Well, some people are coming in at this time, so I'll just begin us with some greetings in the name of Jesus Christ. Special welcome to those visitors that are coming. I see we have a few churches represented in terms of our own denomination, but other denominations as well. It's good to have that. Welcome to all of you. I'm Brian Coombs. I'm the pastor here at Messiah's Church. And a special welcome to our other speaker, Pastor Aaron Gerner, who comes from Christ Church in Floyd, New York. Aaron is going to be our other speaker tonight. And as we do this each year now, this is called the Reformation Symposium, where we are remembering the Protestant Reformation of Jesus Church, a movement that began in the 14th and the 15th centuries by a handful of teachers and preachers who are concerned for such good things as avoiding doctrinal error, of noting heresy where it is, and equipping the people of God to know what they believe, why they believe it, and why it really matters. So there's some real stuff to this. And it began, I guess, formally with Martin Luther, posting on Wednesday, October 31st, 1517, his now famous 95 Theses, and he had little idea that his simple bulletin, really, for the public to come, and especially the priesthood, to discuss things about the faith, he had little idea that it would become what's called now the Protestant Reformation. So in Reformation spirit, this symposium tonight occasions us to gather and to give our attention to the important doctrines of the Christian faith. We also have discussion afterward, after each lesson. And that's what the word symposium gets at. I looked it up on Wikipedia today. And it turns out that it has the understanding, historically, of people drinking together. We will have drinking of a different sort in the back after the lectures. But the idea is coming and sitting, talking, drinking, learning together. I guess maybe we might consider renaming it the Reformation Conference. But at any rate, that's the symposium. So tonight we have two messages. I will speak on the priesthood of Christ, and Aaron Gerner will speak on the priesthood of believers. Given that today is All Saints Day, if you're following the general church calendar, these topics seem especially opportune for us. So as we begin, not only welcome, but let's seek the Lord our God in prayer as we learn tonight. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you that even though each day has enough trouble of its own, that we should not be anxious or worry, but recognize that with you as creator and especially redeemer, have supplied through the Lord Jesus Christ everything for your people. We thank you most of all as he taught that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And as we come tonight to read the scripture, to hear it preached and presented, to think according to it and learn, we pray that the Holy Spirit would be our teacher and helper and that he would lead us to give due honor and glory to the person of Jesus Christ himself. And so help us not to be distracted, help us to focus, help us to benefit from learning of him as you would have for us to do. We ask all of this with thanksgiving, praying in his name and for his sake, amen. If anyone wants an outline to what I'm going to bring tonight on past days, I don't know if we have enough, maybe you could share. My topic this evening is the priesthood of Christ. But I ask you, what if I had just left it at the priesthood? And I said, my topic tonight is the priesthood. What would you, what would the common majority of people think that it referred to? Easily, the vast majority of people assume that a reference to the priesthood means the Roman Catholic priesthood. I know this because I've asked people. In fact, I've more recently had this as my go-to line when I talk with Roman Catholics. I say to them, tell me about your priest. And they, without fail, almost without hesitation, say things like, oh, he's new. He's from the neighboring diocese. Or they will say, he's a young man. He's just out of seminary, in fact. Or they would say, our priest is funny. Even better, his homilies are brief. And I like his stories because they allow me to leave a bit early. I would gather that if you said to a Roman Catholic, tell me about your priest, he or she would say similar things. Now the reason why is because at the base of their theology, the priesthood of Christ is insufficient. And therefore, it is not only supplemented by their continuing priesthood, but it occasions the 99.9% expected answer to the statement, tell me about your priest. So tonight we need to know, and we need to know the truth about the priesthood the priesthood of Jesus Christ. The New Testament letter to the Hebrews reveals that, especially chapters three through 10, that the priesthood of Christ is of vital importance. Listen to this portion from Hebrews chapter five, verses one through 10. It says, every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God. in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness. And because of it, he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. And no one takes the honor to himself but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. That's a different Aaron from the man seated here. So also Christ did not glorify himself so as to become a high priest, but he who said to him, you are my son, today I have begotten you. Just as he says also in another passage, you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. In the days of his flesh, he offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the one able to save him from death. And he was heard because of his piety. