“Approaching the Throne” is a sermon I preached at Preakness Valley United Reformed Church in Wayne, NJ, on July 31, 2011. The text is Hebrews 10:19-31.

Here is the MP3 audio (30:29, 28.6MB), and an excerpt:

We avoid people when we know we’ve done something to offend or hurt them.  Just being around them reminds us of how much they dislike us and how guilty we feel.

In these verses, we are told to feel exactly the opposite way when it comes to approaching God.  Let’s not miss the extremely shocking aspect of this image: no one could be more holy, more pure, more clean, more powerful, more wonderful or more worthy of respect and honor, than God himself, the Creator of the universe!  No one could be less worthy of approaching God than sinners—sinners like me, and you, and everyone else—created beings who have rebelled against our Creator.  And yet, we are told that we must enter God’s presence with confidence and full assurance—because of Jesus.  We enter “by the blood of Jesus,” “sprinkled on our hearts,” “through his body,” “washed clean with pure water.”  The perfect, ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, God’s only Son, has made a way for us to see God—and for God to see us, his people.

Audio and text: ©2011 by Benjamin D. Giffone. Reproduction and distribution are permitted, providing that the author is properly credited and that no fee is charged.