It is written:
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1 Peter 2:9)
The Bible teaches that Christians are priests. We are not priests according to the Old Testament system, nor are we priests according to the order of Melchizedek.
Before the time of Moses, there was a priest named Melchizedek. He is first mentioned when Abraham was rescuing his nephew Lot:
Genesis 14:18-20-Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
He was the priest and king of Salem (Jerusalem). We are told that he would be a type (or foreshadowing) of Jesus. Speaking of the coming Messiah, the Psalmist wrote:
Psalm 110:4-The LORD has sworn And will not relent, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
Jesus was High Priest like Melchizedek.
The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints claims that its missionaries are priests after the order of Melchizedek, and that they are therefore the only ones capable of baptizing a person.
Is this true?
No, it isn’t.
First, the Bible nowhere gives any kind of qualification for the person who baptizes another. The power is not in the baptizer: it is in the Word of God working through the heart of the one who desires salvation.
We are told told:
Colossians 2:12-buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
The remission of sins conveyed through baptism by the blood of Christ has nothing to do with the efficacy of the one doing the baptizing; rather the lower is in the life-giving Word of God.
Second, the New Testament makes it clear that the priesthood of Jesus after the order of Melchizedek is untransferable to anyone else.
In other words, Jesus is the last priest Who is “after the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 7:24-But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
Look at that word “unchangeable.”
“Hebrews 7: 24 tells us that Christ’s priesthood is “unchangeable.” This is an important word. New Testament scholar Edgar J. Goodspeed translates the verse as saying that Christ’s priesthood is “untransferable.” 36 The Greek word, aparabatos, indicates finality. Joseph Thayer’s widely respected Greek Lexicon defines it this way: “Priesthood unchangeable and therefore not liable to pass to a successor.” 37 The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by Gerhard Kittel, tells us, “In the New Testament Hebrews 7: 24 says that Christ has an eternal and imperishable priesthood, not just in the sense that it cannot be transferred to anyone else, but in the sense of ‘unchangeable.’” 38 The Complete Word Study Dictionary likewise says this Greek word means that “Christ’s priesthood cannot be transferred to another; it is final.” 39 Don’t allow the Mormon to escape the importance of Hebrews 7: 24. It clearly teaches us that Christ’s priesthood is “unchangeable” in the sense that it is “without successors,” “intransmissible,” and “untransferable.”*. (Rom Rhodes & Marian Bodine, Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Mormons, 3290-3296 (Kindle Edition); Eugene, Oregon; Harvest House Publishers)
If you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, will repent of your sins, and are willing to confess your faith in Him (Acts 8:37), you are a ready candidate for baptism.
Are you ready to be baptized into Christ today?
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
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