Come Boldly to Grace

“Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let’s hold tightly to our confession. For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Let’s therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for help in time of need.” — Hebrews 4:14–16 There is something wonderfully inviting about these verses. They do not tell us to stand at a distance until we have sorted ourselves out. They do not tell us to come to God only when faith feels strong or life looks tidy. They tell us to draw near. And not cautiously as though we might be turned away. Draw near with boldness. That is an astonishing invitation when we remember who God is. He is holy. Perfectly righteous. Creator of heaven and earth. Nothing about us is hidden from Him. He knows every thought, every weakness, every failure and every place where our faith has been less steady than we would like. Yet the message to those who belong to Christ is not, “Keep your distance.” It is, Come near. That tells us something very important about grace. We have a great High Priest The passage begins with Jesus. “Having then a great high priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God…” Everything that follows rests on who Christ is and what He has done. The high priest in the Old Testament represented the people before God. Once each year he entered the Most Holy Place with blood offered for sin. Access to God was serious because sin is serious and God is holy. Then Jesus came. He is not merely another priest in a long line of priests. Hebrews calls Him a great High Priest. He did not enter an earthly sanctuary carrying the blood of an animal. He offered Himself. At the cross He bore the judgment our sin deserved. He rose from death and passed through the heavens into the presence of the Father. That means our access to God does not depend on how well we performed this week. It depends on Christ. That is one of the great freedoms of the Gospel. If our acceptance with God depended on the strength of our devotion then we would never know peace. There would always be another failure to remember, another weakness to regret and another standard we had not quite reached. But the Christian does not stand before God carrying a record of personal achievement. We stand in Christ. Our High Priest has gone before us. That is why Hebrews says: “Let’s hold tightly to our confession.” Hold on to what you know about Jesus. Hold on when feelings wobble. Hold on when prayers seem dry. Hold on when temptation feels strong. Hold on when circumstances do not make sense. Christ has not changed. The foundation beneath your faith is stronger than the changing weather within your heart. He understands weakness Then Hebrews tells us something deeply comforting: “We don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” Jesus understands human weakness. Not from a distant academic interest. He entered our world. He knew hunger, tiredness, sorrow, rejection and pain. He knew what it was to be misunderstood. He knew the pressure of temptation. The verse says He was “in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.” That last part matters enormously. Jesus understands temptation without ever surrendering to it. Sometimes people assume that because Christ never sinned He cannot understand how difficult temptation feels. The opposite is true. A person who gives in to temptation experiences only part of its pressure. Christ resisted completely. He knows its full force. He understands the believer who comes saying, “Lord, this is difficult.” He understands weakness. He understands the pull of temptation. He understands sorrow. He understands what it is to walk faithfully when obedience is costly. That does not mean He excuses sin. Grace never calls evil good. But it does mean that when we come to Him honestly we are not approaching someone cold or indifferent to human frailty. Our High Priest is compassionate. There is great comfort in that. We often run the wrong way When we feel weak or when we have failed, our instinct can be to move away from God. We may pray less. We avoid Scripture. We tell ourselves we will return when we have pulled ourselves together a little. It sounds humble. It is actually the opposite of what Scripture tells us to do. Hebrews says: “Let’s therefore draw near.” Not later. Not after three better days. Not once you feel spiritual again. Draw near. This is one of the enemy’s oldest tricks. First comes temptation. Then after the believer stumbles comes accusation. “You cannot go back to God now.” But where else should a sinner go? Where else should the weak go but to the One who gives strength? Where else should the guilty go but to the throne where mercy is offered? Grace means we do not clean ourselves up before coming to Christ. We come to Christ because we need cleansing. That does not cheapen repentance. True repentance turns away from sin and back towards God. It does not sit in the mud complaining about how dirty it has