THE

"Brightly beams our Father's mercy

From the lighthouse evermore;

But to us He gives the keeping

Of the light along the shore."

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY PRIEST!

I want to tell you about my priest.  What is a “priest”?  A “priest” is a person who works on behalf of men to obtain God’s grace for them.  A “priest” is a person through whom men draw near to God to worship.  There are those who serve in the role of priest in both Catholic and Protestant churches, even though many of them do not wear “priest” as their title.  The common word use to describe them is “clergy”.  But, let me tell you why that, when I need forgiveness or when I want to worship, I do not call on any of these men or women, but I call on my priest, Jesus Christ.

            God once set up a system where men drew near to God through other men who served as priests- the Israelites drew near to God through the sons of Aaron under the Law of Moses.  The book of Hebrews explains the weaknesses of this system and how that the superior priesthood of Jesus Christ replaced it.  Once you read and understand the following points from the book of Hebrews, you will never want to draw near to God through men and women of the “clergy” again!

            My priest, Jesus, was appointed to be priest by an oath of God (7:20-21).  God did not swear that the sons of Aaron would be priest, but they were appointed by the Law of Moses (7:28).  Today’s clergy are not appointed either by God’s oath or by God’s law!  The Law of Christ does not set up a priestly class of men like the Law of Moses.  Yet by human authority, many “Christians” are appointed to a priestly role and then pass it on to others by ordination.

            The character of my priest, Jesus, is holy (7:26).   The character of the priests under the

YOU CAN DRAW NEAR TO GOD THROUGH JESUS

If you were an Israelite under the Law of Moses, your access to God was very limited.  If you were not a priest, then you could never seek God’s grace and mercy yourself.  A priest had to seek God’s grace and mercy for you by presenting a sacrifice for you.  And, in doing so, he would present your worship to God for you, as you were not allowed to enter the temple and present it yourself.  If you were a priest, but not the high priest, you could enter into the holy place to serve God daily, but you could never go into the most holy place beyond the veil.  And, even if you were the high priest, you could only go once a year into the most holy place, which symbolized heaven and the presence of God (Heb 9:7).

  But, when Jesus died, God tore the veil of the temple from top to bottom (Mt 27:51), signi-fying that all men could draw near to God all the time and without the aid of a human priest.  In effect, all men were given the opportunity to become priests.  All men were given the ability to access God- to seek mercy and to offer worship, through the great high priest, Jesus Christ.  Listen, as the writer to the Hebrews encourages all Christians to draw near to God through Jesus:

“Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (4:16)

“Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He al-