Dear church,

God established boundaries for his people. They were not to go up on the mountain. In their sin, if they were to come into the presence of God, they would perish. To disobey the command of God meant death.

It still does. 

When a person dies and comes before God on the Last Day, that person will be judged by God. Those who are still in their sins will perish. It is very simple (Revelation 20:12). 

The only way to be judged favorably by God is to accept Jesus Christ and his atoning death on the cross. We let him bear the punishment for our sins. We won’t perish then. We will have eternal life (John 3:16).

Jesus is our high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16). In a way, he is the ultimate Moses, going into God’s presence on our behalf, standing there in our place. 

And the people of God, strangely enough, become priests themselves – “a kingdom of priests” is how God describes us. (See also Isaiah 61:6; 1 Peter 2:9; and Revelation 1:6.) This is only possible because of Jesus. When he wipes away our sin, he makes a way for us to come into God’s presence. In actuality, God’s presence comes to us in the form of the Holy Spirit. 

Just like a priest of old, we can come before God and hear from him. 

I hope you recognize how precious this gift is. Every Christian has complete access to God. Pastors are important, no question, but believers ought not to forsake their own calling as “priests.” You have access to God. He will speak directly to you.

Now, this doesn’t mean we don’t still rely on Scripture. We cannot put the Bible down. Our sinful nature still is being chiseled away. It is possible for us to mis-interpret the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Not all spirits are the Spirit. Not all angels are good ones (2 Corinthians 11:14).

And so we learn about the Holy Spirit from Scripture. We learn about God and his ways. We discern his character. And, over time, we come to understand the way in which God communicates to us through the Spirit.  

And as priests, we ought to be listening. Never stop listening.

Chris