we disagree with their policies, we obey civil authorities unless they clearly command what God forbids, and we use our God-given freedoms to bless our neighbors and strengthen our communities.  We never use our liberty as a cover for evil or as an excuse for personal license.  We love as free people who are ultimately accountable to God.

This priestly responsibility touches every area of lie.  In your home you are called to be a priest – leading your family in prayer and the reading of the Word, interceding for your spouse and kids, offering the sacrifice of a Christlike example, and pointing your loved ones to the Savior.  In your workplace, you represent your Lord by your honesty, your diligence, your kindness, and your willingness to serve others.  In your community you are salt and light, offering practical help to those in need, a listening ear to the lonely, and a word of the Gospel to the discouraged.  In the church, you use your spiritual gifts to build up the Body, you bear one another’s burdens, you encourage the weak, and you welcome the stranger.  And in the public square you seek the good of the city where God has placed you, praying for its peace and contributing to its moral and spiritual health by your presence and your voice.

Conclusion.  What an honor and what a joy this calling is.  Your prayers matter.  Your example matters.  Your service matters.  You are not a passive spectator in God’s kingdom.  You are a priest with a vital ministry to perform every single day.  And this responsibility, far from being a heavy burden, is the pathway to genuine joy, purpose, and lasting significance.  When you embrace your priestly identity, ordinary days become filled with eternal meaning.  The smallest acts of kindness and quietest prayers become spiritual sacrifices that please God and bless others.  This is the freedom that truly sets us free – the freedom to live for something bigger than ourselves, to love as we have been loved, and to serve as we have been served by our great High Priest who laid down His life for us.