Come Boldly

Hebrews 4:16 “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

What does it mean to come boldly to the throne of grace?  Webster defines bold as: showing or needing confidence or lack of fear. Gracious is defined as: marked by kindness and courtesy. 

When we come to God we must come with confidence, not fearing.  When we confess our sins he forgives us (1 John 1:9 “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”) and keeps no record of our wrong (Psalm 103:12 “He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”).  If we keep our lives in right standing before the Lord, we have no reason to fear coming into his throne room.  Ray Pritchard writes, “God has given to every Christian a card that says ‘Admit to the Throne Room of Heaven.’ The card is stamped with the blood of Jesus Christ. But that card does you no good unless you use it boldly when you pray.”

What does this confidence include?

1.  Confidence in the redemptive work of Christ: Ephesians 1:7 (NIV) “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”

2. Confidence that God hears us when we pray: 1 John 5:14 (NIV) “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”

3. Confidence in God’s power to answer our prayers: Jeremiah 32:27 “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me?”  Luke 18:27 “He replied, ‘What is impossible for people is possible with God.’” 

4. Confidence in God’s love for us: Romans 8:37-39 “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

5. Confidence that our future is secure: Revelation 21:3-4 “I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, ‘Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.’”

If our confidence truly includes the things listed above, we should have no problem coming boldly before God.  When my daughter or son want something, they don’t hesitate to come ask for it because they are confident that I love them, that I will meet their need if possible, and that I want the best for them.  We can come to our Heavenly Father with this same confidence in him. 

  

Hebrews 4:16 goes on to tell us “...There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

Webster defines mercy and grace as follows:

Grace: special favor

Mercy:  kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly

Hebrews tells us that when we come boldly into the throne room, we will receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.  Because we are God’s children, we receive special favor and kind, forgiving treatment when we approach him.  God is like a parent waiting for his child to come into his embrace for a hug.  When I’ve been away and arrive home, my little guy comes running to me.  I throw my arms open wide and scoop him up in a huge bear hug.  God is like that with us.  He longs to hold us close and minister to our deepest needs.  He invites us to sit at his feet and receive from him.  In his presence we find all our needs met and our hearts experience peace and rest.

When we come to God, let us remember why we are confident and come boldly, then we will receive mercy and grace.  

All Scriptures are NLT unless otherwise stated.