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"Priesthood" of the church?

Discussion in '2004 Archive' started by ktn4eg, Dec 15, 2004.

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  1. ktn4eg

    ktn4eg New Member

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    Is anyone out there familiar with the teaching(s) of what's been called by some as the "Priesthood" of the church?

    As best I can tell, this idea seems to state that unless one has heard the Gospel preached by a "true" NT Baptist church, one hasn't really "heard" the Gospel and, therefore, hasn't truly been saved.

    I asked someone who believed this about people such as C. H. Spurgeon, an author he often cited.

    Spurgeon came to Christ in a Methodist church, but he turned out to be a famous Baptist preacher.

    His reply was something on the order of, "Well, he might have been 'regenerated' at the time he heard the Word in a Methodist church, but, just as there is a gestation period in the physical sense before one is born, Spurgeon wasn't really 'born again' until he heard that message preached by a 'true' Baptist church!"

    I have a hard time believing that line of reasoning.

    This fellow went on to explain that since Christ founded His church during His earthly ministry (the first members being the 12 Apostles), and since the "Great Commission" was only given to the Apostles [i.e., His church], only they and their scriptural successors have the God-given authority to preach the Gospel. Hence, those who may hear the Gospel from an "unauthorized" source haven't truly heard it, thus they cannot be saved under those "unauthorized" circumstances.

    As a corollary to this, since Christ only commissioned His church to baptize converts, some of these "Priesthood" advocates would also state that the authority to baptize resides solely in those "authorized" Baptist churches, and anyone who may be immersed after a profession of faith in Christ by the authority of an "unauthorized" Baptist church is still not scripturally baptized; hence that person is not a member of the Bride of Christ.

    To me this concept seems to be quite a stretch.

    What do you folks think?
     
    #1 ktn4eg, Dec 15, 2004
  2. semstudent

    semstudent New Member

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    Well, what true Baptist church did Paul belong to?
     
    #2 semstudent, Dec 15, 2004
  3. Debby in Philly

    Debby in Philly Active Member

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    Actually, didn't Paul say that he never baptized anyone?
     
    #3 Debby in Philly, Dec 15, 2004
  4. rsr

    rsr <b> 7,000 posts club</b>
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    #4 rsr, Dec 15, 2004
  5. gb93433

    gb93433 Active Member
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    If I rememeber right Spurgeon went to a Methodist church because of adverse weather that day and the closest church was a Methodist Church.
     
    #5 gb93433, Dec 15, 2004
  6. Ellis Murphree

    Ellis Murphree New Member

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    This is an extreme form of the Baptist Bride heresy. It's an extremely ignorant stance.
     
    #6 Ellis Murphree, Dec 15, 2004
  7. pastorjeff

    pastorjeff New Member

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    Philippians 1:18- Paul sais that no matter what the motive of the messanger, he would rejoice at the preaching of Christ because it was the message that counted. To put that much emphasis on the messanger is to detract from the Word. There is no scripture that supports the idea stated in the OP.
     
    #7 pastorjeff, Dec 15, 2004
  8. StraightAndNarrow

    StraightAndNarrow Active Member

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    Actually, this doctrine is called "Priesthood of the Believer" and it states that Baptists believe that they can go directly to God without an intercessor (e.g. a priest) and have the right and responsibility of determing their own beliefs through Bible study, prayer, church attendence, etc.
     
    #8 StraightAndNarrow, Dec 15, 2004
  9. rsr

    rsr <b> 7,000 posts club</b>
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    The belief expounded in the OP is not about the "priesthood of the believer," which is a Baptist distinctive. If "priesthood of the believer" is the doctrine the fellow was trying to explain, he got it all wrong, as S&N explained.
     
    #9 rsr, Dec 16, 2004
  10. Ellis Murphree

    Ellis Murphree New Member

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    That is what the doctirine of the "Priesthood of the Believer" teaches. It's not exclusive to the Baptist religion either, BTW.

    What the original post was speaking of, however, was most certainly not this very Biblical doctrine. It is speaking of the Baptist brider foolishness.
     
    #10 Ellis Murphree, Dec 16, 2004
  11. ktn4eg

    ktn4eg New Member

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    Perhaps I should have stated in my OP that my question(s) had nothing to do with the doctrine of the Priesthood of the individual BELIEVER. I don't have any problems with that (or at least the way I understand what that doctrine teaches).

    My question(s) were strictly about what I've heard folks refer to as the teachings of the Priesthood of the CHURCH (i.e., the kind of church which Jesus founded being the only authorized institution to evangelize the lost and hence only if the Gospel is heard from and authorized church can those who respond to it truly have the opportunity to repent and receive Christ as Savior).
     
    #11 ktn4eg, Dec 16, 2004
  12. StraightAndNarrow

    StraightAndNarrow Active Member

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    Priesthood of the Church sounds much like the Catholic doctrine that all communicants must adhere to the direction of the priest, who represents the church, that is the Roman Catholic structure headed by the pope. To me, it seems to be diametrically opposite to the Baptist belief in Priesthood of the Believer. Just my perspective.
     
    #12 StraightAndNarrow, Dec 16, 2004
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