Grace for Living

Therefore, since we have a great high priest . . . let us hold firmly to the faith we profess . . . Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. – Hebrews 4:14, 16

As Christians, we have many weaknesses, temptations, and troubles. Though justified, we are still sinners living in a fallen world. Our bodies grow sick, frail, and eventually die. We constantly face strong enemies, like the devil and his demons, and are hated by the world, which also opposed Jesus Christ and his gospel.

Jesus warned about such troubles: “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other” (Matt. 24:9-10). Paul said we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers arrayed against us (Eph. 6:12).

Because of our many weaknesses, we need the superior, supernatural help of the almighty Sovereign Lord of the universe. We need God’s grace! Hebrews 4:14-16 gives us the good news that God has made such provision through his Son, Jesus Christ, who is superior to the prophets, to angels, to Moses, and to Aaron and his priesthood. By his incarnation and death on the cross, this superior One earned for us eternal rest, which every believer enters into even now.

The most foolish thing we can do is to turn away from Jesus Christ because of our troubles. This is what the Hebrews were tempted to do. But we must hold fast to our confession. The writer exhorts, “Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in a just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. If he shrinks back I will not be pleased with him'” (Hebrews 10:35-38).

Because the unbelieving people of Israel in the wilderness did not persevere, they failed to enter into God’s everlasting rest for the saints. Like them, we face many troubles and have many needs. But God has given us a solution in this section of Scripture: We must draw near to him and enjoy divine help for living our Christian lives here and now. This passage gives us three reasons for doing so.

A Great High Priest

First, we have a great high priest (Heb. 4:14). Throughout this epistle the writer speaks about the work of Jesus Christ, our great high priest, who has solved our problem of sin once and for all: “After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 1:3). He is the author of our salvation made perfect through suffering (Heb. 2:10). Through his perfect obedience to God’s will, he became the source of our eternal salvation (Heb. 5). This Son learned obedience through suffering, becoming man that our debt be paid by his death on the cross. Jesus Christ is our elder brother who is interested in helping his weak younger brothers.

Hebrews 2 tells us Jesus is our propitiation, having made atonement for our sins and turning the wrath of God away from us. Though he was tempted in all things, he never yielded to temptation. Thus, he knew the power of temptation to the fullest degree, for only the one does not yield knows the full power of temptation. And because he was victorious over all temptations, he is all-powerful to help us. He knows we are weak and understands our temptations. But do not worry: he is able to help us in every trial we face.

The priesthood of Jesus Christ is superior to the Aaronic high priesthood in every way. The Aaronic high priests could enter the Holy of Holies only on the Day of Atonement. Because they were sinners, they needed to atone for their own sins before they could sacrifice for the sins of the people. Once a year, for a very short period of time, they would go into the earthly Most Holy Place with the sacrificial blood of an animal and sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat. These Levitical priests could not sit down, for their work was never complete. Hebrews 7:23 tells us there were many of them, “since death prevented them from continuing in office.”

Because of the limitations of the Levitical priests, we needed a perfect, sinless priest who could enter into the heavenly sanctuary and finish his work, that he may be seated there forever. Jesus Christ is that great high priest. Having died, risen, and ascended, he went through the heavens into the very presence of God.

In Christ, then, we have a great high priest who makes intercession for us in the presence of God on the basis of his atonement. He is also called our elder brother, whose atonement was designed to bring many sons to glory.

Christ’s atonement is of infinite worth to deal with our every sin because he is God-man. The Levitical priests could not help anyone, for they themselves were weak and imperfect, and the blood of their animal victims could not atone. The Old Testament sacrificial system pointed to the need of a perfect priest and perfect victim; this need was met in Jesus Christ. As one person in two natures, he alone can sympathize with our weaknesses, yet is almighty to help us.

A Sympathizing High Priest

Not only do we have a great high priest, but we also have a sympathizing high priest. Hebrews 4:15 says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.” The author is using a literary device called litotes-a double negative expressing a positive idea-just as Paul did when he said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel,” to mean, “I am proud of the gospel.”

Our great high priest is able to sympathize with all our weaknesses. Why should we groan and weep about all our troubles? Why not look up to him who is able to do something about our problems? Jesus is our able high priest (Heb. 2:18). As God-man, he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, tempted through Peter at Caesarea Philippi, and tempted in the garden of Gethsemane. He endured desertions, denials, defamations, mockings, scourgings, and injustices of every kind. He alone has experienced the full range of human infirmities and temptations, yet he was without sin. His sinlessness was achieved by his complete conquest of all temptations.

Hebrews 7:26-27 tells us, “Such a high priest meets our need-one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinner, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people.” If Jesus were a sinner, he could not meet our need; he himself would need atonement for his sins. But he was not, so we read: “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Heb. 9:14). Christ’s atonement qualifies us to come into his presence.

