The Priesthood of All Believers, Martin Luther, and the Church's Authority (Repost)

In this episode, Johnathan Arnold and David Fry discuss the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers and its practical implications for the life of the church, especially keeping and restoring one another from sin.

Quotes from Fry:

• Our authority as pastors is a derived authority. We are acting on behalf of Christ and his church.
• In our leadership-focused, hierarchical society, when you talk about rulership or dominion, immediately images of domination come to mind, instead of servant-leadership or service.
• Taking someone away from the local church and having a baptism is problematic. This is something that is to be taking place within the local body.

Quotes from Arnold:

• Christians are united with Christ and so share in his anointing as priests to God.
• When it comes to something as basic as dealing with sin in our lives, the priesthood of all believers does not mean that I just go to my prayer closet and sort out all of my sin issues with Jesus. I also need to go to others in the congregation and we need to serve one another as priests. I need to say, "I'm not okay, I need help, will you pray with me?"
• It's not about "every one of us is a priest," it's about "we are all priests to one another."