Sermon Cloud

The Altar of Privilege

Hebrews 13:10

Grace Fellowship Church

April 5, 2009

Series 3 Sermon 76

 

¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

 

Introduction

The Bible begins with the creation of the world. Then all of the plants and animals are created and then mankind.  With one law for mankind to keep Adam and Eve trampled that law thus plunging mankind into utter sinful depravity.  The first altar was set up in the Garden of Eden and on the occasion of the first sacrifice some animals, probably sheep or goats, were sacrificed by the Lord to cover the nakedness that Adam and Eve’s sin exposed.  Over and over as you read through Scripture you find men setting up altars to sacrifice to the Lord.  Abel offered a sacrifice that was pleasing to the Lord from his flocks.  Job sacrificed for his own sin and for the sin of his children.   When Noah left the Ark he offered a sacrifice to the Lord who had brought him and his family safe through the flood.  

 

As we move through the Old Testament we find the patriarchs who built altars and sacrificed to the Lord.  The Lord would accept these offerings as temporary atonement for sin.  The lesson that these sacrifices would teach the people is that because of our own sin that an animal must die and blood must be offered to cover the sin so that a sinful person could approach God who is holy and righteous.  I want you this morning to recognize that God is not the grandfather in the sky who is in the business of overlooking sin or patting us on the head as if we have done our best but failed.  Because God is holy and righteous He requires those who would approach Him to be holy and righteous as well. 

 

Psalm 24:3 asks the question: ³ Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
And who may stand in His holy place?

Psalm 24:4 answers that question: ⁴ He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood
And has not sworn deceitfully.

  

The answer to that question is ultimately no person without having their sins covered.  As we move further into the Old Testament the Mosaic Covenant is given and the Lord institutes a very specific sacrificial system that is mediated by a high priest and regular priests as well.  There are daily sacrifices and sacrifices for specific sins.  There are sacrifices for newborn children and sacrifices for new crops.  Then there was the high and holy day called the Day of Atonement when the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant for the sins of the people.  As long as the temple in Jerusalem stood these sacrifices were offered.   Even in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ sacrifices were being offered on the altar at the Temple.  It wasn’t until 70 AD that the sacrifices stopped as the Roman army under the future emperor Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the glorious temple that was there. 

 

Altars and sacrifices were not uncommon in the ancient world.  Pagans offered sacrifices to their gods.  Brutal human sacrifices were offered on many pagan altars.  Children were offered and of course a host of animals.  Especially in the Roman world much meat was offered to idols on pagan altars of gods of certain vocations.  If you happened to be a pagan and you were a carpenter or any other profession you had a god or group of gods to which you offered sacrifices. 

 

But the Jews had a very privileged place in the world.  The one true God who created Heaven and earth and all that is in the earth had revealed Himself to them and gave them the Torah through Moses that told them exactly how to offer proper sacrifices to Him.  Moses, speaking the Word of God, told the people that they were not to offer to any other god besides the Lord God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt.  And the book of Genesis served to show that this same God had been operating in a select group of people throughout human history up to that point.  And now this God who had created the universe with the spoken word was speaking to them and telling them how He was to be worshipped.  The Lord did not reveal Himself to the Amorite, the Hittite, the Jebusite, or even the Egyptians. 

 

And so the Jews with their privileged position were able to offer proper sacrifices to the one true God.  And history bears out the faithful and the unfaithful Jews who either kept the commands of God or distorted them thus bringing destruction upon themselves. 

 

If you trace the godly line of people from Genesis up through the New Testament you are going to find that these people all had altars upon which to offer sacrifices to the Lord.  From Adam through the beginning of Christianity there were proper animal sacrifices for God’s people to make.  All of these sacrifices happened on altars that the Lord had both sanctified and authorized. 

 

As you know throughout the book or epistle to the Hebrews the Old Testament imagery of the Day of Atonement is vivid.  Christ is presented as the Great Prophet whom Moses foretold.  And then He is presented as the new Great High Priest who would do away with the Old Covenant priesthood that was passing away.  All of the sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed to the time when they would be ultimately fulfilled as the sins of the people of God would be laid on the Lord Jesus Christ as He Himself would be the full and final sacrifice for salvation.  This is the whole point of the New Testament. 

 

The Gospel account of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ and then in chapter 1:21 Matthew records this all important statement that is the lens through which the rest of Matthew is read. 

²¹ "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."

 

So from that moment on everything the Lord Jesus does is to save His people from their sins.  The Apostle John records for us the words of John the Baptist as the Lord Jesus comes to him for baptism and what John said would have ignited a fire in the mind and the heart of the pious Jew.  “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”  Here is a man who is the sacrifice for God.  Here is a man that by His sacrifice will atone for sins and not just the sins of the Jew but Gentiles as well.  The question would be asked about what kind of man can this be. 

