“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” —Hebrews 4:16
COME BOLDLY UNTO THE THRONE OF GRACE
In the setting of the book of Hebrews, the author is attempting to show why the covenant established by Christ supersedes the covenant given to Israel as given by the hand of Moses. For the first century church, this was an extremely difficult concept to grasp. For 1,600 years, the law of Moses had reigned supreme as the revelation of God to man. With the coming of Jesus, a more complete revelation of God’s nature, character, and redemption plan was introduced. The apostle Paul was attempting to stabilize the early church in the truths of the new covenant by explaining that what Christ had done at Calvary introduced a better covenant with better promises. One of the emphases of his argument was that Jesus had taken on the role of high priest, replacing the old system of high priests that had come through the line of Aaron. Jesus is the High Priest who will remain in that role for all eternity. He walked on the earth as a man and understands the dangers, the temptations, the afflictions, and the heartache of those who are willing to live for God in a world that opposes Him. Jesus will stand forever as both our Advocate and as our access to the heavenly Father. We must realize that whenever we have a need, every believer has the right to enter into the presence of God and ask for aid with that issue. Based on this truth, we enter the presence of God boldly, not arrogantly. We stand assured that what Christ has done for us at Calvary is sufficient to grant us access at any time, regardless of our circumstances. Precious believer, you may march boldly into the presence of God. Through Christ, your entrance and your acceptance is assured.
MERCY
The idea of mercy and our need to obtain it generally occurs after the believer has experienced a failure of some kind. It is an unrealistic expectation to believe that we would never fall short of God’s glory in our journey as a Christian. As a matter of fact, that would be unscriptural to assume. So, what must we know when we fail? What must we be assured of regarding God’s response to us? And what would allow a holy God to commune with a failing saint? The answer lies in the knowledge of what Christ has done for us on Calvary. On Calvary, God laid upon Christ the sin penalty for all human failings. There was not one sin that has existed, does exist, or will ever exist that was not paid for by Christ’s death on Golgotha. With the confidence gained from the knowledge of Christ’s sacrifice, the believer who has failed should come to the Father and confess his fault. This evidences that he agrees with God in regard to his wrong action or attitude. He agrees with God that he did wrong, and he appeals to God for mercy by this action. According to I John 1:9, God will always be faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Beloved, go boldly to the throne and confess to the Father your wrongdoing. If this is done in humility and faith, then God will never fail to extend mercy. It is His great pleasure and right to do this for His children.
GRACE
It is one thing to gain forgiveness, and it is quite another thing to be kept from failing. A repentant soul that confesses his sin to God can be assured of being forgiven. But repentance is not deliverance. We not only need mercy, but we also need God’s grace to help us rise above the sin and the weights that do so easily beset us. To this end, the Holy Spirit was given at salvation. That is, as the believer’s object of faith remains constant upon Christ and His finished work, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to reveal wrong to us and supply the power to rise above any ungodly action or attitude. Salvation supplies us with the tools to be conformed into the image of Christ. But this transformation cannot be accomplished by human effort. It can only be accomplished by grace which is available as the believer trusts exclusively in Christ and the cross. With our dependence upon Christ, God’s grace becomes a reality in the form of the supernatural help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to quicken our mortal bodies, and it causes us to rise above every sin agent that we face. God’s grace is greater than the sin nature, the world’s influence, the misleading lies of the powers of darkness, and even the pull of the flesh. God’s grace, in the form of the moving and operation of the Holy Spirit within you, is able to empower us above and beyond every desire that we have toward sin. Once the believer has repented, he should look toward Christ, his faithful High Priest, to supply him with grace that is needed to rise above sin.
IN YOUR TIME OF NEED
Dear friends, I am so glad I can tell you that in every situation, God’s mercy and God’s grace is available for all who come to Him in faith. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. Our faith must not be in ourselves, our church, our disciplines, or any other religious activity. Coming to God in faith means that our trust and our dependence rests entirely upon Christ and His finished work. Whatever your need is today, secure your faith in the proper object and move boldly into the presence of your heavenly Father. There you will find both mercy and grace to help in your time of need.
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