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from the things which he suffered. And having been made perfect, he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Now much of what we consider tonight is addressed here, though we will hear from other verses from Hebrews as well. But we can outline our study of the priesthood of Christ by drawing attention to three points tonight. The first one is Rome's priesthood dogmatically asserted. And by dogmatically, I don't just mean pound your fist on the pulpit. I mean according to their dogmas. Rome's priesthood dogmatically asserted. The second point is Christ's priesthood biblically explained. The third point is Christ's priesthood supremely valuable. Those are the points that we'll look at this evening. The first one, then, Rome's priesthood dogmatically asserted. The Catechism of the Catholic Church recognizes from scripture the priesthood of Christ. Under a heading so-called, it cites six passages from the Old and New Testaments, four of which are from Hebrews. It rightly speaks of Christ as, quote, high priest and unique mediator, even concluding the redemptive sacrifice of Christ is unique, accomplished once for all. But then it goes on to undermine and erode what it just said by adding these words. Yet it is made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the church. Here, another hand retrieves what one hand had offered. It implies that while the historic death of Christ is what it is, there is a special additional presentation of it for a person in the Roman Eucharist. Therefore, the priest represents the people before Christ and Christ before the people. And in that capacity, he re-presents to God the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thus, the catechism speaks of Christ both in his priesthood and in his redemptive sacrifice as being made present. It's not a presence by his spirit, but it is a real and bodily and transubstantiated presence such that he can be represented in the Eucharist. Now, Roman Catholics sometimes take exception to what they here consider as a distortion of their position, and they will often resort to explain it as a mere representation of Christ's sacrifice in its Eucharist and not a re-presentation of it. But their catechism is utterly clear when elsewhere it says this, the sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice. The victim is one and the same. The same now offers through the ministry of priests who then offered himself on the cross. Only the manner of offering is different. In this divine sacrifice, which is celebrated in the mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner. It's important to note here that the catechism is grounding this 20th century Vatican II statement on the 16th century Council of Trent. There it was unmistakably said in response to the Reformation, quote, the Holy Synod teaches that this sacrifice is truly propitiatory, the Lord appeased by the oblation thereof. And again, while acknowledging the once character of Christ's sacrifice, Rome also said, quote, because that his priesthood was not to be extinguished by death, in the last supper, He offered up to God the Father his own body and blood under the species of bread and wine. And under the symbols of those same things, he delivered his own body and blood to be received by his apostles, whom he then constituted priests of the New Testament. And by these words, do this in commemoration of me, he commanded them and their successors in the priesthood to offer them. Nearly a year later, the council said once again, quote, it must needs also be confessed that there is in the church a new visible and external priesthood into which the old has been translated. And the sacred scriptures show, and the tradition of the Catholic Church has always taught, that this priesthood was instituted by the same Lord and Savior, and that to the apostles and their successors in the priesthood was the power delivered of consecrating, offering, and administering his body and blood, as also of forgiving and retaining sins. Now to seal these articles of the faith to its members, the Church of Rome has declared in its canons, if anyone saith that in the mass a true and proper sacrifice is not offered to God, let him be anathema. Addressed, of course, to the reformers. Again, quote, if anyone saith that by these words, do this in commemoration of me, Christ did not institute the apostles priests or did not ordain that they and other priests should offer his own body and blood, let him be anathema. Still again, quote, if anyone saith that there is not in the New Testament a visible and external priesthood, or that there is not any power of consecrating and offering the true body and blood of the Lord, and of forgiving and retaining sins, but only an office and bare ministry of preaching the gospel, or that those who do not preach are not priests at all, let him be anathema. So here is what the Church of Rome teaches. It sees the priesthood of Christ now inseparably attached to and necessarily mediated by the Roman priesthood, which offers up and represents Christ as a propitiatory sacrifice. They believe that therefore Christ consecrated a continuing priesthood with and through the apostles at the Last Supper. They thus see the unbloody elements of bread and wine as means by which they represent Christ in the sacrifice of the mass. They believe that Christ's order after Melchizedek, who if you remember in Genesis 14, brought bread and wine to Abraham, they think that this warrants their view. This sacrifice and these priests then are just as necessary for a sinner to have today as Christ's offering up himself for Calvary is as the high priest. So for good reason then, the reformers, one of which Francis Turretin said, quote, whoever holds to any bloodless sacrifice of Christ by that very thing, he denies the sacrifice of Christ. Indeed, we must say simply and strongly, the New Testament never speaks of Christ's apostles or ministers after them as priests. It never uses that. Paul's three pastoral letters touching church order and leadership