 

And as you move through Matthew’s gospel account every action that the Lord Jesus takes is an orchestrated event that points back to chapter 1 verse 21 when the angel declared that He will save His people from their sins.  Every miracle, every parable all lead to the ultimate event at the end of the book, the crucifixion and the resurrection. 

 

With the imagery of the Day of Atonement sacrifice clearly seen in the crucifixion of the Lord we understand that it is His death that brings about salvation for His people.  Two men’s lives hang in the balance just like the two goats on the Day of Atonement.  One is sent out into the wilderness as a scapegoat and the other will be killed for the sins of the people.  Barabas is released precisely according to the plan and purpose of God because he was no fitting sacrifice. The Lord Jesus is taken and like a lamb slaughtered for the sins of the people. 

 

Look at Hebrews 13:10 again. 

¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

 

Here is the altar.  The altar is the cross upon which the Prince of glory died.  The sacrifice is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as He willingly lays down His life and sheds His precious blood for the sins of His people.  The One receiving the sacrifice and accepting that offering is God the Father who now is perfectly satisfied as the Lord Jesus has fully kept the Adamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, and by His death has inaugurated the New Covenant. 

 

Hebrews 9:11-15 gives us the summary of all these events. 

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our  conscience from dead works to serve the living God.  15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 

 

There are some Catholic apologists who will point to this verse as a proof text for their mass where Christ is sacrificed over and over as in their minds the wafer and the wine become literally the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus.  But let me submit to you this morning that the inspired writer of Hebrews 13:10 had no such idea in his mind.  The early church knew nothing of this heresy called transubstantiation because the once for all sacrifice of Christ is once and never again.  Paul tells us that in the Lord’s Supper we remember the Lord’s death not reenact it. 

 

In verse 10 the altar is the cross not a table at the front of a church building.  The sacrifice is Christ not an earthly representative.  The mercy seat where the blood would be sprinkled was in Heaven not on earth constructed by the vile and filthy hands of men.

 

There is no question that the people of God from Genesis through the end of the Old Testament had a very privileged place with an altar and the instructions to sacrifice to the One true God. 

 

Purpose

 But the purpose of the writer of Hebrews for giving us verse 10 is to indeed show us how privileged we are and how grace upon grace from God has rained down on us by the possession of this altar that he speaks of in verse 10. 

 

PNP

So this morning from verse 10, I want you to see three very important characteristics about this altar that show the privilege we have as the people of God.

 

1.  This altar has been given to us as a gift.

2.  This altar is an exclusive altar not an inclusive altar.

3.  This altar can only be eaten from one way.      

 

RPNP

So let’s look together this morning at these three very important characteristics about this altar that show the privilege we have as the people of God.

 

1.  This altar has been given to us as a gift.

Look at verse 10 with me again. 

¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

Notice the first two words of the verse.  “We have.”  What is it that we have?  We have an altar.  Who is the “we” in the text?  Particularly the writer includes himself and those to whom he is writing this letter.  Ultimately the “we” is to all believers of all time.  And the reason we have an altar is because the Lord Himself has given us this altar.  And since the altar is the cross and the sacrifice is the Lord Jesus Christ and the recipients of the atonement for that sacrifice are the people that Christ intended to save we have this as a gift to us.     

 

The writer of Hebrews has already told us about a few things that we have as a result of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Listen to Hebrews 4:14-16.

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

As New Covenant believers, privileged to be the people of God we have a great high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses who is sinless.  And therefore because of this great high priest we have access to the throne of grace for help in time of need.  Everyone does not have access to the throne of grace.  Only the people of God. 

 

Listen or look at Hebrews 6:13-20.

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

 

As New Covenant believers we have the sure word of the promises of God who cannot lie.  Therefore we have strong encouragement to hold fast our confession when the world around us is crumbling.  We have the promises of God and His unchangeable character as the bedrock and anchor for our soul that we now, through Christ, can go behind the curtain into the very throne room of God precisely because Christ has gone before us as our great high priest and has poured the blood of the New Covenant on the heavenly mercy seat. 

 

I really want you to get this.  We have full access to God.  We can come into His presence and live in the presence of God because we have this altar. 

 

Ill.

Matthew and I were watching the old movie, “The Three Musketeers.”  The men went in before the King of France and they had to bow their way in and bow their way out.  There was fear because the King of France could kill them if he so desired and there was none to stop him.  They also had to be invited into the throne room. 

 

But not us.  We have a perpetual invitation.  We come into the throne room of God because now through Christ we have access because He has made us His children and not His slaves.  What a thought.

 

Then in Hebrews 8:1-2 we see that our great high priest has finished His sacrificial work once for all and is now seated at the right hand of God so that we can be seated with Him in the heavenly places.  Listen as I read Hebrews 8:1-2.

