“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place?” Ps 24:3

God invites everyone to come before Him, but not everyone is accepted. When Jesus told the parable of the wedding feast (), one of the guest was confronted for coming without the proper wedding attire. It was evil for the man to do so, it was presumptuous, or ignorant, and arrogant, but it was wrong and he was tossed out of the feast.

“Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Mt 22:13

The Psalm says who may come into the LORDs presence. It is the person who “has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.” Ps 24:4

Like Jesus says, the invitation is given to all. And all may come. But no one should think God will be approached people who do not fear Him.

Why fear? “Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.” Ps 36:1.

A person who does not fear God is a person out of his mind. God is to be feared. To know God is to know the dread of falling into His hands. God is “greatly to be feared” because He is the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell, said Jesus, Mt 10:28.

James writes, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Jas 4:8.

So back to the point. Everyone is sent the invite to come before the LORD. He does love the world enough to have His only begotten Son to die for every sinner. But only those who revere God will be found acceptable. A person who disrespects Jesus does not respect the Heavenly Father. Only when you and I fear, do we take care to clean our hands and hearts. Only with respect for God do we strive to be sincere. So if you would be accepted by God, cleanse your hands. Draw near to God through the cleansing power of Jesus Christ, then you may confidently come before the throne of God.

What does Acts 2:38 say?

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