Priesthood of the Believer

In this teaching on Baptist distinctives, Don Arndt examines the priesthood of the believer—a doctrine that radically distinguishes Baptists from Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions. While Old Testament priests served as mediators offering sacrifices and maintaining ritual purity, Christ's death tore the temple veil, granting all believers direct access to God's throne of grace. Drawing extensively from 1 Peter 2:4-10, Hebrews 4:14-16, and 1 Timothy 2:5, Arndt demonstrates that Jesus is now our great High Priest, making daily sacrifices obsolete and eliminating the need for human mediators. Every believer is called to be part of a "royal priesthood," offering spiritual sacrifices of praise, service, and holy living. This means Christians have both the freedom and responsibility to read Scripture under the Holy Spirit's guidance, pray directly to the Father through Christ alone, and proclaim God's excellencies to the world. Unlike hierarchical systems where priests dispense grace and forgiveness, the New Covenant grants equal standing before God to all who trust in Christ—regardless of ethnicity, social status, or gender—making each Christian accountable to live as a priest in daily life, work, and witness.