The Altar
Please stand with me as we go over our current memory Scripture:
Psalm 1:1-2
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His Law he meditates day and night.”
And our memory Scripture “refresher” verse is:
Philippians 4:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Today we will be reading from Hebrews 7:11-28
Both of my grandparents on my father’s side emigrated from the Ukraine. Consequently, most of my extended family was raised in the Russian Orthodox religion.
One time, when I was about 13 or 14 years old my maternal Grandmother died and the funeral was held in the Russian Orthodox Church. Even though I was raised in the Church of The Nazarene I was elected to be one of the altar boys for the funeral service.
One of my cousins, Mike, who attended the church and who was an actual altar boy told me about an area where only a priest was allowed to go. The area was between the altar and the “holy place”.
One time, as an altar boy, Mike had accidentally walked into that area and was told by the priest that he was not certain if such a sin could ever be forgiven but the priest said he would pray for Mike.
Anyway, Mike warned me so I was sure not to go there.
So, what does that little story have to do with anything?
Last week Pastor Karenlee said that we should talk sometime about the altars, or altar rails, we have on the front of the platform in the church, why they are here and why we should use them more.
And, all of that got me to thinking about why we do not have actual altars in the purest sense in The Church of The Nazarene and why they DO have altars in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Catholic churches.
Well, what do we see when we look for the word “altar” in the Bible.
The word altar is found 384 times in the Bible. It is found 361 times in the Old Testament and it is almost always associated with a sacrifice that is being made to Yahweh the Lord God of Israel or to a false god. The few times it is not being associated with a sacrifice it is being used as a refuge by someone who is trying to keep from being killed.
However, in the New Testament the altar is mentioned in conjunction with the activities of the Temple in Jerusalem or in reference to an Old Testament account or in reference to an altar in Heaven in the Book of Revelation.
Not once in the entire New Testament is an altar found in any worship setting where we see the followers of Jesus gathering.
Nor is there any instruction on how we would use an alter if we had one. Don’t you wonder why that is?
First of all, altars are made for sacrifices and sacrifices are made by priests and there has been a change in the priesthood!
Let’s see what Hebrews 7:11-28 has to say about that …
(Prayer for help)
OK. So, let’s unpack that a little.
In the Old Testament we see two orders of Priests.
The first order we see is the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 7:1-3 describes Him this way …
“This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave Him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means ‘king of righteousness’; then also, ‘king of Salem’ means ‘king of peace.’ Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, He remains a priest forever.”
So there we have Melchizedek, a single, solitary priest in an order of priests all by Himself.
The second order of priests came from all men who were direct descendents from the line of Aaron from the tribe of Levi.
We seen them all the way through the Old Testament and on into the New Testament as long as the Temple in Jerusalem existed.
However, in the New Testament there is no office of the priesthood listed in the church. In Ephesians 4:11-12 we see that, “Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”
We also see the offices of deacons and overseers in the writings of Paul but we never see the office of the priesthood.
So, are there no priests anymore? Yes, there is One!
And, the answer is found in Hebrews 7:21-24, 27
“[Jesus] became a priest with an oath when God said to Him:
‘(Yahweh) The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: You are a priest forever.’
“Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests (from the line of Aaron), since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood.”
“Unlike the other high priests (in the line of Aaron), He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself.”
So, we see, since the time of Christ there has only been one Priest and that is Jesus who was also the Sacrifice for our sins.
So, why do the Roman Catholics and Orthodox Catholics still have priests and altars in their churches and we do not?
I cannot give you an answer for these questions from Scripture but I do know from their own writings that the Roman Catholic church believes that Jesus is literally re-sacrificed to the Father in each and every mass and a sacrifice requires an altar.
In one quote by a RC priest named Peter Carota, he was answering a question as to why the altars in the RC church cost so much when he said, “All one has to do to see what someone values, is to see how much money or time they dedicate to it. So the catholic church spent so much on altars because of Who was being sacrificed to the Father on that Altar.”
And Who is the Who Who is supposedly being sacrificed to the God the Father in each mass? Jesus, that’s Who.
Is Jesus really ever to be re-sacrificed? What does the Bible say?
In Hebrews 7:27 it says that Jesus was, “SACRIFICED FOR (the people’s) SIN ONCE FOR ALL when He offered Himself.”
Hebrews 10:10 says that, “we have been made holy through THE SACRIFICE OF THE BODY OF JESUS CHRIST ONCE FOR ALL.”
