Recapturing the Doctrine of the Priesthood of Believers!!!!

As I read the Between Two Worlds blog, my heart was moved to write this blog. This specific post was about Tim Challies and his new book. Follow the thread and you will see what I mean. Phrases such as “what qualifies him” and other such phrases were cast at will. I started to wonder about the spirit of the pre-reformation and there wasn’t much difference here. One quote from someone was “does a man need a doctorate degree to write a book, it isn’t like he is an accountant writing on biology”. This is my sentiments exactly. When did we lose the doctrine of the “Priesthood of ALL Believers”? I thought the veil was torn about 2000 years ago and I also thought the heart and soul of the Reformation was for “every man to have a bible in his/her hand”. Has what our forefathers of the faith died become vain? Here is a quote from Tim Challies blogger (here) and the author of the book “Discipline of Discernment”:

“Yet it is a strange contradiction that those who identity most closely with the Protestant Reformation seem often to be those who are most prone to forgetting about the priesthood of all believers. This idea, that God offers His truth to all believers through His Word, is a defining characteristic of Protestantism but one that continues to make Christians uncomfortable. Though many give it verbal assent, it is still easier to simply find and trust certain teachers, always giving them the benefit of the doubt. “I am of Paul! I am of Apollos!” can become “I am of MacArthur! I am of McLaren!” We can take comfort in another person’s position, believing that only a truly godly man could rise to become the Senior Pastor of a large church, or we can take comfort in another person’s credentials, assuming that a man with so many degrees and accolades must be right. Yet all the while the Bible commands each of us to do the hard work of discernment and to realize that we are all called to pursue and obey the truth.” We must ask ourselves some serious questions if this isn’t our heart! Are we not able to question those in “authority” anymore, can a laymen write a book , start a church, or do we need 10 years of Seminary and another 2 in church planting? Is Tim not qualified to write a book but qualified to start a bible study, lead a home group, or even disciple his family? Which has greater weight? Listen very carefully, if we don’t stop this hogwash, we will soon find ourselves in the same position of those who were oppressed by Rome!

Now what I am not saying is that seminary isn’t important. I think there are tools gained (especially the languages and hermeneutics) that are invaluable to any pastor on the planet. However, they are not, BY ANY BIBLICAL STANDARD, prerequisites. It really chaps my hide when I hear the same individuals screaming “Sola Scriptura” from the rooftops but in the same breath they are saying “Westminster plus your bible, or Fuller plus your bible, or Southern plus your bible, or DTS plus your bible”. For me this flies in the face of the 5 Solas! Peter says it very clearly in 1 Peter 2: 9 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. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Nowhere does it say “you need a formal education to proclaim these Excellencies”. So I wonder are churches not preparing their members to be dropped on an Island with their bible and start a movement. If every member (at least those who have been around for at least a year) can’t be in a plane crash on a remote Island and plant a church, that means there is something wrong with the leadership there. If that person has to wait until someone with a seminary degree comes along to plant a church there we are in serious trouble. This is why I think the book is important and not only that, even historical. A blogger writes a book! That should be a motivation for all bloggers (though, I don’t even know proper sentence structure half the time so don’t count me in). But this isn’t about a book this is about, your right to question anything coming from anybody! This is about JV versus Varsity Christianity where now we are beginning to become top heavy again. Where laymen are overlooked and pastors are esteemed. Where education comes before wisdom and a passion for the “Glory of God in all things”. We have lost our footing along the way. We have begun to esteem the very things that Christ and the Apostles spoke against. We are doing it all in the name of “qualification”. Each member of the body is fully capable of starting a movement as long as their motive is pure and they have a good grasp of the scriptures and how they fit together and point to Christ. I am thoroughly upset that this isn’t the heart of the Church! I pray that this doesn’t continue because if it does, we may need another reformation in the near future!