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NASB | Exodus 17:15 Moses built an altar and named it The LORD is My Banner; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Exodus 17:15 And Moses built an altar and named it The LORD Is My Banner; |
Subject: Do altars belong in christian churches? |
Bible Note: Dear Jeff, You said "The altar at a church is a place where we can give to God that which we desire to be rid of." The altar is the place where sacrifices were made. Things that people cherished and couted as valuable were laid on the altar and set afire as an offering to God. "the altar is a symbol much like water baptism, of a place where we can offer up that which holds us down." Again Jeff, I must disagree. Tht which holds us down is our sins and John said that we should confess our sins to God in prayer, not by placing them on an altar expecting that God will accept them as a sacrifce. The sacrificial system was a shadow of what Christ would do when He became the Lamb of God. After He had offered Himself a "sacrifice for many", it (The sacricial system) was over. "I do not believe that believers go to an altar in a church to make a sacrifice to God. It is a place where we partake of the sacrifice God has given for us." The early christians did not set up altars. They understood that having recieved the benefit of the cross, that no other sacrifice remained. They saw themselves as being "in Christ", united with Him for eternity. John |