The Greatest Welcome Ever!
“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”(Hebrews 4:16 NASB)
Under the Old Testament, entering the presence of God was a very risky and fearful thing. When God gave The Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai, He established physical boundaries to prevent the people from coming too close to Him lest they die. Only the High Priest, once a year, had His permission to enter the Holy of Holies, but only after engaging in an elaborate rite of purification. Anyone else who came into the Holy of Holies perished!
Because of the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man, it was as though a huge warning sign had been erected in the Old Testament around God for all people to see, which said:
“Warning: This is a no sin zone. No sinners allowed. Unless you are perfect, you are not welcome here. Stand back.”
But all of this changed when Jesus died for the sins of the world and offered His blood to the Most Holy God for our sins. God accepted His sacrifice as full payment for every sin of every person for all time, once for all. The Bible declares, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”(Heb. 10:14)
Jesus’ sacrifice of His own body on the cross for the sins of the whole world accomplished what the blood of a million bulls and goats did not do. It satisfied God’s holiness and justice perfectly. It took sin out of the way completely. It obtained eternal redemption. It perfected sinners and made them as pure in the eyes of God as the blood that purified them!
Now, because of Jesus, God has taken the warning sign down! And replaced it with a new sign–a huge welcome sign erected around Him for all to see. It reads something like this:
“Welcome: This is a grace zone. All sinners allowed. If you have ever sinned, you are welcome here. Draw near!”
The blood of Jesus dealt so effectively with our sins that God no longer needs to separate Himself from us. So instead of warning us to keep our distance because of our sins, lest we die, He now commands us to draw near to Him, so that we may live. And whereas in the Old Testament, only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year, because of Jesus, God has chosen today to make His home in us!
Child of God, believer in Jesus, this is good news. If you are in Jesus, not even your sins can separate you from God because He has promised, “I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Nothing shall be able to separate you from God any more. (Heb. 8:12)
So, today, when you have a need, remember you are forever forgiven and forever welcome to draw near to God to find grace and obtain mercy. And remember, because of the effectiveness of the blood in taking away all our sins once for all, you will always meet a smiling Father saying , “Welcome, how may I help you?”
And that’s the greatest welcome ever!
A Moment of Grace 
Thank you very mush Bishop i believe that i am welcome to the Grace zone
Thank you Bishop! This turned out to be a great homiletic study for my ministry school class. Learned a lot about writing too. And I needed another shot in the arm to remind me how welcomed I am by God because of what Jesus did for us all. I just love the image of “always meeting a smiling Father saying, “Welcome, how may I help you?” – Khalea
Cutting and hopeful. Thanks.
Thank you Jesus for making us pure in the sight of God.
Bishop God bless you Sir. Wise words of encouragement indeed.
Precious H.N. Jackson.
Thank you Bishop for always presenting God’s words to us far beyond levels we may have understood it, you are my mentor and I certainly
thank God for you and your wife.
I agree, this is excellent! It’s amazing to know that God sees us through the blood of Jesus and we have free access to “draw near.” What a blessed assurance!
excellent!. can’t help but reblogged it.
– grace and peace
Reblogged this on the gospel of grace and commented:
excellent!