Chapter 9
Seeing a Christianity Worth Dying For
*One of the things that is absent from the minds of most believers are the words that Peter wrote to us in his first epistle: “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 2:5. Why would Peter use the word “priest?” Why doesn’t he employ a “New Testament word” (besides the fact that he is Jewish)?
*We know from Hebrews 3:1 that Jesus is our “High Priest and Apostle.” What I find is that even when the people of God employ such terminology, they don’t know what they are speaking on. What does it mean for us to be a kingdom of priests? What does it mean for Jesus to be our High Priest? Why do the answers always seem to be such an insignificant and unsatisfactory answer?
*Jesus being the High Priest of our confession goes from something holy to being the one who has walked into the Holiest Place and opened the door wide for the rest of us. The statement isn’t false, but it has robbed us of the magnitude of what Jesus actually did (and is) by putting the focus on our ability to walk into the Holy of Holies now. It robs us of the awe-inspiring act that constitutes our entering that Most Holy place.
*So where do we begin? I seem to question this with all messages… With something so massive as this, where do we even start? Who is sufficient for these things?
*Let us start with Hebrews 5. “For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for he himself also is compassed with infirmity,” Hebrews 5:1-2.
*The call of God for us to be priests is one that needs to be taken of the most seriousness. It is fair to say that I don’t always make the connection for you as to why these things are important or applicable in our daily lives, but if God has concerned Himself with writing these things in His Word, then we need to take them of the utmost importance. This statement about the high priest is critical.
*I would like to point out that it should also be true of the other priests. Yes, the high priest is the one to go beyond the veil and enter the Holy of Holies, but even for the priests who would offer sacrifices in the outer court for the people, this is the requirement: they can have compassion on the ignorant.
*Until we can recognize that there is no sin or transgression or iniquity that is beyond forgiveness, and that we ourselves have been partakers of that iniquity, we will not be able to be priests unto God. The very requirement laid out in these two verses is one of being able to recognize our own shortcomings and therefore not holding another man’s sin against him. If we cannot have compassion and be broken for others, we cannot be priests. There will be no ministering the sacrifices of God, and there will be no healing in their life, or in our own. Everything is hanging on this one crucial requirement. If we are called of God to salvation, we have been called to priesthood. Whether our priesthood would be dealing with those outside who don’t know God or whether we are within the walls of the Church, both require that we do not judge. Both require that we have compassion and are willing and able to recognize the same sin in ourselves.
*There can be no healing of sin until this is understood to the utmost. If we look at the men or women who have committed rape or murder or fornication or adultery or blasphemed the Holy Spirit or anything else that we think “I’m not that bad,” then we miss the mark and cannot minister the sacrifices to bring forgiveness and healing. Even when we ourselves have not murdered, we should recognize in our own lives anger and hatred for certain people that, if it is not dealt with, would easily be able to result in murder. There are no sins that are too large. We are all capable of the same things.
*“And by reason of this he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man takes this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron,” Hebrews 5:3-4.
*The next requirement that lay before us is that of a calling. As I said before, anyone who is truly of the Lord is called to be a priest. I repeat the words of Peter, which are also spoken in Revelation, that we are a “kingdom of priests.” Any who would desire to be one of the Lord’s people are thus required to be a priest to His people.
*So if we are called, then we ought to live. But before we jump the gun, let us remember the words from the beginning of this passage: “And by reason of this he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.” There needs to be a deep dealing in our own hearts and lives. We need to have burnt the sacrifices for ourselves before we go to sacrifice for others. What this simply means is that before we start speaking the truth in love, praying and anointing with oil, confessing truth, and all other forms of accountability, we need to have gone through the waters of baptism in our own lives. We need to have gone down into the lowly waters, giving everything, and leaving everything to come up out of those same waters of death into a newness of life and power. If our baptism was only a symbol, or obedience because we’re following Christ’s example, then we have missed the mark. Baptism is spiritual. It isn’t mere symbol.
*“So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, ‘Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee.’ As he said also in another place, ‘Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek;’ who, in the days of His flesh when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared, though He were a Son, yet he learned obedience by the things which He suffered; and being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him, called of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedek,” Hebrews 5:5-10.
