Calvary Lutheran Church

Main Themes of the Reformation: The Priesthood of All Believers

Grace and peace are yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our blessed Lord and Savior. Amen.

1 Peter 2:9

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

MAIN THEMES OF THE REFORMATION—

THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS.

Dear Christian friends:

            The three-fold motto of Lutheranism is “Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Scripture Alone.” We like to talk about this motto a lot and proudly display it as often as possible. With this motto we believe that we are standing on sound ground when it comes to our doctrine. An expression we also like to use a lot is that we preach the Word in its “truth and purity.” This is what separates us from all other denominations, and we are proud of it. It is sort of like the woman on the Horizon commercial some years ago who looks at a map of the United States which shows all the areas that Horizon covers, and says, “I’ve got the good one.” We might be tempted to say, “I’ve got the good faith, I’ve got the pure gospel, and that is all that matters.”  

            My friends, that is how the Pharisees use to think. They considered themselves right and pious in their doctrine and practice while looking down on others. Sound doctrine is indeed a priceless treasure, but that does not allow us to say with the Pharisee in the temple, “God, we thank you that we are not like the Baptist or the Methodist or those poor Catholics next door?” Conceit is obnoxious to God. Proverbs say that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

            In 1917 our synod celebrated the 400^th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. In that year Professor August Pieper of the Lutheran Seminary at Wauwatosa presented a paper at the Nebraska District where he wrote in his opening paragraph, “Our celebration of the anniversary of the Reformation will be a curse for our church if it does not, first of all, drive us to our knees.” He went on to say,

“Unless the word which Luther preached makes us holy and pious, that is, penitent, believing, chaste, humble, loving, truthful, and generous, that ‘pure doctrine” will one day condemn us . . . . To brag about having pure doctrine and then to fail to be the kind of person pure doctrine produces is to be a hypocrite,” in other words, a Pharisees.

Can you imagine believing in faith alone and then not producing the fruits of faith? Can you imagine believing in grace alone and then not reflecting that grace by showing love to others. Can you imagine believing in Scripture alone and then not taking the time to read it or study it or hear it. Yes, then that pure doctrine certainly would rise up and condemn us.  

            Of the four main themes of the Reformation that I am reviewing for this celebration of the 500^th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, the priesthood of all believers is perhaps the least understood and the least practiced. 

            Luther defined the priesthood of all believers this way. “Through the work of our Lord Jesus Christ every sinner, as soon as he comes to faith . . . is permitted to enter the very presence of God and may associate with God as his child and as a brother of Jesus Christ. No human being can come between him and God.”

            It wasn’t always that way. In the Old Testament God forbad his people to associate with him directly. It was the high priest alone who offered the animal sacrifices of thanksgiving and devotion and forgiveness on behalf of the people. It was the high priest only who offered up prayers for the needs of the people. It was the high priest alone who entered once a year on the Day of Atonement into the Holy of Holies of the temple where God himself was present; and there the high priest sprinkled the blood of the lamb on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant for the forgiveness of all sins. Anyone other than the high priest who dared to perform these duties was immediately put to death.

            In Luther’s day a similar separation was practiced. The Roman Catholic Church at that time, as it does today, divided the church into two groups: the laity, that is, the peasants, workers, farmers, knights, and nobles; and the priesthood, that is, the monks, priests, bishops, and pope. In the Roman Church Jesus’ commission to preach the gospel was given only to the priests. All of Christ’s treasures of forgiveness of sins, spiritual life of faith, and eternal salvation were provided to the lay Christians only by the inner circle of priests. It was from their hands and their mouths that the laity received what they needed for their soul’s welfare.

            Baptisms were performed only by the priest. Lord’s Supper was administered only by the priest, who alone could speak the words of institution that changed the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Only the priest heard confessions of mortal sins and then designated the proper penance needed to prove that the confessor was really sincere. Last rites, a service given to a person who was dying, was administered by a priest. So from birth to death, the source of spiritual well-being was in the hands of the priest.

            But in the priesthood of all believers, Luther said that no human being can come between you and God. When it comes to your faith life, you are your own priest. Where did Luther get such a novel idea? From the New Testament Scriptures. Peter wrote to Christians in general, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God.” Jesus did not go to the cross to free you from the slavery of sin, death, and hell just so you could come under the slavery of the Church. When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place in the temple was torn in two. We may now walk into the presence of God directly with our own sacrifices, prayers, and confessions. Luther said, “You have only one Master, and you are all brothers (and sisters). Christ has prescribed and instituted no office for his church which has authority over Christians.”

            But we may say, “What about the pastor? Isn’t he the authority in the church?” No. The public ministry or the pastor is no different from the priesthood of every individual believer. The pastor is the one person who, in the name of all the members, does publicly what all the others have the right and the authority to do privately. Yes, the Lord has laid down certain qualifications when it comes to the pastor’s moral character or grasp of Scripture or ability to teach.  But whatever he does he has been given permission to do by the congregation.

