Importance of Confession to Our High Priest, Jesus Christ
The office of priest was an important one in the Old Testament, and is fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
Under Jewish Law, a priest mediated between the people and God. Aaron, the brother of Moses, and his descendants were appointed priests. The tribe of Levi served as assistants to the priests in the Tabernacle. (Numbers 3:5-10) God instructed Moses to ‘set apart’ the Levites and the priests as holy before Him.
Leviticus chapters twenty-one through twenty-two give the details as to the regulations pertaining to the priests of Israel.
God considered the priests as belonging to Him, per Numbers 3:12.
The High Priest was the chief leader, and performed certain duties, as well as overseeing the other priests.
The High Priest had to be ‘whole’, physically, without any defects, as well as holy in his conduct, per Leviticus 21:6-8.
Only the High Priest could wear the Urim and Thummin used to determine truth or falsehood. The Urim and Thummin were engraved disc-like stones. God spoke to Moses face-to-face, and as a friend; but God spoke to Aaron and the High Priests via the Urim and Thummin.
This is like Jesus using His Words to give direction to our spirit-man today. We can hear the voice of our Shepherd; but we always need to confirm what we are hearing with the written Word of God. Does the voice match up with the character and teachings of Christ? Jesus told the Pharisees that they erred not knowing the Scriptures, nor the Power of God. (Matthew 22:29) People are still spreading false beliefs today because they do not spend time reading and studying the Bible to see what Jesus really taught, nor do they spend time alone in prayer and meditation to learn what His powerful Spirit feels like in their human spirits.
The High Priest had to offer a sin offering for the congregation and for himself. (Leviticus 4:3-21)
The most important duty of the High Priest was to offer the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement. Only he was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle and stand before the Presence of God at that Ark of the Covenant. (Leviticus 16:14-15) He did this to make atonement for himself and the nation of Israel for the sins committed during the past year. (Exodus 30:10)
Some churches today call their pastors priests; and the Catholics practice confession of sins of the church members to their priest. This is good in the fact that people realize that they have sinned, and are confessing those sins. Unconfessed sin cannot be forgiven. Only confessed sin can be forgiven.
However, the Book of Hebrews definitely teaches us that Christ is now our High Priest. We are to confess our sins before Him; as He stands between us and our Heavenly Father as our mediator.
I Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”
Hebrews 7:25-28, “He is able to save completely all who come to God through him. Since he will live forever, he will always be there to remind God that he has paid for their sins with his blood. He is, therefore, exactly the kind of High Priest we need; for he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin, undefiled by sinners, and to him has been given the place of honor in heaven. He never needs the daily blood of animal sacrifices, as other priests did, to cover over first their own sins and then the sins of the people; for he finished all sacrifices, once and for all, when he sacrificed himself on the cross. Under the old system, even the high priests were weak and sinful men who could not keep from doing wrong, but later God appointed by his oath his Son who is perfect forever.”
Hebrews 9:23-28, “ Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
He is our Covering!
I John 2:1-2, “My little children, these things I write unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is our propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
Listen to your Conscience!
I John 3:20, “For if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.”
Confess those sins!
I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.”
Jesus prayed for Peter and Peter was restored!
Luke 22:32, “But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.”
Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail completely, and it didn’t. Peter denied the Lord three times and Jesus, after His resurrection, asked Peter to confess His faith in Him three times. Peter then went on to see thousands saved into the Kingdom of God, and at the end of his life he died upside down on a cross for His Lord. His faith failed not!
Jesus prayed for you and all we witness to and His prayers are always answered!
John 17:1-26 is a prayer that Jesus prayed to His Father for all those who believe in Him, and for all those who will believe in Him through the testimony of His followers. (Verse 20)
Notice verse 15 where He prays not that we be taken out of the world, but that the Father would keep us from the evil that is in the world. And verse 17 where He asks His Father to set us apart through His Word and that His Word is Truth. Then verse 19 where Jesus says He sets Himself apart for the sake of the sanctification of His followers. In verse 25 He prays that we as believers in Him may be where He is and behold His Glory before the foundation of the world.
There is so much in this prayer that should encourage us to have peace in our hearts that our Shepherd is going to make sure that we make it to heaven, as His prayers are always answered by His Father. (See also Romans 8:34) He sets Himself apart for praying for others as our example to do the same.
Confession of sins allows Christ to cover us with His Light!
The Scriptures teach, and Jesus confirms, that sin has to be confessed before it can be forgiven. Only Christ is our High Priest and only He can forgive our sins and cover them with His Blood. His Atonement makes us at-one with Him as He covers us with His Righteousness. The Father does not see our sins, but sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ as His Blood covers those sins, and His Glorious Light covers our spirit-man in holiness before Him.
His sacrifice is once for all, but He ever lives before the Father making intercession for us, and His prayers are always answered! He is the author of our faith, and He is the finisher of our faith. Only He can say when we can no longer have faith in Him.
Peter says we are all royal priests and need to make intercession for others!
I Peter 2:9,“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
We are not all priests in the same calling as Pastors, Teachers, Evangelists, Prophets, and Apostles, nor in the sense of Christ. No man can take this honor to himself, but has to be called by God with a special anointing. (Hebrews 5:4) But we all are the new Levitical Priesthood, and need to sanctify ourselves before Him, and make intercession for others, as His Holy Spirit leads our hearts in prayer.
Our sacrifices are sacrifices of Praise and Thanksgiving!
Hebrews 13:15, “Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.”
Psalms 50:23, “But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”
There are sins that can lead to eternal death!
I John 5:16, “If you see a Christian brother or sister sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it.”
John says we as priests should ask for eternal life for brothers and sisters in the Lord who we see sinning against God. John also says there is a sin that leads to eternal death and that there is no use in praying for those who commit it.
God can give people up to a reprobate mind!
Romans 1:28, “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.”
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven!
Matthew 12:31, “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven–except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.”
Jesus said only the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would not be forgiven men. Jesus said this when they said He was casting demons out by the power of the devil. Speaking evil of Christ and His Holy Spirit is dangerous ground for anyone to be on, and today, we are seeing an increase of vocal attacks on anything that is Holy with God.
A Point of No Return!
Romans says there is a point where God says to the sinner, “I have tried to convict you as to what is right before me over and over. Yet, you have chosen to follow your own will and refused to follow mine. Go ahead and have your way for eternity!” God will not violate our free will to choose who we will follow. People will send themselves to hell because they refused to submit their wills to the will of their Father.