The Priesthood of the Sacrifices

As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – 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

 

                Baptists cherish the doctrine of the priesthood of the believer. The notion is not unique to us. We believe that it is rooted in scripture and it is shared by other Christian groups. We are right to cherish and protect the doctrine. It is fragile.   The doctrine has been damaged by the individualistic spirit of the age. This is antithetical to the plain teaching of scripture. No wise priest ever swaggered into the holy of holies because it was his “right”.  Priesthood is about the individual before God, the individual in community and the community of faith declaring Jesus in the world. The doctrine is individual, communal and missional. It is up, in and out. It is a doctrine primarily about our grateful response to our gracious God.   

The chief functional of a priest is sacrifice. Any spirituality divorced of sacrifice lacks the thick blooded vitality that is necessary to stand in blinding wind of secularism. We are the Order of the Priests of Jesus Christ. Our call is a call to cheerfully sacrifice. The New Testament calls me (us) to sacrifice:

MySelf – Romans 12:1

My Music - Hebrews 13:15

My Deeds – Hebrews 13:16

My Money – Philippians 4:18

  I am using these sacrificial passages in the New Testament to shape my priesthood. I am often a shabby priest and I do not want to be. I really do not want to be a swaggering priest.  My prayer is that we allow the biblical language of sacrifice to form our ideas of priesthood. I believe that will make a profound difference in the way we live out our faith. Maybe “battlin’” Baptists will one day be known as “sacrificin’” Baptists. We will see.