Therefore, a church does not have only one priest. It has many believer priests as members who are to communicate the love and forgiveness of God and to demonstrate concern and compassion of one believer for another. The Priesthood of Believers The New Testament speaks of the priesthood of believers. Believer priests are part of the body of Christ. They form a community of believers. Although each believer priest is individually responsible to God, all believer priests are related to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ (Revelation 1:5-6; 5:9-10). This communal aspect of believer priesthood highlights the fact that being a Christian involves fellowship with other believers. This fellowship functions to encourage and assist the believer in Christian growth and ministry. How sad and difficult it would be to live the Christian life in isolation from other believers. The fellowship of believer priests also aids in interpreting the Bible and understanding God’s will. Although each believer priest can and ought to read and interpret the Bible for herself or himself, the competent and wise believer will seek insight and understanding from other believer priests. By searching the teachings of believer priests in the past and by seeking out the wisdom of those in the present, persons are aided in their understanding of the Bible and of God’s will. The Baptist model of a church rests on the concept of the priesthood of believers. A church is made up of persons who have exercised their God-given competency by believing in Jesus as Savior and Lord and by voluntarily associating with a particular fellowship of believers. Each believer priest in the fellowship is equal to all of the others. Therefore, no one is in authority over all. Thus decisions are made by the community of priests seeking to know the will of the head of the church, the great High Priest, Jesus Christ. They do this by prayer, Bible study, meditation, and discussion. Challenges to the Priesthood of All Believers Many factors tend to undermine the priesthood of all believers. Some persons, for example, prefer for a person or group to tell them what to believe and what the Bible teaches; they consider the responsibility of being a believer priest a burden, not a blessing. Historically, Baptists have not been among these. Others neglect to exercise their priesthood as believers and thus they miss the blessing of what it means to be a believer priest. Unfortunately, some Baptists have been among these. In addition to apathy and neglect the priesthood of believers has suffered direct attack. For centuries both government and religious authorities attacked the concept and severely persecuted those who held it. Why? The emphasis on the rights and responsibilities of the believer priest tended to threaten the power and control of those in authority. Even today those who fear freedom, dislike true democracy, and hunger for power
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