were ample opportunity for that to be done. But the Holy Spirit bore witness instead to the climactic nature of Christ's priesthood and the finality of his work by always using words such as presbyter, pastor, or preacher for New Testament offices. And so Turretin also said, quote, Christ is the sole priest of the New Testament who needs neither vicars nor successors. No one indeed can succeed Christ in the same order because he lives forever. So thus there is a marked break in history. Christ is not a priest according to the dying line of Aaron, but is a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek had no successors and neither does Jesus Christ. So that's point number one. We've seen how Rome dogmatically asserts its priesthood and its view of even the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It leads us then to move on to the second point of Christ's priesthood biblically explained. There is no longer any priesthood of priests. We can only look at the priesthood of Christ. And as we do, we agree with what Lorraine Bettner said of it when he said, quote, the office or work of the priest is perhaps the most difficult to present and the least understood of any part of the Christian system, end quote. We will rest then in how the Westminster Shorter Catechism ably summarizes Christ's priesthood. It says, Christ executed the office of a priest in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God and in making continual intercession for us. The larger catechism speaks similarly, adding that his sacrifice was without spot to God and a reconciliation for the sins of his people. So the basic stuff then of Christ's priesthood is a once-offering and a continual intercession, sacrifice and supplication, the one accomplished on earth and the other applied from heaven. The one notably performed in the state of humiliation, and the other notably performed in the state of exaltation. One offering, continual intercession. That's the priesthood of Jesus Christ. Now, if you were to look in the New Testament, you would find sometimes that these are coupled together. John writes, if anyone sins, we have an advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. There's continual intercession. And he himself is the propitiation for our sins. There's the one offering. Once again, the apostle Paul writes, Christ Jesus is he who died, there's the one offering, who also intercedes for us. There is his continual intercession. So one offering, continual intercession, that's the priesthood of Jesus Christ. But sadly, the Roman priesthood is a near revival, or could we say maybe an attempted revival, of the Levitical priesthood under the Old Testament. Yet if we follow the scripture and its explanation of the priesthood, then we arrive only at Jesus Christ, Christ alone. So first we should note comparisons between the Old Testament priests and Christ, some comparisons. The priest was selected from among God's people when he, not she, when he was 30 years old. God called him to this ministry, being of the divinely appointed tribe of Levi, one of the 12. He was consecrated to act as mediator then between the holy God and the sinful people. And this he would do, offering blood sacrifices according to the law, pouring out the blood at the base of the altar, going inside the tabernacle to the incense altar to apply the blood there, to pray for the people. Then he would exit and lead them in some sort of acceptable, thankful worship to God, and even bless them in God's name. That was basically the Old Testament function of the priest. Likewise, Christ began his ministry at 30. He was consecrated by the Holy Spirit to be the mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. But his sacrifice was himself. He offered himself at the cross, pouring out his own blood. But his offering was not only a reconciliation between a holy God and a covenant-breaking corrupt sinner, it was necessarily a satisfaction It satisfied God. His sacrifice paid the sinner's debt. His sacrifice was a bearing of the sinner's punishment. His sacrifice was about clearing the sinner's guilt. His sacrifice was about restoring fellowship with God. And as a satisfaction that appeased God's wrath, his just wrath, against the law-breaking sinner. As the scripture said, the wages of sin is death. The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. But at this point, we need to emphasize that the wages of sin is death. And so then it was a substitute life that was given on behalf of the sinner for breaking God's law, offending his person. By the cross, Christ fulfilled the sinner's needed obedience. to its furthest point, and then he suffered a sinner's personal disobedience to the fullest measure that his sin deserves. All of this is bound up in the sacrifice, the one offering of Jesus Christ as priest. As the scripture would summarize it, 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21, God made him who knew no sin to be sin or a sin offering on our behalf so that we would become the righteousness of God in him. And so it's a substitute as a sacrifice. But secondly, if we note the comparisons between the Old Testament priests and Christ, we should also note some contrasts because they are there. The gospel is explained not only in the comparisons, but certainly also in the contrasts between the Old Testament priests and Christ. As Hebrews teaches us, quite unlike the Levitical priest, Christ hailed from the tribe of Judah. Unlike sinful Levites, Christ was holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners. He was tempted in all things as we are, yet he was without sin. Rather than offer the blood of animals, he offered his own blood. He didn't enter into an earthly tabernacle, but he entered into the heavenly one, a greater, a more perfect one. Rather than offer yet another sacrifice that could neither take away