APPROACHING THE THRONE OF GRACE WITH CONFIDENCE

-
 







The writer of Hebrews gave a very encouraging and shocking invitation to his readers: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb 4:16). His audience here were Jewish Christians who were struggling in ways similar to many of us today. Because of persecution, disappointment, and other pressures, they wanted to abandon their faith in Jesus and return to their former religion (Judaism) and lifestyle. These Christians were tempted to give up and go back to their past lives—the same temptation all of us face daily, though in different degrees. What the writer told them is also God’s message for us today: Approach God’s throne of grace with confidence!

We can better understand how powerful and beautiful this invitation is when we place ourselves in the position of the Jews at that time. For the Jews, the throne of grace was a reference to the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark, the most important relic in Judaism, was regarded as the throne of God (1 Sam 4:4; Ps 80:1; 99:1; etc.). Its cover, designed with two cherubim and called the mercy seat (in Hebrew kapporeth or atonement cover), was its most special part because it was there that God met with His people (Ex 25:22). It was also on this mercy seat that the high priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice once a year during the ritual for the forgiveness of sins (Lev 16:14). Because of its holiness, the Ark was kept in the Most Holy Place of the Temple—a place hidden and restricted. Only the high priest had access to the Ark, and he acted as a mediator between the people and God once a year when he was allowed to approach it. Since the Ark was the holiest item, it could not be approached carelessly. God punished those who handled it irreverently (1 Sam 5; 2 Sam 6:7). Approaching it was terrifying for people back then! At one point, even David was afraid (2 Sam 6:9).

But this is not the case for us. Through Christ—the great High Priest of believers, merciful and faithful (Heb 2:17), who understands our weaknesses and cares for us (4:15)—we can now approach God’s presence with confidence! “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” (10:19). We have been given a privilege far greater than what the Jews experienced, because Christ Himself—not just any man—became our High Priest and Mediator before God (9:15). Through Him, we have been granted access to the Lord that we do not deserve, but freely enjoy! We can now come to Him without fear, expecting mercy and grace in our times of need (4:16). For Jewish Christians, this invitation was revolutionary. For us modern believers, it remains just as powerful.

What are you going through right now, dear brother/sister, that discourages you from continuing with the Lord? There is always a temptation to give up in our race of faith, but praise God, His grace is always available for us to press on. You don’t have to turn away.

Just come near to the Lord. 

Stay Curious.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE LAMB OF GOD (Agnus Dei)

-
Image
  In the Bible, Jesus as the Lamb of God ( Latin , Agnus Dei ) is one of the most celebrated descriptions of Christ, for it reveals so much about Him as our Savior. π—Ÿπ—”π— π—• 𝗔𝗑𝗗 π—§π—›π—˜ π—’π—Ÿπ—— π—§π—˜π—¦π—§π—”π— π—˜π—‘π—§ In ancient times, the lamb was indispensable in Israel’s offerings. Priests offered it twice a day (Exodus 29:38–42). On the Sabbath, the number of young lambs doubled (Numbers 28:9). At the start of every month, more lambs were sacrificed (28:11). They were also offered during the entire Passover week (28:16, 19), and in other festivals (28:26–27; 29:1–2, 7–8, etc.). The lamb to be offered had to be perfect and without defect (Leviticus 22:24–25).  Since the lamb was consistently sacrificed as a victim, it came to symbolize innocence. That’s why the prophet Nathan used the parable of the ewe lamb in 2 Samuel 12:1–4 to convict David of his sin. Likewise, Isaiah portrayed the lamb as a picture of the Suffering Servant of the Lord —a prophecy pointing to the coming M...
Read more

THE HALL OF HERESIES: ADOPTIONISM

-
Image
Since then, Christ has remained the most controversial figure in history. Even when He was still on earth, people already had many different opinions about Him (Matt. 16:13–14). Just imagine—He was physically present, yet fake news about His identity was already spreading. How much more now that He has returned to heaven? Looking at history, so many misconceptions have emerged and misled many people. Today, we’re going to talk about Adoptionism—the idea that Christ was merely adopted by God and only became the Son of God. 𝗧𝗡𝗲 π—›π—Άπ˜€π˜π—Όπ—Ώπ˜† For many modern scholars, Monarchianism (from monarchia , meaning “one rule”) refers to certain beliefs from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD that emphasized that there is only one ruling God, even in light of the Trinity. One heresy that came out of this view is called Dynamic Monarchianism , which claimed that God’s power (Greek: dynamis ) was merely given to Jesus—making Him divine only because of that power. This belief was influenced by earlier...
Read more

WHAT IS THE BOOK OF LIFE?

-
Image
In Rev. 20:15 , we read a very sobering statement:  “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”  On Judgment Day, when everyone stands before God to be judged, those whose names are not in the book of life will be punished. It’s terrifying to think that your name might not be registered in that book! You can lose your spot on a government aid list—but not on the list of the book of life!  But what exactly is the book of life ? And how did people in biblical times understand it? Book of Life in the Old Testament First, we should note that during biblical times, books were actually scrolls . The codex—the book format we use today—came much later. So, technically speaking, the “book of life” is a “scroll of life.” The Old Testament already presents ideas related to the book of life. In Exodus 32:32 , when Moses pleaded for the Israelites, he said to God: “If you will not forgive their sin, then erase me from the book yo...
Read more