*There should be entire seminars on only these verses, but for the sake of writing space, let us consider only a few things. We will see later in Hebrews 7 what the order of Melchizedek actually is, so the focus I want to take for now is the idea of Jesus being the Son, but learning obedience through suffering.
*Jesus was the incarnate God. There shouldn’t be any need for Him to learn obedience, yet it is stated. What kind of obedience did Jesus learn? Did He learn how to obey God? Certainly not, for He was with God in the beginning, and has been obeying Him (in that sense) since before the dawn of time. I have to assume that this kind of learning obedience is not necessarily in following orders, but instead in being.
*Jesus learned obedience in the sense that He was brought to the ultimate place of suffering, and in that ultimate place displayed the full nature of God, while yet living as a man. It wasn’t so much a doing what God required as much as it was a being who God required. Jesus had to display to the world and to the principalities and powers a different kind of wisdom, a different value system, a different kind of lifestyle, a different mindset, a different kind of love, a different mode of operating.
*In the crucifixion of the Lord, we see the fullness of the character of God displayed, and it was such a sight that a Roman soldier cried out, “Surely this was the Son of God.” There was something so unique in the way that Jesus was crucified that it would cause this man who is accustomed to death and brutality would fall to his knees and realize the Deity of Jesus.
*It was in that display of Jesus’ obedience unto perfection that caused eternal salvation to come to all them that obeys Him. There was actually something of God that was emitted in the death of Jesus Christ, a virtue if you will, that so impacted this Roman soldier, who doesn’t even know God, that Jesus would be the author of his eternal salvation. It was in the death of Jesus Christ that the sacrifice was perfected.
*Isn’t that an interesting thought? Jesus, who was perfect from the beginning, had to be perfected by the suffering on a cross so that He could be the sacrifice of atonement for the world. So it shall be with us.
*If we are to be priests unto God, then why should we not bear the same suffering? How can we be to each other what we must if we aren’t willing to suffer the death of self? If we can’t even be to one another what we must without the impartation of the Holy Spirit upon our death, then how shall we be to the world what we must?
*Because Christ had to suffer unto perfection, we will need to suffer unto perfection. It will actually be in our suffering that we will overcome. Any kind of obedience to God is a suffering. To deny our own will and humbly take up our crosses without grudge, and without murmuring and complaining, is to suffer in an ultimate kind of way. This kind of suffering and death is not a physical suffering or death. That would be the easy way out, and if that were all that we had to endure, then we would gladly take it upon ourselves. Suicide itself is still, in a sense, drinking from self-will. This kind of suffering and death are something of the soul, which is beyond flesh and blood. When our opinions and our reputations and our desires and our need for self-preservation are completely out of the way, we are then liable to learning obedience through suffering. In that suffering, we will be made perfect so that all of Hell trembles. It was for this reason that it is written, “If they (principalities and powers of darkness) would have known beforehand, they would not have killed the Lord of glory.”
*So, when Hebrews talks about an offering, it isn’t talking about rams or bulls or goats or doves. It is speaking of our selves. We offer our own very lives for our brother’s sake, and we willingly place our self and our will and our emotions and everything else on the alter so that we can minister a spiritual sacrifice of death unto life. This is the literal implication of Hebrews chapter 5. This is being the “holy priesthood.”
Melchizedek Priesthood
*“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being, by interpretation, King of Righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of Peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God, abides a priest continually,” Hebrews 7:1-3.
*Where do we even begin? Melchizedek means “king of righteousness.” He was the king of Salem, which is Shalom. Being, then, the king of righteousness and the king of peace, how ought we to live if we are to be part of this order? What must our lives look like if we are to be part of the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek?
*Obviously, Jesus is our High Priest. He is the full representation of Melchizedek. Yet, if He is the high priest, what ought His fellow priests look like? There is a verse in Romans that states that righteousness is not doing the right thing. If it were only doing rightly, then that would be law. Righteousness is belief in God. Abraham believed God, and it was accredited to him as righteousness. This belief caused for Abraham to leave father and mother, brother and sister, friend and family. It drew him out of the old lifestyle and into a pursuit after God. It led him out of the familiar, and into “the Land I (God) will show you.”