sin nor cleanse the conscience, Hebrews tells us that Christ offered one that could, that in fact perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And this he did not in the daily frequency of Levitical priests, but once for all. And so Christ is a mediator. Christ is the guarantee of a better covenant. And for this reason, he is not of the order of Aaron or the Levites, though his work is foreshadowed by their work. He, the Lord Jesus, is instead of the order of Melchizedek. And so his sacrifice has constant value. And his priesthood, he holds permanently in view of what Hebrews says is the power of an indestructible life evident by his resurrection. Levitical priests offered their sacrifices daily for the individual. The high priest offered his yearly for the whole nation. But Christ, the great high priest, offered his once for all, forever. It is unique. This is the great contrast that it was a once offering. How many times, if you were to read the letter to the Hebrews, you would encounter that. His death was once for all. By his one offering, we are told. So for this reason, Melchizedek and his priesthood predates the priesthood of Aaron. and Levi, even his ancestor. The priesthood of Melchizedek, we're shown in scripture, supersedes the law. And likewise, there was no successor to Melchizedek's priesthood. Here, one whose genealogy is not traced from Levi is God's priest nonetheless. He was alone in his priesthood, being also a king of the place Abraham's heirs one day would inherit and live. This was Salem. In the way that the book of Genesis introduces this man, nor records his death or genealogy, becomes a perfect type, a signpost for showing the Lord Jesus Christ, the uniqueness of his priesthood, and presenting the gospel. It was displaying what is here explained, that Christ is of a whole different order than the priesthood of Levi. He's uniquely offered one sacrifice once and now preserves the benefits of that for his people. One offering, continual intercession. So particularly to Roman Catholics, it should be pressed in the loving spirit of the gospel. Friend, if you're going to rely on a priest to perform rites for you with the hope to be made acceptable to God, then why not rely on that one great high priest whom God directly ordained and who is direct and immediate with God? That's a question that you must answer. and consider yourself whether you're Roman Catholic or some other religion. This is the message of the gospel that comes before us. It leads us then into our third point, where we've seen Rome's priesthood dogmatically asserted. We've seen Christ's priesthood biblically explained. But thirdly, we have to see Christ's priesthood as supremely valuable, supremely valuable. Now, of course, the priesthood of Aaron was valuable for Israel. Many an Israelite enjoyed the sense of forgiveness of sins by the shedding of blood of another, not of an animal, but in faith if he looked to the coming Messiah. I'm sure many an Israelite may have wondered just what value Melchizedek had for them. But in Christ, we see it fully. Melchizedek's priesthood, shrouded in all its mystery, was valuable for Abraham. He was blessed by Melchizedek's priesthood. And likewise, Christ's priesthood is the epitome of blessedness to you who believe as children of Abraham, who believe on Jesus Christ. His priesthood is supremely valuable. It's a satisfying priesthood to God, It's therefore such for all who will believe on Jesus Christ. Supremely valuable points we'd want to note are these. First of all, Christ's priesthood is a sovereign priesthood, a sovereign priesthood. James Thornwell reminds us, saying, quote, it belongs to God and to God alone to designate a priest. This was true for Aaron. It was true for his sons and every other priest afterward. Even Melchizedek, we're told, was a priest of God most high. There's the note of sovereignty when it comes to a priest. Given man's sin, given the priest's own need for cleansing, no priest can take the initiative in these things. God must act sovereignly. As we read in Hebrews, no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. Christ too was called as a priest. And for this reason, it was said, the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, that sovereignty. You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek. Now the supreme value for you is this, everything about Christ's priesthood, everything that is under the sovereign purpose of God, not only what Christ accomplished for the sinner, but the sinner's benefits from it. Since the Father swore an oath concerning Christ's priesthood, then you can be sure that all of its benefits are sure and they are secure for you. Forgiveness of sin, the righteousness before the law, acceptance and peace with God, the hope of eternal life, these things will never be taken from you if you've come to receive them in Jesus Christ. Why? God is sovereign. He swore with an oath. That's why David's saying, he has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in all things and secured. Christ's priesthood is a sovereign priesthood. Secondly, Christ's priesthood is a seated priesthood. Yes, these will all be S's. It's a seated priesthood. Psalm 110 begins, the Lord said to my Lord, sit here at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. As if in an echo chamber, the letter to the Hebrews echoes this fulfillment commonly. When he made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Again, we have such a high priest who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the majesty. He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. This is vastly important. Because no Old Testament priest ever sat down with his work at the tabernacle. And that is because the work was never finished. One sacrifice followed another. One generation of priests followed yet another. Not so with