            So the pastor usually preaches, although in his absence any lay person may preach if asked by the congregation to do so. And remember, “preaching” does not just mean standing up in front of people in a church. Preaching can take place privately at any time and any place. Jesus oftentimes preached to an audience of one. We think of the Samaritan woman at a well, not in a church. I once saw a child at a funeral home doing some strong preaching by walking up to each one of the mourners and telling them not to be sad, because their loved one was with Jesus.

            The pastor may do evangelism, but Jesus’ great commission to make disciples of all nations was given to every believer. And members are in a much better position to evangelize the people they already know. The pastor usually baptizes, but in a case of an emergency any Christian may baptize. The pastor usually distributes Lord’s Supper, but even here we have members of the church council distribute the bread and wine. And when I say the words of institution over the bread and wine, I am speaking not for myself, by my authority, but as the mouth of all the members.

The pastor usually enacts the Office of the Keys—that privilege and right to pronounce the forgiveness or retention of sins. I did so just a few moments ago where in the stead and the command of the Lord Jesus I forgave all your sins. But that Office of the Keys may to be administered by all Christians. The psalmist wrote, “I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you” (Psalm 51:13). He was talking about the Office of the Keys.

            The pastor usually teaches Bible class and confirmation class because of his training, but we have members here who teach Sunday school. And you don’t have to stand up in front of a class to be a teacher, you can be sitting in a Bible class and expound on your own knowledge of the Bible. Sometime I just stand up in front of a Bible class and say nothing while others comment and teach from their knowledge. Whenever possible, without causing disorder or confusion, the work of the church is to be entrusted to lay members who will carry out their priestly duties according to the gifts each has received. Every Christian not only has these rights, but he is to make use of them.

            Pastor Charles Found who used to be a pastor in this district tells the story of a church council that was ready to begin their meeting when the pastor called and said he would be late, and that they should start without him. Well, the council always started their meeting with prayer, but now the pastor wasn’t there. What were they to do? None of them felt right in saying the prayer, that was the pastor’s job. So they went over to the parsonage and asked the pastor’s wife to come and say the prayer. They felt that she was the closest to a pastor that they could find.  If they had known the priesthood of all believer, one of them would have said the prayer.

            But God’s people dare not forget the most important activity of priests today is offering spiritual sacrifices. Peter also wrote in chapter 2, “As you come to him, the living Stone, 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). Paul wrote the same in Romans, “I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).

            What are your spiritual sacrifices? Luther describes them as “daily killing the sacrificial calf.” He was referring to the golden calf that God’s people erected at Mount Sinai. How could they act so rebelliously when God had shown such mercy in freeing them from their slavery in Egypt?

            Our golden calf today is our corrupt, sinful nature with its rebellious desires, its cravings to follow the unbelieving world in its godless lifestyle. Worldly-mindedness has so infected the Christian life that it’s often difficult to distinguish between a Christian and a heathen. Luther said to sacrifice that sinful nature on an altar daily. Luther’s explanation to the meaning of baptism is to “drown that sinful nature by daily contrition and repentance that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. And, then, let a new person daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” That is our spiritual sacrifice as priests.

            But why would we want to go to the trouble of battling our sinful nature and living in righteousness? Paul wrote, “In view of God’s mercy.” One of the three-fold offices of Jesus was that of a high priest. As high priest he too sacrificed. His sacrifice was to leave his throne on high to take on our human flesh. His sacrifice was to live in that perfect righteousness and purity that we couldn’t live in. He sacrificed his own life on the cross as payment for our sins. And then like the Old Testament high priest who entered the holy place of the temple where God was present, Jesus entered the holy place of heaven to intercede to the Father on our behalf. The writer to the Hebrews wrote, “Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). After the Las Vegas shooting, some of the huge video signs on the strip which normally show the entertainment for the night, displayed simply the words, “Pray for the victims of the shootings.” It seemed uniquely out of place to see a message encouraging prayer to God in a place where God is usually ignored. But the message was fitting. I wish that every person who was traumatized either directly or indirectly by the shooting in Las Vegas, could know this mercy, this grace, that Jesus the high priest has for them through the power of prayer.
            We don’t want our celebration of the Reformation to become a curse by  neglect or refusal to practice our God-given role as royal priests. Or as Luther would say “We don’t want this priesthood, which is part of our Christian birthright and heritage, taken from us, obstructed or clouded. Instead we want it publicized, proclaimed, and praised. So that its real beauty may shine like the sun.” Jesus put it this way, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Amen.

May we pray:

Dear Lord Jesus, we humbly thank and praise you for being our high priest to sacrifice yourself and to intercede for us to the Father. Give us the confidence to recognize the great privilege of coming to you directly with all our prayers for ourselves and others and with our confession of sins knowing that you hear us and will forgive and comfort us. May we never miss an opportunity to display our priesthood by serving you in our church and in our everyday lives, that we may declare your praises who has called us out of darkness into your wonderful light. In your name we pray. Amen.