Hebrew 4:16
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
This throne is where Jesus sits at the right hand of God in heaven. Eph. 1:20 confirms this “…Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.” Connecting with that verse Hebrews 4:14, which further clarifies that Jesus is the occupant of this throne “…we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God…”
This is not a throne of judgment that gives us what we deserve. There is no survival if we get what we deserve. But this is a throne of grace, a place where we receive favor, rather than being treated according to what we deserve. But we are treated according to the redemption of the shed blood of Jesus that paid the penalty for what we deserved and qualifies us to approach this throne with expectation of experiencing the unlimited favor of God.
“LET US…”
We ourselves have the responsibility of taking the initiative to avail ourselves of the benefits of this throne of grace. The word, “let” means that we must give permission to ourselves or allow ourselves to do this. We must let go of whatever is holding us back from the throne of grace. There are many excuses that we have for not seeking God. We may say “I don’t have time,” which is the most common excuse that we use. Having time for anything is determined by how important we believe it to be. Coming to the throne of grace is essential for every believer. We must let go of everything that keeps us away from the throne of grace that will allow us to pursue the provisions of God grace.
“Let us therefore COME…”
I grew up hearing and using an old southern phrase “y’all come to see us.” The word “come” in this phrase is a beautiful expression of a desire for friendship and fellowship. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The most wonderful word that can be heard by those who are burdened, troubled and frustrated is “come,” especially when it comes from the one that has the power give relief. Jesus has extended to everyone this open door invitation to a fellowship of His power and victory. It is an invitation to enter into the abundant provisions of His grace. The invitation to “come” expresses the willingness of Jesus to receive and accept you, but it never forces the one invited to come. It is entirely the responsibility of the one invited, to respond. We have an open door invitation to enter into the throne room of God’s grace. It is not just a privilege to come to the throne of grace it is absolutely essential. If Jesus should use southern English, He might say, “y’all come to see me” at the throne of grace.
“Let us therefore come BOLDLY…”
We must be careful not to misinterpret this word “boldly” as it applies to the throne of grace. An arrogant person can be bold but we know that would be the unacceptable way to approach the throne of grace and in direct opposition to the command in 1 Peter 5:6 to “humble ourselves under the hand of God.” We must not interpret the word “boldly” in such a way that we approach the throne of grace presumptuously and take such an awesome experience for granted. We who fear God with reverence and respect may struggle with the idea of being bold in the presence of God. We do not have any boldness apart from the precious blood of Jesus. Hebrews 10:19 says “Having therefore, brethren, BOLDNESS to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.” We can “come boldly” to the throne of grace only because we have been redeemed from sin by the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus has washed our sins away. The shed blood of Jesus is the grace of God. If Jesus had not given His life by shedding His blood on Calvary’s cross we would have no favor with God. When we approach the throne of grace with humble thanksgiving for the precious blood of the Lamb of God we will have boldness to come to the throne of grace.
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may OBTAIN MERCY…”
Mercy means that we are not treated as we deserve to be treated. It deals with our past life of sin, which has a price of death. Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The only basis for praying the prayer “be merciful to me a sinner” is to have faith in the redeeming blood of Christ. You and I are the ones who should have been crucified. And if we had been crucified for our sins it would have ushered us into hell. But Jesus, who did not commit any sin, and therefore did not have any price to pay for any sin of His own, qualified to take our place and pay the penalty for our sins. We deserved to die and go to hell but God in mercy did not treat us as we deserved to be treated, but loved us so much that He sent Jesus, His Son to be the sacrificial substitution for our sins. Even though we have been saved, we still do things that deserve awful consequences. We dig ourselves in some big holes that we ought to have to stay in. We don’t deserve to be healed from sickness. We sometime make bad financial investments, and we usually deserve what we get. You could add to the list of mistakes that we make that seem to have no solutions. “But God, who is rich in mercy” comes through for us and rescues us from the sinking sand that we find ourselves in because we “…came boldly unto the throne of grace and obtain MERCY.”
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and FIND GRACE…”
It seems that mercy deals more with our past in that the blood of Jesus blots out our sins, failures and faults and wipes the slate clean setting us up for a new start. GRACE seems to have more to do with our present and future. Mercy sets us free from the past, GRACE ushers us into the future. When we come before the throne of grace we will find grace for the future. It is the place where the hopeless rediscover hope. It is here that a bright light appears at the end of the dark tunnel of those who have lost their way. It is here that the low-living of those who are stumbling at life’s challenges begin to leap upon the mountain tops of success and victory.
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to HELP IN TIME OF NEED.”
These words constitute a caption that ought to cause a stampede to the throne of grace. If a bank should make this offer there would not be enough room to handle the crowd. But the throne of grace is a resource of help that can take care of any kind of need. Philippians 4:19 tells us “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Most of the time when such offers are made they are very limited because of limited shortage of resources. But the help we find at the throne of grace is unlimited because it funded with the riches of heaven. Our help come from the throne of grace. Hebrews 13:5-6 says “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper…”
MY PRAYER FOR THOSE WHO READ THIS ARTICLE:
I pray that every believer will make the Throne of Grace their first resource rather than their last resource. Free them from dependency on carnal sources of help and may they make the Throne of Grace their first choice of help.