1 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. 

 

You could be invited to the White House.  You could be invited to Buckingham Palace.  You could be invited to the palace of the wealthiest oil sheik in all the world whose roof shingles are gold but compared to the privilege of being seated in the heavenly places in Christ those places are shacks. 

 

And because of all this we have a little foretaste of glory divine called church.  Listen or look at Hebrews 10:19-25.

19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

 

All of these privileges of what we have in Christ is the reason we and the original readers of Hebrews can walk through the difficulties of this life and endure affliction and suffering and persecution precisely because we have a better possession and an abiding one.  Listen to Hebrews 10:34-36.

34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

 

And then the Lord does not leave us without example of how we are supposed to live in light of all this privilege.  Listen to Hebrews 12:1-2.

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Do you think Christian that at this point in your life you are not where you think you ought to be?  Do you think you should be further along in your career?  Do you think your bank account needs to be bigger?  Do you worry and fret because others have more than you or better things than you on this earth? 

 

Listen, all that you worry about and are envious of is on its way to being mere rust and dust.  It is nothing that a good strong wind or rising water or a failed economy can’t quickly take away from you.  These earthly things are not abiding things.  They are passing away.  They will not amount to a hill with no beans in eternity.  You will not even think about them other than maybe the regret for thinking about them so much on earth and thinking too little of the things of God. 

 

We have an altar.  We have great privilege because of this altar.  This altar has been given to us as a gift and if it was just an altar with just a sacrifice it would be more than we ever deserved.  But it is a cross on which the Lord Jesus Christ was sacrificed for our sins and now we are seated in the heavenly places in Christ never ever to be apart from God and living as an enemy of God again.  We are now sons and daughters of the most High God all because of this altar that has been given to us as a gift.  

 

Folks that would be enough wouldn’t it?  But there is more.  Second this morning I want you to see that:

 

2.  This altar is an exclusive altar not an inclusive altar.

Look at verse 10 again. 

¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

Notice who is not able to participate in this altar.  Look at verse 10 again.  Those who serve the tent have no right or authority or privilege to partake from this altar. 

 

One of the themes in the book of Hebrews has been this comparison between Old and New Covenants and what has been shown is that the New Covenant is vastly superior.  The Old Covenant had Moses as its prophet who was a man among men.  He was mightily used of God and worthy of our greatest respect.  But on his best day he was still a sinner in need of a Savior.  The great prophet of the New Covenant is the perfectly righteous Son of God Himself whom God has fully and finally spoken through. 

 

The Old Covenant had a high priest and Aaron the brother of Moses was the prototype.  You recall that it was Aaron who led the people in the worship of the golden calf.  And of course the writer of Hebrews points out the many, many high priests served the altar and died.  But in Christ we have a perpetual Great High Priest who is of the superior line of Melchizedek and who will never perish.  Those Old Covenant high priests served the altar and offered continual sacrifices that never cleansed the conscious of the worshipper.  But Christ has offered Himself once for all and His sacrifice is sufficient for the entire universe and all eternity.  By that sacrifice the Old Covenant is done away with.  The Old Covenant was a horse and wagon next to the Concord. 

 

And now in verse 10 the writer has shown that those who served the tabernacle or temple had no right or authority to partake of our altar. 

 

I want you to keep in mind that when a Jew converted to Christianity they were usually excluded from the Synagogues and of course while the Temple still stood they were excluded from going in.  They were treated now as pagans.  The truth is they had no reason to go into either place but there conversion was used as an excuse for abuse.

 

But the reality is that those who would exclude the Christians were excluded themselves from the only altar upon which the only Savior was sacrificed.  Even though Christ was preached to them they rejected the only sacrifice that saves.  

 

The Apostle Peter proclaimed the crucified Lord Jesus to those who served the Temple on the Day of Pentecost and other times as well.  When Peter through the power of Christ healed the man born lame he was dragged before the very same men who had previously had the Lord Jesus crucified.  Listen to Acts 4:5-12.

⁵ On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem; ⁶ and Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent. ⁷ When they had placed them in the center, they began to inquire, "By what power, or in what name, have you done this?" ⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people, ⁹ if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, ¹⁰ let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. ¹¹ "He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. ¹² "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."

 

When Paul got to Corinth he went first to the Jews to testify of Christ. Listen to Acts 18:1-6.

¹ After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. ² And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, ³ and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. ⁴ And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. ⁵ But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. ⁶ But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

 

So why does it seem that so many reject the Gospel and so few actually receive the Gospel?  The answer to that question is very simple yet very controversial in our day.  The reason is that all are not privileged to come to this altar.  From all of the tribes, tongues, and nations of the world the Lord Jesus has a people for which He died and whom He will save. 

 

I want you to listen closely to John 10:11-18 and notice the Lord Jesus’ repeated phrase “the sheep.”