Christ. He sat down. What do you think of someone who sits down with respect to the job? Well, you don't want him sitting down on the job. You sit down after the job. Christ has sat down. As he said there at the cross, anticipating it, it is finished. The work of accomplishing salvation was finished there at the cross. Christ is done, though he is still at work in heaven, evidencing before the Father his wounds taken for sinners, his arms strongly extended, lifted with all might to pray for his people. But Christ is seated as king, and in that royal sovereignty, he is priest to those who believe. In the Old Testament imagery, Christ is behind the veil. And you can't see him, which is good, Because this means that having finished his work as to sacrifice, he is still about his work in terms of continual intercession. He is there in the Holy of Holies interceding for us until that time When he returns, and like the Old Testament priests after their ministry at the altar of incense, he will come out with his real bodily appearance, and as Peter says, even though you don't see him now, you love him. Why is this? Because Christ's priesthood is a seated priesthood. One day he will stand, and he will be made visible in return. and he will take his stand even on the earth. But his priesthood now is seeded, and that is good that you don't see him right now. Thirdly, though, Christ's priesthood is a selective priesthood. The Old Testament priests of Israel, who did they intercede for? They interceded for the Israelites. They did not offer sacrifice. They did not pray for the other nations in this sense. They did none of these things for the Canaanites. The sacrifices were not for the Assyrians. It was not for the Babylonians or the Persians. God authorized the priest to represent his people. It was a selective priesthood. Again, Turretin says, Since they are parts of the same priestly office, one offering, continual intercession, they must also be of the same extent. He should intercede for those for whom he made satisfaction, nor should he make satisfaction for others than those for whom he intercedes. Those for whom Christ died, for these he prays. Now some do not like this doctrine of limited atonement. or particular redemption, but how strange that they are offended by uninvited people showing up at their house party, or people trying to gain access to confidential information, or neighbors trying to look into their windows. Christ's priesthood is selective. And if you think about it, you agree with selectivity. Christ's death is designed to save some, though it would be sufficient to save all. We look at Jesus praying in John 17, for himself, for his disciples, for those who will come after him. And what does this priest say in his prayer? He says, I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom you have given me, for they are yours. How intimate that is. How special, how focused, how selective that Christ would channel and emphasize his grace to sinners, unworthy as we are, but by the preaching of the gospel has created faith in our hearts that we believe on Christ. Isaiah preached of Christ that he would intercede for the transgressors. Christ's priesthood is selective in its nature, which means that his care and his affections and the serious business of prayer that he is about for you is focused, it is precise, it is thorough, it is intercession that is catered just for you who believe. Is that not a comforting truth that Christ is so focused and concentrated in his intercession. All your desires, all your needs, Christ knows them all and brings them before the Father. Fourthly, Christ's priesthood is substantial. We shouldn't understand this as substantial considerable or sizable, but substantial here means that Christ appears before us, before the Father in our nature. in our substance as humans. As the larger catechism says, Christ maketh intercession by his appearing in our nature continually before the Father in heaven in the merit of his obedience and sacrifice on earth. It's not only that he is a man. but he is the second man. He is the last Adam, a man who, as the catechism emphasizes, at the same time, unlike the first man and every man thereafter, this one has the merit of obedience. On him, the holy God can say, ah, here is a man as I created man to be. And yet here is a man who suffered what he didn't deserve for those who deserved it. Christ is not only the exact representation of God's nature, but of what man should be. Christ bears the marks of his suffering as well as pure humanity without sin. God will look on him as he looks on those who believe on Jesus Christ. So it's a substantial priesthood. Fifthly, Christ's priesthood is a sympathetic priesthood. Again, the epistle to the Hebrews echoes this. Since the children share in flesh and blood, he himself also partook of the same. He had to be made like his brethren in all things so that he would become a merciful and faithful high priest. since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered. He's able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. He can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself is also beset with weakness. As much as there is a satisfaction for God, there is also sympathy for sinners. That is what the priesthood of Christ entails. And this doesn't stem from a principle of maybe what we could say misery loves company, or from the encouragement that someone like us knows how we feel. You know, maybe that friend who is passive and indifferent when he or she comes and comforts us. It is not merely misery that loves company, sympathy. This is somebody who has a raising sympathy for us. It's not an equalized sympathy. This sympathy lifts up. This actually deals with the need of the heart. One theologian said, recognizing the depth of our need, We want a Redeemer with a brother's heart as well