Who are true priests today?

We come then to our second question, who are the true priests today? As we have said there are many people who claim to be priests today.

In the official Roman Catholic Catechism the question is asked

What is the role of the priest? The answer? A priest first of all is a baptised man who has heard God calling him to a particular role in the Church – that of ministerial priesthood. After usually about six or seven years training he is ordained.

As to who is a priest? The answer given is The priest is first and foremost a man of prayer. The priest lives in persona Christi, so his most important prayer is to re-present the sacrifice of Jesus during Holy Mass. His parish relies on him to offer a sacrifice "holy and acceptable to God."

So a priest has to be male, has to be baptised, has to be called to a particular role by God and needs six or seven years training before he can start. He is a man of prayer, who represents Christ and whose most important role is in the Mass, which claims to be a re-sacrificing of the body of Christ. His parish relies on him to do this – something they cannot do themselves.

Now the New Testament does talk about baptism and about prayer but in every other way this idea of priesthood is very different to the New Testament one. New Testament priests should indeed be baptised and prayerful but they can be men or women, can be called to any number of different roles and do not need training beforehand. Rather than seeking to make a fresh sacrifice of Christ, they rely on the sacrifice that he has already made and that delivers them from their sins.

There are certain men who are called to preach, it is true, but this distinction that Roman Catholics make between a priesthood and a laity is a human invention not the pattern laid down in the New Testament. No, all men and women who have been truly converted are priests to God under the one great High Priest, Christ. It is God who sets them aside, who consecrates them to himself.

It is perhaps worth mentioning that in English there is a linguistic issue. Perhaps you know that quotation from John Milton “Presbyter is but priest writ large”. He was complaining that Protestantism hadn't brought as many changes as it was supposed to have but the idea that the words priest and presbyter or elder are connected is undoubtedly true. Our word priest is most likely to have come, through Latin, from the Greek word for elder rather than that for priest. English ended up then with the same term (priest) for the presbyter or elder who presides over and instructs a Christian congregation and a priest who offers sacrifices, especially once the communion came to be seen as an unbloody sacrifice. You can see then why some Anglicans who are quite biblical in many respects are quite happy to be called priests.

So the moment a person turns from their sins and puts his or her faith in Jesus Christ that person is a Christian. Now whether that person goes on to be a minister or not, that person is already a priest in the biblical sense. That means several things then if you are a Christian. If you are a believer

1. You are able to go to God on your own behalf and also on behalf of others.

2. You are able to make sacrifices to God. 1 Peter 2:5 includes a reference to offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. What are these spiritual sacrifices? The New Testament specifies in various places

• Faith (Philippians 2:17) But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.
• Praise (Hebrews 13:15) Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.
• Prayer (Revelation 5 8) And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people.
• Sharing with others (Hebrews 13:16) And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
• Giving (Philippians 4:18) Paul says of the gifts the Philippians sent him They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
• All of life (Romans 12:1) Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship.

3. You are able to teach people the law and, by God's grace turn them to God. There is an overlap here between the Christian being a priest and being a prophet.

In Colossians 3:16 Paul says Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Romans 15:14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.

Then in Jude 22, 13 we read Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.

1 Peter 3:15, 16 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 

4. You can maintain holiness and come into the presence of God. There are many calls to holiness in the New Testament. In 1 Thessalonians 4:7 Paul says God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Then in Hebrews 10:19-22 there are those wonderful words Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, We haven't been able to say much about this at all but hear this let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

If you are a Christian, if you are trusting in Jesus Chris then you are a priest of God Most High. What glorious privileges are yours – and what great responsibilities too. Be thankful to God and seek to serve him always.