What does it say here in Malachi 2 verse 13?
So let's see if this is biblical.
Let's go back to the Old Testament and we'll look at the altar and does God want people
to come down to the altar and just get right with God and weep and cry and say, I'm so
sorry God forgive me, let me get right with you?
Notice Malachi 2 verse 13.
And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping
and with crying out in so much that he regardeth not the offering anymore or received it with
good will at your hand.
You know what God says?
Because you keep coming down to the altar, I'm not going to forgive you.
He says, quit coming down to the altar and crying.
This have ye done again every week, every week, the same people coming down.
I'm not accepting it.
Do not come down to the altar to get right with God.
That's what he says.
If I preach a sermon and you feel guilty and you feel like you need to make a change in
your life, praise the Lord, you get right with God in your seat or at your home.
Don't come down here.
Why?
He says, this have ye done again.
This is a pattern for some people.
Covering the altar of the Lord with tears.
This is someone getting down and saying, I'm so sorry I committed adultery last week.
I'm so sorry.
With weeping and with crying out.
What God is saying is this, look, just get right with me.
Quit just living your lives based on emotion.
And this is the problem with a lot of people.
They live their lives based on emotion.
And that is all the altar call is.
They're happy one day.
They're upset one day.
They're happy one day.
They're upset one day.
And he says, you want to just get right with me instead of just going on these big emotional
things where you're doing wicked sins.
Then you feel bad.
It's like, all right, King Saul, quit it, King Saul.
And it's like, don't come down to the altar to get right with me.
He's tired of you because that's not the purpose of the altar.
The purpose of the altar was to slay an animal.
You're not coming down to just basically weep and cry at the altar.