As announced last Sunday, we are postponing the Men of the West Bible Study to Friday, May 7. We will NOT be meeting on the 30th.

Sorry for the inconvenience!

There are a lot of “priests” out there. The Catholic Church has a sacramental priesthood, each member of which is anointed as an “alter Christus” (“another Christ”) and has the alleged power to reach into heaven, take Jesus down again, and break his body upon the altar as an atoning (yet still insufficient) sacrifice for sins. The Mormons claim exclusive authority through their “Melchizedek Priesthood,” conceived by Joseph Smith as the channel by which revelation and authority to preach their “gospel” and administer their ordinances of salvation are given to the earth. Hindus have priests. 

What’s the truth? An important theological issue coming out of the Protestant Reformation was the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Basically, the Bible teaches that every Christian is a priest of God.

There are several New Testament passages that teach this doctrine. Peter lays it out in 1 Peter 2:4, 5, and 9:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…. 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. (1 Peter 2:4, 5, 9)

John, in the book of Revelation, says that Jesus “made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever” (Revelation 1:6; see also 5:10). He goes on to say later: “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6)

So every believer, regardless of status in life, gender, maturity in Christ, or any other distinction, belong to this priesthood.

But what does that mean in practice? The Old Testament provides the background necessary to understand what this priesthood is and what it entails. The priests of Aaron in the Old Testament had various responsibilities, and we can learn a lot from these duties for our own edification. For example:

1) The Aaronic priests offered sacrifices for the sins and cleansing of the people.
Now we have one High Priest for all eternity, Jesus Christ, who once for all offered himself as a sufficient atonement for sin (Hebrews 6-9). So we as a “royal priesthood" don’t offer atoning sacrifices. But – in a sense, we do have a role in the application of this atonement, as we bring the Good News of salvation that the Holy Spirit uses to draw men to Christ and apply his benefits to them. This evangelism, this proclamation of his excellencies (1 Peter 2:9), can be described as a priestly work. Another sense in which we do offer sacrifices is seen in Peter’s description of “spiritual sacrifices” acceptable to God – our obedience, our striving in sanctification.

2) The Aaronic priests were the only ones permitted to enter the inner, holy areas of the temple, and the High Priest alone could go to the Most Holy Place. In other words, the priests were mediators, approaching God on behalf of the people.

Again, Jesus is our intercessor and mediator, having entered the true Most Holy Place with his own blood and offered it to the Father. We, who are in Christ, enjoy the same incredible privilege of approach to the throne of God itself. It is for this reason that at Christ’s crucifixion the veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Temple, and from the people, was torn from top to bottom (Mark 15:38; see also Hebrews 10:20), signifying that the way was now open for all the faithful to thus draw near.

But if all Christians can do that, how is this “priestly” privilege still mediation? Because we, as the true and eschatological Israel, now can by the blood and power of Christ fulfill the mandate given to the nation of Israel to be a “kingdom of priests” from among “all peoples” (Exodus 19:5, 6), that “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). As these nations flow to us, the church, which is the new Temple and priesthood of the Lord, we act as mediators between God and the lost. We share the Gospel; we intercede on their behalf, praying for the salvation of the lost (Romans 10:1), and bringing them into contact with the life-saving Word and Spirit of God.

There was much more to the Old Testament priesthood than sacrifice and mediation, but this alone gives us much to work on. Do we truly see our status as Christians as being the sacred, set-apart calling that Peter and John describe it as? Do we see the mundane activities of our lives as being opportunities to worship the Lord with spiritual sacrifices? Do we intercede regularly before the Lord on behalf of others, especially the lost? Think what a privilege this is! What only the sons of Aaron could do in the Old Testament, what the Catholic church reserves for ordained ministers alone, is a blessing we all share! To enter the very presence of God! To serve in his house! To offer pleasing sacrifices for him!

May the Spirit press upon us our duties as a holy and royal priesthood.

According to Numbers 15, a “high-handed” sin is intentional, premeditated, and knowing rebellion against God. Now the Law of Moses makes provision for sacrifice to cover certain sins. Unintentional or unwitting sin can be covered by a guilt or a sin offering (Lev. 4:2, 13, 22, 27; also 5:1-13, where the statement “it was hidden from him” refers to unwitting sin; also Lev. 5:14, 18). Even certain intentional sins can be covered (Lev. 6:1-7), but only if: a) they are sins relating to property; b) they are against other human beings; c) restitution is possible. For these sins, God will graciously treat these sins as if they are “unintentional” if (following Leviticus 6:4) the guilt is recognized (conviction), there is willingness to make restitution (repentance), and the sinner confesses the sin.

However, that leaves the question of premeditated and intentional sins where restitution is impossible, and/or where the crime is against God himself. How can such crimes be dealt with under the law? There’s no way. The Law is insufficient to cover these sins.

What was the Old Testament saint to do? The only hope they had was to throw themselves on the mercy of God, confessing their sin, demonstrating contrition, and pray that God does not give them what they deserve. And that’s exactly what David does in the next verse of Psalm 51: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

What can we learn from this today?

1. The Atonement of Christ is better than that of the Law.

Christ’s death, as the author of Hebrews points out, is better in that it actually takes away sins. The blood of bulls and goats could not, and so the sacrifices needed to be made again and again. The once-for-all sacrifice of Christ actually deals with sin.

But there’s more than that. The problem of “high-handed sin” showed even the ancient Israelites that the Law was insufficient. Everyone commits high-handed sin. How could anyone be saved if the Law did not cover those sins?

So high-handed sin pointed to the need for something better, in the same way as the repetition of the sacrifices. Christ is better than the Law.

