The Throne But Not The Table?

A brief thought this morning on thrones, tables and accessibility. Not "Winter Is Coming" kind of thrones but the throne of our Lord and our God.

I was listening to music, something I rarely do, and during my most favoritest hymn, And Can It Be?, I heard these words:

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Charles Wesley didn't just make that concept up from thin air. His hymns by and large are not cheesy religious love songs but drawn from deep in the well of Scripture. It is an article of faith for Christians that we have access to God without intercessor. We are told that Jesus Himself is our great High Priest and therefore we need no man to stand between us to mediate, not priest nor pastor nor especially a long dead "saint". We find wonderful truth in the fourth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews.

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Amen and amen!

Oddly there are many who hold to this wonderful truth and still declare that while a Christian can come before the throne of the Lord God Almighty in prayer and supplication without intercessor, that same Christian cannot be trusted to come to the table of the Lord without the permission of man.

Why would something that should unite the church be used as a tool to divide the church? How arrogant of men to stand before a table that they have no right to but are invited to by Christ nevertheless and declare it off limits to a fellow brand plucked from  the fire?

Christian never let someone tell you that you are unworthy to come to the Table based on the preferences of man. You are invited to come before the throne and sup at the Table equally and no man has been granted the right to edit the guest list.