*Salem is literally translated as shalom. What is interesting is that shalom is almost always defined as peace. Yet, there is something deeper about this peace. This peace is the peace of God. It would be better to translate it as peace and wholeness. We are in peace because we are whole. And being sons of righteousness, we obtain this peace. This peace goes beyond verbalism. This peace enters into the realm of being made whole, and from that wholeness, we find courage, hope, satisfaction… a way to face tomorrow.
*It is from these two foundations that we are to live from: righteousness, which is belief, and peace, which is wholeness. These two things are what set us apart from the world. We can find the full representation of these in our Lord Jesus Christ, our High Priest and great example.
*The text goes on. Can we say that we are without father, without mother, and without descendants? Can we claim that we are God’s children? Do we still have a relation to our biological families that would dictate them before God? It is in this verse, along with the words of Jesus, that I must assume the call of God requires a total abandonment of the things of this world. We are to be so other that even our families are not truly our families. We deny our own biological families to take up the family of God. And God, then, is one who would say that we don’t truly understand family and kinship until we have experienced family in the context of through His Spirit. It is not that we are called to forfeigt our nationality, name, kinsmen, and bring shame to our families, but that we learn through the Spirit the true definition of family. Our biological family is only our family when they are also adopted sons and daughters of God.
*But who is willing for these things? Who is willing to suffer in this way? Who is willing to put God and His people before their own flesh and blood kinsmen? This is an ultimate sacrifice, but a necessary one. It is something that cuts us so deep that to ignore it and dismiss this call as fanaticism will result in transgression before God. I remind you that the sons of Aaron were told to go into the camp and slay every father, mother, brother, sister, and son or daughter that has worshiped the golden calf and refused the Lord their God. They were told to do an ultimate act of denial, and in that act, they were considered holy before the Lord. It was not until they slew their families, friends, and neighbors that Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day,” Exodus 32:29.
*Melchizedek had neither beginning of days or end of life. This speaks to me of an eternal people. This would tell me that unless our view is something beyond time and beyond our circumstances, we have no right to take up the sacrifices and perform our priestly functions. There is a requirement of God for maturity. Obviously, this doesn’t come in a day. We don’t receive salvation and then we’re instantly placed into the priest draft. God must refine and continue to purge and refine. This goes hand in hand with the suffering to perfect obedience. It isn’t until we have suffered, until we have come to a place of obedience, until we have been brought to an eternal view that we will be used of God as priests to each other and to this world. If that call to priesthood has not yet come, then we have no right to “minister” in any way.
*Those who are younger in age, but older in maturity, will need to be able to tend to the older in age and the younger in maturity. There is a pride that age brings, where if God were to call a young man or woman to be a priest, and they are to tend to someone significantly older, that older man or woman seems to be offended. “Why am I not supposed to teach you? Why was I not given this privilege? Why do I need to be ministered to by you, who are younger and haven’t experienced as much as I have?” Don’t act as though it doesn’t happen. It does, and it’s a scam. If the older is not willing to be served by the younger, or the more knowledgeable to be served by the less knowledgeable, then you no longer have biblical Christianity.
*Yet, for those who are younger, are you willing to wait on the Lord? The age requirement for the Jewish rabbis was the age of 30. You couldn’t start your ministry until you were 30. Are you willing to suffer that? Are you willing to wait until you have been brought to maturity? Or are you hoping that you can serve God now, and I can do this or that, I know how to play this instrument, or I can teach this small group? Are you more interested in doing for God than you are interested in being for God? There is indeed a necessary dying to take place when we humble ourselves to waiting.
*“And they (the Levites), truly, were many priests, because they were not allowed to continue by reason of death; but this man, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore, He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing he ever lives to make intercession for them. For such an high priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; who needs not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, but first for his own sins and then for the people’s; for this He did once, when He offered up Himself,” Hebrews 7:23-27.
*There is a power that these words have. Satan fights with all of his strength against this teaching. That is why there are so many people who hold to the doctrine that you cannot be saved to the uttermost. They spiritualize the terminology to make it seem like it is saying that your salvation is once and for all, but you really aren’t able to walk it out. People make claims that you will never be without sin, nor will you be free from it, but you are saved to the uttermost. Isn’t this a contradiction?
*The writer of Hebrews is blatantly telling us the same thing Jesus told us, and explaining why it is true, that whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Because of our High Priest, and because of all that He represents, and because of Him being placed higher than the heavens, and because He is the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace, and because He is the one without beginning or end, and because he is the one without father and mother and decent, and because He has made such a glorious offering, and because of His suffering unto perfection, and because of His being the author of eternal salvation, therefore He is able to save to the uttermost.