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

 

Notice that it does not sound too awfully particular in that section of Scripture.  The Lord Jesus plainly says He has sheep.  He has other sheep not of the fold He is with right now.  But for the sheep that He speaks of He says He will lay down His life and take it up again.  He says in verse 18 that He has authority from God the Father to do so.  But after He speaks these words a ruckus breaks out among the Jews.  Listen to verse 19-24.

19 There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. 20 Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” 21 Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” 22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

 

Now the Lord Jesus gets very specific about whom He is laying His life down for.  Listen to verses 25-31.

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

 

In God’s economy there are sheep for whom Christ died and there are goats that have no part with the Great Shepherd.  This truth goes all the way back to the Old Testament sacrifices. When the high priest went into the Holy of Holies to sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat on the Day of Atonement he wore a breastplate with twelve stones on it.  That breastplate was representative of God’s covenant people and each stone represented one of the twelve tribes of Israel.  There was no stone for the Philistines or the Hittites or any other nation on earth. 

 

And likewise when the New Covenant Great High Priest went into the heavenly Holy of Holies to sprinkle His blood for sins He did so for a particular number of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.  And it is only these people who have the privilege of partaking of this altar.  That is why the writer of Hebrews can say with confidence what he says in verse 13.  Look at the verse again with me. 

¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

 

Folks, we have an altar that has been given to us as a gift and is this altar is an exclusive altar and not an inclusive altar.  This is why we can’t say with some so called evangelical heretics that all the religions of the world are ways to God and all the well meaning Buddhists and Muslims and others will all ultimately be saved.  This is why we stick so closely to the Word of God and preach the Gospel that is found in the pages of Scripture because we understand that this is the only Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation.  We shun man made and man centered ideas for church and evangelism because we understand that man is totally incapable of saving himself and without the drawing of the Father would never ever come to Christ for salvation. 

 

We know from experience and Scripture that the message of the crucified Lord Jesus is a stumbling block to the Jew and foolishness to the Gentile but to the called, to those with full access to the altar of God, the message of the cross is the most glorious, wonderful message we have ever heard because we understand by God’s wonderful sovereign grace that Christ was crucified on that cross for our sins and He has paid our sin debt and we now stand before God the Father justified. 

 

It is because of this wonderful truth that we can sing,

I need no other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.

 

And finally this morning I want you to see:   

 

3.  This altar can only be eaten from one way.     

Look at verse 13 again. 

¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

 

Those who served the tent or the tabernacle were a privileged group.  First they were Jews, God’s Old Covenant elect people.  But that birthright was not good enough to serve the tabernacle.  They had to be from the tribe of Levi in order to serve as a priest.  And then they had to meet other qualifications as well.  So it was only a select few out of the entire nation that could serve.  Plus there were only men that served the tabernacle.  So women were excluded from this service.  And these men had to keep the Law and know the Law.  But look again at verse 10. 

 ¹⁰ We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.

 

Their lineage would not get them to this altar.  Their knowledge of the Law would not get them to this altar.  Their righteousness would not get them to this altar.  Their service would not get them to this altar.  So how does one come to this altar? 

 

After all this is the only altar that has the sacrifice that actually saves.  Everything in the Old Testament pointed to this altar and everything else in the world is a counterfeit.  So what is the way? 

 

It is the biblical Gospel.  One can only partake of this altar by the grace of God, through faith in Christ Jesus and His finished work on this altar, the cross.  Your good works will not save you.  Your parents’ faith will not save you.  Your holiness and righteousness will only further condemn you in the face of the real righteousness of Christ.  Only Christ can save and we must come to Him on our faces in repentance not just for what we have done but also for who we are by nature.  We don’t repent just of sin we repent of being sinners.  And then we cast ourselves on Christ and plead for His mercy and cry out like the publican at the Temple, “God be merciful to me, the sinner!” 

 

You can’t buy your way in because the richest man on earth does not have that kind of money.  You can’t earn your way in because your sin has already condemned you.  You can only come to the cross of Christ for salvation as a broken, humble sinner who recognizes not your inherent goodness but recognizing your own sinful depravity and inability to save yourself.  And then you cast yourself upon Christ and say I am not worthy to be called your son, let me live as a slave. 

 

It is then and only then that we have access to the altar.  So many people think they are in the Kingdom and have access to the altar when in fact their pride and their haughtiness before God excludes them. 

 

Let me ask you this morning.  Have you been to God’s altar?  Have you seen the glory in the face of the crucified Lord Jesus Christ and cast yourself upon Him?  Have you come to the end of yourself and know that within you is nothing good and righteous and have you pleaded for salvation in Christ Jesus alone? 

 

All of us are spiraling headlong into eternity.  Will you spend it in hell or will you spend it with Christ? 

 

Let’s pray.