as a brother's nature. We have all this with Jesus Christ. He has your nature and you have his heart. You may have your sins, willful, besetting, frustrating, recurring, sins of omission and neglect, sins of commission and willful intent, But Christ continually gives a believing sinner sympathy. It's what his priesthood is all about. I wonder if you have a place for that in your heart. Do you wonder if he really carries you on his heart? Remember the Old Testament priests. They had a breast piece on their garment. And the breast piece on the high priest had the tribes engraved on filigree settings of gold. And it says there in Exodus that Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord. That's sympathy. Now I ask, if this was the case under the order of Aaron, what is it now for this priest according to the order of Melchizedek under a new and a better covenant. It is that you will never sin yourself out of the sympathy of Jesus Christ. You have a redeemer with a brother's heart as well as a brother's nature. You have one who understands the temptation and can lift you out of it and save you in all your sin because he was without sin. That's sympathy on steroids compared to the sympathy we know among men. Sixthly, Christ's priesthood is a successful priesthood. You remember just before he raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus said these often quickly passed by words. I know that you always hear me. That was his intercession just before raising Lazarus. What will it be for you who believe? It's no different. Christ can even and will even bring you through death by his intercession. His priesthood is successful, that successful. It even reaches to proud Peter. Proud, presumptuous, indifferent Peter, we hear the Lord praying like this, Simon, Simon, Satan has obtained by asking to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail. And when you've turned, not if you've turned, when you've turned, You will encourage your brothers. What intervened between Satan's sifting and Peter's drifting? What is it that kept Peter from utter spiritual ruin? It's the same thing that will keep you believing, friend. It is that Jesus, having once offered himself for your sins, is making continual intercession for you. and your faith will not fail. And there will be a time that that intercession will be so successful that you will turn from your sins, and you will say, enough of this, and I will be about what Christ has for me. Christ prays for you. That's successful priesthood. Remember Moses' intercession. The Battle of the Amalekites. As long as his hands were upheld, Israel prevailed. Whenever they started to flop down, the Amalekites prevailed. At last, he needed Aaron and Hur to lift his tiring arms. And so what did they do? But they propped him up until the battle was done. Christ needs no Aaron and Hur. He upholds his outstretched arm, and he brings forth his strong hand to the Father, and no foe will prevail over any believer. If God is for us, who is against us? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is he who died, one offering, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Continual intercession. That's a successful priesthood. Finally, Christ's priesthood is a singular priesthood. As the scripture tells us, There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. This means that there are no successors, not one. Of course there isn't. Melchizedek's priesthood, unlike Aaron's, had no successor. There is only Christ, it is Christ alone. Now this means for you, wherever you are with respect to Christ's priesthood, you may be under it, you may be without it here tonight. Wherever you are, this means for you that Christ alone is sufficient for you. It's a singular priesthood, Christ alone. There's no other way for you to deal with God. It's only through Christ. But you should consider this, then, as Christ's grace. It's not all that hard. It's all very simple and clear to those who will believe. Christ will be your priest, as he promises here. Now, all these aspects, all seven of these, are what are underneath what the letter to the Hebrews lays down as its main applications. Hebrews 8.1. If you haven't been paying attention to the letter of the Hebrews, here it is at chapter eight, verse one. The main point in what has been said is this. We have such a high priest. The question then is, do you have such a high priest? Do you have Jesus Christ to be accepted before God? Tell me about your priest. Is it Christ or is it some other? God has provided him for you. Hebrews 3.1, therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus. As he would say later in chapter 12, fix your eyes on Jesus. He is the sole priest who has everything your soul needs. Hebrews 4.16, let us draw near. Hebrews 10, let us draw near in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean. Friend, the priesthood of Christ exists for the sole purpose to bring you to Christ, for the sole purpose to save you in Christ, to help you in Christ, and to keep you in Christ everlastingly. So in what I've presented to you tonight, I've not merely given you a possible way to engage Roman Catholics by saying, tell me about your priest. I also call any of you Catholic friends to consider Jesus Christ as God's only appointed priest. I've shown you what the differences here are. I've shown you what the truth is from scripture and how you need and how you may have Christ himself through faith. I only end with the words of a former Roman priest who came to understand these things and became a reformed preacher. This is what he says, the greatest comfort believers have is that they have Christ Jesus, their Lord and Master, in whom they are accepted as their intercessor. When you go tonight, what will you say about the priest? Is he your priest? Define this way. This is the priest that God has offered to you.