"THE ALTAR IS ALWAYS OPEN"-(Matt. 27:50-54)
*The veil is that thick wieve of cloth that divided God from the general public for over 4,500 years (or whenever man fell in the Garden of Eden).  When Christ died, the rending (or tearing away) of this curtain was God's way of saying to the world, "the altar is always open"!  For over 1000 years, there were religions that kept the written bible out of the hands of common people....an altar was not allowed to be approahed without first a confession to a preist in a booth.....but Jesus said your altar can be as simple as your CLOSET!  (You may APPROACH!)   (Hebrews 4:16 -"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.") 
Heb.10-[19] Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
[20] By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
[21] And having an high priest over the house of God;
[22] Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
*The significance of the altar in the Bible-The word "altar" is mentioned in the bible 433 times. The Hebrew word for "altar" (mizbe'ah) means "to slay".  Hebrew altars were typically made of earth.   The first altar recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that erected by Noah (Genesis 8:20). Altars were erected by Abraham (Genesis 12:7; 13:4; 22:9), by Isaac (Genesis 26:25), by Jacob (33:20; 35:1, 3), and by Moses (Exodus 17:15).
*In the Tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, two altars were erected:   The altar of burnt offering (Ex. 30:28), called also the "brasen altar" (Ex. 39:39) and "the table of the Lord" (Mal. 1:7).  The dimensions of each altar was 4.5' x 7.5'.  So actually, our altar here at Mt. Nebo is 8 times larger than the bible altars!
The Greek word "altar" appears twenty-four times in the New Testament, all in relation to the altar of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.   For Israel, it was the place where sacrifices to God were made. In the church, it is the place from which communion is served, and where we are reminded of the grace offered through Jesus Christ, and the new people we have become through that grace. 
*AT THE ALTAR:   Believers express a desire before the church to be baptized. The altar is both a public and private place to gather for prayer.  In the ALTAR, our words, our confessions, are each an outward manifestation of an inward reality—that through Christ, God has called us to His own self. We are free to accept or reject this call; but as we come to an altar, we signal publicly our acceptance. It also indicates a willingness to be accountable to the body of believers.  The altar is symbolically the throne of God. 
The altar (Latin for "high") was originally where sacrifice was offered. There is frequent mention in the early period of the Old Testament of altars in which various animals were ritually killed. Of couse, the death of Christ, being "for all time one sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:12 ) put an end to sacrificial worship and hence any need for altars. Altars are usually made of wood...but in our sanctuary, the altar is simply carpeted steps dedicated as a place for prayer, Tithes & Offerings, flowers, and is the place from which we serve Communion.  Here, believers join the church, sinners are saved, couples are married....and we all share in some of the happiest and saddest times of life!
(1)-OUR APPROACH TO THE ALTAR IS A CONFESSION:  (SOMETIMES) OF GUILT, GRATITUDE, a need for GUIDENCE!
(2)-OUR APPROACH TO THE ALTAR IS A COMPREHENSION:  It states publically to others and to God that the past, present, and future are in the hands of the Almighty!  We are saying as we respond to the altar call that there is a Hell to shun and a Heaven to gain!
(3)-OUR APPROACH TO THE ALTAR IS A CHALLENGE:  As one moves to it, others are drawn to their knees!  Jesus said in one place that it was in the altar that we bring our "gift, and if we are rememinded there of how we have ought against our brothers, we are to leave our gift there, and first be reconciled...then to come and be accepted in the sight of God."!