1 Peter 3:18 says, “CHRIST DIED FOR SINS ONCE FOR ALL, the Righteous for the unrighteous, to bring [us] to God”
In John 19:30 it is recorded that Jesus said, “IT IS FINISHED” just before He “bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”
The sacrifice needed to pay the penalty for my sin and for your sin was completely paid in full by the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Paid in Full. Once and for all! Praise the name of Jesus forever!
A. W. Tozer said, “If your Christ must die every Sunday (or Saturday), then you must conclude that His sacrifice was effective for only a week. But if Jesus Christ performed one efficacious act, alone, by Himself, then that act is good for all time and eternity. Admittedly, there is a vital difference between these two viewpoints.”
OK. Please let me ask you a defining question; a question that will truly make you think about whether it is even remotely possible that Jesus could be sacrificed in each and every mass all around the world every day.
Here is the question.
WHO IS WORTHY TO ONCE AGAIN SLAY THE SON OF GOD???
You may say, “That’s not what they mean.” What else could it mean? No living sacrifice ever survives a true sacrifice.
So, then, WHO IS WORTHY TO SLAY THE SON OF GOD?
Is a priest? A Bishop? A Cardinal? The Pope?
Is a pastor? A district superintendent? A general superintendent? No. No. No. No. No. No. No. NO!
Only Jesus Christ the High Priest was worthy to slay Jesus Christ the Perfect Lamb of God on the cross of Calvary and He did that ONCE and FOR ALL! Praise His Name Forever and Ever!
Now, I want you to know that I am not bashing the catholic church nor am I taking Scriptures out of context in order to prove my own personal thoughts.
My desire is to declare to you the Holy Word of God and that you would take what I have said and that you would personally search through the Bible, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal whether I have spoken the truth to you or not.
Those in the catholic church will tell you that they get their information from the “church fathers.” I do as well. But the church fathers I follow are first and foremost, Jesus Christ and then Matthew, Mark, John, Paul, Peter and Luke, the investigator of eye witnesses.
OK? OK. So, let’s change gears now.
We don’t have an altar of sacrifice in The Church of The Nazarene.
What DO we have? Well, we have a communion table.
The communion table is where we place the elements to remember Jesus’ broken body and shed blood. Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Luke 22:19
And, so, that is what we do. We remember His sacrifice and give Him thanks. We do not re-sacrifice Him.
That’s the communion table, but, what about these things we call altars or altar rails? What are they for? Are they just decorations?
Are they some sort of barrier?
They are a place of prayer and they are open all the time.
They are open before the service starts.
They are open during worship.
They are open during times of prayer during the service.
They are open at the end of the service.
What are they open for?
They are open for prayers of thanksgiving.
They are open for prayers of praise.
They are open for prayers of repentance.
They are open for prayers of intercession for others.
They are open for prayers of anything you want to talk to the Lord about.
Is there anything special about praying at the altar?
Can the Lord hear you better when you are praying at the altar? No.
I remember when I was about eight years old being in a Junior Church service. My Grandma Char was leading the service.
I remember singing “The Old Rugged Cross”. I remember Grandma Char preaching a short sermon. I remember her giving an invitation to come to the altar to pray for salvation. I remember going forward and giving my heart to Jesus. I didn’t understand much but it was a start along the path of following Jesus.
The altar did not save me, Jesus did.
I have a sister in law who never remembers a moment when she gave her heart to Jesus but her heart is fully given to Jesus.
I have heard the testimony of those who gave committed their lives to Jesus right in their seat during the middle of a service, so, it’s not the altar itself. But that does not take away from the value of having an altar of prayer.
We, ourselves, can sacrifice at an altar of prayer.
The unsaved person can come to the altar of prayer, confess their sins to Jesus, ask for forgiveness and receive salvation at the altar of prayer.
The saved person can come to the altar of prayer and ask for direction from the Holy Spirit when a decision needs to be made whether it is a life changing decision or a small decision. When we do that we are sacrificing our will to His will.
You can come to the altar of prayer for something just as simple as wanting to bow in humility and reverence before the Father. We can sacrifice our self pride for His exaltation.
The altar of prayer is a beautiful place of connection with the Lord.
As the pastors of Crossroads, Karenlee and I will do our best to be more mindful of making the altar of prayer more available to all who wish to kneel before the Lord out Maker.
And, while the altar of prayer is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, the position of kneeling in humility before the Lord definitely is. Let’s be more mindful of that in the future.
Final thoughts …
Benediction and dismissal …