become. It gets up and goes home. The throne of grace Then comes perhaps the most beautiful phrase in the passage: “the throne of grace.” A throne speaks of authority. It is the place of a king. The place from which rule and judgment proceed. And whose throne is this? The throne of the almighty God. Yet for the believer in Christ Hebrews calls it a throne of grace. That is magnificent. The One seated there has all authority. He is not a weak helper offering sympathy but unable to act. He rules. Yet His throne is open to His children as the place where grace is found. Power and mercy meet there. Majesty and welcome meet there. Holiness and compassion meet there because Christ has opened the way. So we are told to come boldly. That does not mean casually. There is a difference between confidence and irreverence. We still approach the holy God as God. But we do not approach terrified that He may suddenly decide He has had enough of us. Our confidence is not in ourselves. Our confidence is in Christ. We come because Jesus has made coming possible. Mercy for what has been Hebrews says that at the throne of grace we receive mercy. Mercy is what we need because of our sin and failure. There are things in the past we cannot undo. Words spoken. Opportunities missed. Moments of selfishness. Times when we knew better and still chose poorly. We can learn. We can apologise where necessary. We can make wise changes. But we cannot travel backwards and rewrite yesterday. That is why mercy matters. The Gospel does not tell us to pretend the past never happened. It tells us that Christ has dealt with our guilt. At the throne of grace the repentant believer does not receive the condemnation he deserves. He receives mercy. Not because sin is insignificant. Because Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient. That is far better. Grace for what lies ahead Then Hebrews says we will “find grace for help in time of need.” Mercy deals with guilt. Grace supplies help. That gives us a beautiful picture of the Christian life. We come carrying what has already happened and receive mercy. Then we look towards what lies ahead and receive grace. God meets us on both sides. Mercy for yesterday. Grace for today. That phrase “in time of need” makes this promise wonderfully practical. We all have times of need. Sometimes they are obvious and serious. Sometimes they are very ordinary. You need patience for a conversation. Wisdom for a decision. Strength to resist a temptation. Grace to forgive someone. Courage to tell the truth. Endurance to continue doing something good when you are tired of doing it. You do not need to wait until the situation becomes dramatic enough to qualify for God’s attention. If you need grace, come. That is the invitation. Grace is not stored in advance We would often prefer God to give us enough grace now for everything we might face for the next ten years. He usually does not work that way. Hebrews says grace is found in time of need. When the need comes, grace will be there. That is why imagining future difficulties can be so exhausting. We picture tomorrow’s problem while trying to face it with today’s resources. Of course it looks overwhelming. Tomorrow’s grace has not been required yet. When tomorrow becomes today God will still be at the throne of grace. The invitation will still stand. Come. Receive mercy. Find grace. That does not mean we never plan ahead. Wisdom plans. Fear tries to live ahead. There is a difference. Faith takes the next faithful step while trusting that God will provide what is needed when the next step arrives. Hold tightly and draw near These verses give us two simple movements. Hold tightly. Hold tightly to Christ. Remember who He is. Remember what He has done. Remember that your salvation rests on Him. Then: Draw near. Do not allow weakness to push you away from God. Let weakness drive you towards Him. Do not let failure leave you hiding. Bring it into the light and receive mercy. Do not carry tomorrow’s need as though you must supply tomorrow’s strength. Come to the throne of grace. That throne is not closed. Christ is still our great High Priest. And God has not suddenly run short of mercy. For this week Perhaps there is something you have been reluctant to bring to God. A failure you keep replaying. A weakness you are embarrassed to admit. A concern you have been carrying mostly by yourself. Bring it. The invitation of Hebrews 4 is not complicated: Draw near. Come honestly. Come reverently. Come confidently because Christ has opened the way. You do not need to impress the Lord with how well you are coping. You need His mercy. You need His grace. And wonderfully, those are exactly the things He tells you to come and receive. The throne is still a throne. God is still holy. But because of Jesus it is also the throne of grace. So come. There is mercy for what lies behind you. There is grace for what is before you. And there is help for exactly the place in which you stand today.