*There is absolutely no one that cannot be redeemed. There is absolutely nothing that you can’t be freed from. The bondage of sin, death, Satan, Hell, self, and anything else that would bind us and keep us bound is destroyed for all those who turn to that High Priest. If you don’t experience this kind of salvation, then the first question I have is whom did you call upon? For, all who come to Christ Jesus are saved to the uttermost, or they aren’t saved at all.
*This is the gospel of freedom. There is absolute freedom offered to all who would call upon Christ. Don’t limit God, lest you make Him into your own image.
*But, then, what about you? When a man or woman comes to you in search of God, will they have that kind of salvation? Leonard Ravenhill used to say, “Fire begets fire, and Spirit begets Spirit.” It is my assumption that when someone is saved under a certain ministry, they will only be as converted as that ministry. When there is gossip, immorality, humanism, pride and ego, and all the other kinds of leaven that seep through the cracks, then the man or woman to be saved will emit and continue in those things. But when we have been purged and saved to the uttermost, anyone who comes to us in search of God will find the same salvation to the uttermost. This is a complete laying of the sin of the Church at the step of the pastors and speakers and leaders. If they do not show forth an alternative lifestyle and mode of being, how will the flock see the uttermost?
*“If He were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law, who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle; for, “See, says He, that thou make all things according to the pattern shown to thee on the mount.” But now has He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God,” Hebrews 8:4-6; 9:11-14.
*It is finished really truly meant that it is finished. If it didn’t mean that salvation is come to all, and that only the elect may receive it, then Christ’s death is in vein. Concerning the election, the elect of God are Israel, whereas the rest of the world has been bought and paid for by Christ. “And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world,” 1 John 2:2.
*I don’t mean to step on any toes theologically, but it is crucial in understanding whom God is that we do not take certain verses out of context. The entire passage that I quoted is mainly to show that it is finished. There is nothing left for us to do.
*How does this pertain to us as priests? We, then, should also be of heaven. We should not be looking to the tabernacle made from hands, but should serve in the one in heaven. We need to have an understanding of the things of God that would constitute our activity and service in His tabernacle. Our service is not to be done in humanity, but instead by the Spirit. This is obvious, but necessary to write lest someone think that because we are redeemed we are instantly considered pure enough to touch the holy things. Whether in eating or drinking, or whatever you may do, do all to the glory of God.
Consecration of Aaron
*It is written in Hebrews 8:5 that the priesthood, tabernacle, and sacrifices that were offered of Aaron were only a type and shadow of heavenly things. It is expressed to us that the call and ministry of Aaron and his sons was not the fullest definition of priestliness, but instead was only a shadow, or an example. Yet, from the example that is laid out before us in Leviticus, we can glean realities and priestly functions for ourselves here today. Though the Aaronic priesthood has been abolished, it is not yet obsolete.
*We see in Leviticus 8 and 9 a further display of priestly ministry and what it takes to be consecrated unto priesthood. Though these are Old Testament passages and “law,” they need to be considered and come into our consciousness as being some of the utmost important passages in all of Scripture.
*“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,” Leviticus 8:1.
*To pass by this first verse is to pass by the Lord. God spoke to Moses. This was not some sort of act trying to make Aaron and his sons holy. This was God’s requirement. Unless we are willing to both acknowledge this, and come to the understanding that until God speaks there can be no priest or sending, we will not receive the blessing of God.
*“Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; and gather all the congregation unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Moses said, ‘This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done,’” Leviticus 8:2-5.
*There was a complete obedience on the part of Moses, Aaron, his sons, and the congregation. It was from this obedience that the Lord could consecrate Aaron and his sons. Understand that this obedience is vital, because if the congregation didn’t listen, then there would have been no priests. Their participation was just as necessary as Aaron and his sons.
*“And Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and washed them with water,” Leviticus 8:6.
*Try to picture this. You have 5 men standing next to Moses in front of the entire congregation of Israel. Then, Moses strips these 5 men, and starts to bathe them. There is something of humility in allowing Moses to strip them, but there is also something of humiliation of being naked in front of the congregation. It is from this humiliation that God then clothes the priests.