2. There can be no atonement or taking away of sin without conviction, confession, repentance and faith.

The Law made clear that restitution was required. Since, in the case of high-handed sin, restitution is impossible for man under the Law, God made restitution himself by taking the punishment himself in the person of Jesus Christ and vindicating his justice and glory in a way that man never could do.

But salvation still cannot come without confession of sin, an attitude of deep contrition and repentance, and an empty-handed faith and trust in God’s mercy. Indeed, without that repentance, the Law made clear that the priest could make no atonement for sin. The implication of that is that Christ’s atonement is always and forever coupled with repentance – or, more precisely, God grants repentance only to those for whom their sin has been taken away in Christ.

An immediate implication of this is that so-called “no-lordship salvation” is impossible. God never gives atonement without repentance.

3. A persistent, unrepentant, defiance of God is not covered by the atonement of Christ (because those whose sins are covered will not persist but will be drawn to faith). This persistent and hardened unbelief, often seen in apostasy, is the New Covenant “high-handed sin.”

Jesus says as much when he talks of the “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 12:22-32) where men who should know better are so hardened in their sin that they attribute the obvious work of God to Satan. Hebrews refers to this when it warns Christians (Hebrews 6, 10:26-31) that deliberate, knowing, and persistent rejection of sin leaves one with no atonement or salvation.

Now God’s grace is irresistible, and can overcome even this kind of rebellion. He did for every one of us who believes. But the danger is that this kind of unbelief and rebellion, if persistent and stubborn, is a sign that faith is false, that God has left the sinner to his own fate, that Christ’s blood was not offered for their sin in the first place, that they were never of the elect at all.

This is why it is so vital that repentance be made and faith be placed in Christ while the hour of salvation is here. We dare not persist in unbelief or high-handed sin, lest it show that our calling and election were never real and we were never “of” the brethren.

Let us all consider the beauty and sufficiency of the atonement and the response it demands. And let us never take the grace of God for granted, lest  we find ourselves committing the true “high-handed sin” that demonstrates our true nature to be that of the lost.

Finally, we are able to post our Teaching Statement (the elders' doctrinal affirmation) and our Congregational Confession of Faith (our membership statement) on the website!

We've also posted all the Scripture references for the Teaching Statement on a separate page. It is very long, and we're going to look at breaking it into separate pages.

Click on the What We Believe tab and look at the new content!

Remember that those sins described in Leviticus 6:1-7 were very specific: they were property offences, and they were offences against other human beings. This means restitution is possible. But – and here is the crucial point – the Law is silent on whether high-handed sins where no restitution is possible, such as those against God himself, can be covered. How can one restore the justice and honor and glory of God, which he has defrauded?

So the sacrificial system, at the end of the day, did leave one very important category of high-handed sin unresolved. The question is then this: if a person commits some flagrant act of rebellion against God himself, and then later realizes his guilt and confesses his sin, can his sin be atoned for? After all, restitution is impossible.

I think Leviticus 6:1-7 hints at the possibility of mercy and atonement for such sin, but no text of the Law explicitly provides for it. And so the Old Testament saint had no recourse but to simply throw himself on the mercy of God.

That’s exactly what David did after his adultery with Bathsheba. Psalm 51:16 shows him admitting explicitly what we’ve just seen in our study of the law – no sacrifice of an animal, no work of the Levitical Law, will atone for this: For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. There’s no way. The Law is insufficient to cover these sins.

But – God is merciful! David is confident, under the inspiration of the Spirit, that nevertheless salvation is still possible. The hint of Leviticus 6:1-7 is, in fact, true: even though the Law does not, cannot, provide atonement, God will still look upon confession and repentance with favor: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

So the Old Testament saint did have hope! God is a merciful God! Even high-handed sin is forgivable with confession and repentance. But – the soul who sins shall die; without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. David here provides the hope. But the “how” is left unknown – until the New Testament, where the once-for-all and perfectly sufficient sacrifice of Christ overcomes the inadequacy of the Law and sets its provisions permanently aside. Jesus is the missing “restitution” that man could not provide along with repentance. His death satisfies the justice of God and upholds the glory that would have been tarnished and dimmed had man’s sin been left undealt with.

What have we learned, then?

1. High-handed sin is by nature willful, premeditated, rebellious defiance of God.

2. Some high-handed sins that relate to the property of others, where restitution is possible and confession and repentance are offered, are graciously counted as “unintentional” and can be dealt with by the sacrificial system.

3. However, the Law is ominously silent on the question of high-handed sins toward God – can they be forgiven if the sinner confesses and repents?

4. The Law hints that it may be possible, but makes no provision for these sins. Old Testament saints like David had no recourse but to throw themselves on God’s mercy.

5. As the Spirit revealed to David later in Psalm 51, forgiveness is possible!

6. Christ shows how this is possible, as his sacrifice is better and can cover even high-handed sins.

One final point, however. Paul brought up the example of Hebrews and the question of apostasy. And in fact, that’s exactly the kind of high-handed sin we see described in Numbers 15:30-31 – high-handed sin that is persistent and unrepentant. For this, the text in Numbers is clear. No atonement is possible.

This, then, is further demonstration of the truth of particular redemption or limited atonement. Numbers 15 makes clear, explicitly clear, that atonement can only be offered for sins that are not high-handed in this sense.

7. In other words: there can be no atonement without repentance. Or put the other way, those atoned for, by definition, repent. There is no middle ground.

Let us never forget this. Salvation is always, has always been, a gracious act of God toward the repentant. No human being has any reason to expect their sins have been covered and their guilt removed if they persist in their rebellion and refuse to repent. A bare, intellectual “faith” cannot make up for this.

Next time, we’ll look at what applications we can make from this.