I can scarce imagine that any man in this world who takes to himself the title of a priest, except he take it in the sense in which all God’s people are priests—I cannot imagine that a priest can enter heaven. I would not say a thing too stern or too severe, but I do most thoroughly believe that an assumption of the office of priest is so base a usurpation of the priestly office of Christ, that I could as well conceive of a man being saved who called himself God, as conceive of a man being saved who called himself a priest. If he really means what he says, he has so trenched upon the priestly prerogative of Christ, that it seems to me he has touched the very crown jewels, and is guilty of a blasphemy, which, unless it be repented of, shall surely bring damnation on his head.

Shake your garments, you ministers of Christ, from all priestly assumption, come out from among them, touch not the unclean thing. There are no priests now specially to minister among men. Jesus Christ and He only is the priest of His Church, and He has made all of us priests and kings unto our God, and we shall reign forever and ever.

If I should have any person here so weak as to depend for his salvation upon the offerings of another man, I conjure him to forego his deception. I care not who your priest may be. He may belong to the Anglican or to the Romish church. Ay, and to any church under heaven. If he claims to be anything of a priest more than you can claim yourself—away with him—he imposes upon you.

He speaks to you that which God abhors, and that which the church of Christ should abhor and would detest, were she truly alive to her Master’s glory. None but Jesus, none but Jesus, all other priests and offerings we disdain. Cast dirt upon their garments, they are not and they cannot be priests, they usurp the special dignity of Jesus.

The High Priest Standing Between the Dead and the Living by C. H. Spurgeon