*We can liken this to sanctification. This isn’t our initial salvation, because Aaron and his sons had already been called out. What this speaks to my spirit is that these men were sanctified by the washing of the word. They stood before all men and women of the congregation and were washed. It wasn’t hidden. It was out in the open for all to see.
*Are we willing to endure such a thing? Are we willing to have our deepest and most private sins and secret depths of our hearts cleansed in front of all? Are we willing to be stripped bare in front of the entire congregation so that the washing of the word can take its full effect? This is both humbling and humiliating, and for that exact reason, it is necessary. This reveals to us our secret hearts. We’re willing to be washed and sanctified by the word, but we won’t allow God to wash and sanctify us where all can see. It is too personal. What if the people judge me? What if they now make fun of me? What if they look at me differently? What if they stop respecting me? These are necessary things to bear before God and before men, because the start of true priestliness is transparency before the people. It is from this transparency that people feel safe in bringing their offerings and sacrifices (confessions and sins) before us.
*It is also from this stripping before the congregation that God shows us our own deepest and darkest and most secret sins. These are exposed to us, which we might have never even known they were there, and they are exposed to the congregation. Why is it that the priest doesn’t judge, but instead has compassion upon those who need to bring sacrifices of repentance? It is because here we are ultimately purged of our own sins, and therefore we see in ourselves that we are the chiefs of all sinners, and we believe it.
*For this same reason men and women don’t mind bringing their own offerings and sacrifices to us. They have seen our flaws and they know our hearts. Why would they feel uncomfortable with confiding in someone who has had the exact same issue? Why would someone who is struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts not feel comfortable with speaking to one whom they know and they have seen struggle and overcome the exact same thing? This open transparency and humiliation brings both something about in the priest, but also in the congregation that watches.
*“And he put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the beautifully woven girdle of the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith. And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and Thummim. And he put the miter upon his head; also upon the miter even in front, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown, as the Lord commanded Moses,” Leviticus 8:7-9.
*It is here that we see the high priest clothed. Just as Aaron was clothed with glory before his sons, who were only priests, so our High Priest, Jesus Christ, was clothed with glory before we are. In Leviticus 8:10-12, we see that God had Aaron anointed first as well. This is equally as true with Jesus.
*I find it interesting that Aaron wore a crown. This “crown” or helmet, or golden band went around his head, and in the front it had the inscription “holiness unto the Lord.” I find it equally interesting (or maybe it is ironic) that this is the exact place where the charismatic hot shots will place their hand when praying for someone. It is almost as though God is saying, “Nothing comes upon my priest without going through Me.”
*This crown and this robe and the girdle and the ephod are all things that symbolize resurrection. Aaron being clothed with such extravagant things shows forth the extravagance of resurrection. Jesus was the first to be raised. Yet, He calls us to resurrection as well.
*“Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it and so consecrated them. He sprinkled some of the oil on the alter seven times, anointing the altar and its utensils and the basin with its stand to consecrate them,” Leviticus 8:10-11.
*If God saw it fit to anoint and consecrate inanimate objects, how much more is it necessary for us to have the anointing of the Holy Spirit? How much more is it necessary for us to be dripping with the anointing oil of God in every word, action, and deed in our lives?
*“He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him,” Leviticus 8:12
*You can refer back to chapter 3 to refresh your memory on the anointing of God. But some quick thoughts on this anointing are that Scripture never tells us that the anointing oil touched Aaron’s flesh. Moses poured the anointing oil on his head. The anointing of God was not meant to anoint flesh, but was meant to anoint the man. Our flesh can seem quite anointed when we know how to use it and manipulate our hearers. We can dance around and use certain tones of voice to cause for them to think we’re “super-spiritual,” but when it is all said and done, nothing remains. After the excitement, we go back to our normal lives and the way we used to be. When God anoints a man, he speaks from that anointing. There isn’t any confidence in the flesh, and therefore the words are from the Spirit. When this happens, the hearers of this anointed man’s words, or the beneficiaries of this man’s actions are changed. They aren’t the same. They can’t be the same. Everything is different, whether for the better or whether for the worse.
*“And he brought the bullock for the sin offering; and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the bullock for the sin offering. And he slew it; and Moses took the blood, and