Note, we do not worship an apathetic Greek god, who is unfeeling and who therefore cannot sympathize with us in our weaknesses, problems, and troubles. We have a sympathizing high priest who has been made perfect through suffering. So Christ told us, “The prince of this world . . . has no hold on me” (John 14:30). Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus sympathizes with us actively. He is not like modern politicians who make theoretical assertions that they feel our pain. To sympathize with us actively means to help us in our time of need. The same word is used in Hebrews 10:34 to speak of the sympathy the believers showed to their suffering brothers and sisters: “You sympathized with those in prison.” They did so by actively helping them. Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember those in prison.” “Remember” means to do something about these people in prison. We are to visit them, give them food, pray with them, and fellowship with them, as people did for Paul.

Paul speaks of active sympathizing through sharing money: “Because of the service by which you have proved yourself, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else” (2 Cor. 9:13). And in Matthew 25 Jesus says: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (vv. 35-36). When they asked him how they did these things to him, Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (v. 40). This is the active sympathizing that Christ demands we do for our brothers, and that he does continuously for us.

Our great high priest not only understands our weaknesses, but he also makes them his own. Isaiah 53:4, which is quoted in Matthew 8:17, says, “He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.” This priest is not a stranger; he is our elder brother. He became incarnate, suffered, died, and made atonement for our sins, not his. He made our problem his problem.

Jesus also sends the Holy Spirit to help us in our weaknesses. Do you need help? The triune God is ready to come to your aid. Romans 8:26 says, “In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses.” The Holy Spirit himself prays through us, and his prayer is heard, with groanings that cannot be uttered. That is the nature of our sympathizing high priest.

John MacArthur quotes a story about an evangelist named Booth Tucker:

[Tucker] was conducting evangelistic meetings in the great Salvation Army Citadel in Chicago. One night after he had preached on the sympathy of Jesus, a man came forward and asked Mr. Tucker how he could talk about a loving, understanding, sympathetic God. “If your wife had just died, like mine had . . . and your babies were crying for their mother who would never come back, you wouldn’t be saying what you’re saying.”

A few days later Mr. Tucker’s wife was killed in a train wreck. Her body was brought to Chicago and carried to the Citadel for the funeral. After the service the bereaved preacher looked down into the silent face of his wife and then turned to those who were attending. “The other day when I was here . . . a man told me that if my wife had just died and my children were crying for their mother, I would not be able to say that Christ was understanding and sympathetic, or that he was sufficient for every need. If that man is here, I want to tell him that Christ is sufficient. My heart is broken, it is crushed, but it has a song, and Christ put it there. I want to tell that man that Jesus Christ speaks comfort to me today.” The man was there, and he came and knelt beside the casket while Booth Tucker introduced him to Jesus Christ (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Hebrews [Chicago: Moody Press, 1983], 114).

Do not tell me that Jesus does not understand. We have a sympathizing high priest. And the object of our Lord’s sympathy, if you read the text carefully, is our weaknesses. He sympathizes and helps us in all our weaknesses.

A Welcoming High Priest

Third, we have a welcoming high priest. Whenever my grandson knocks at the door, I tell him to come in. He has access to my presence and I gladly welcome him. In the same way, God welcomes us to come to him, especially in our time of need.

These Hebrews were in danger of forsaking their faith in Christ because of false teaching and severe persecution. They wanted to enjoy a trouble-free life of peace and affluence. Knowing they were about to commit the most foolish thing they could do by turning away from the living God, the author exhorts them to do two things that would encourage them.

Hold Firmly to the Faith

First he exhorts, “Let us hold firmly to the faith we profess” (v. 14). It is in the present tense, meaning, “Let us continuously confess and hold on to our faith. Let us cling to our confession concerning our great, sympathizing, welcoming high priest.” To these people who were tempted to turn away to false teaching the writer is saying, “Let us hold fast to our faith that Jesus Christ is our high priest, the Son of God who made purification for our sins. He is the perfect high priest and perfect victim. He was without sin, yet he was crucified for our sins. He died and rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, was seen by many, and ascended into the heavens to the presence of God, where he is seated on the right hand of God, making intercession for our sins. To him all things are subject, he is made the head of the church, the fullness of him that fills all in all, and he is coming again to judge the living and the dead.”

What we believe in our hearts we must publicly proclaim with our mouths. Why do we not speak the gospel? Because we do not believe. In reference to preaching the gospel, Paul quotes Psalm 116:10: “I believed; therefore I have spoken” (2 Cor. 4:13). Jesus himself said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (cf. Mark 7). What we are convinced of, we will speak.

It is time to be convinced about this great, sympathizing high priest who welcomes us into his heaven. If we really believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, we shall not hide it: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and praise your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). Look at the book of Acts. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the disciples were constantly witnessing about their faith in Christ. If we are Spirit-filled Christians who believe, cling to, and hold fast to this confession, then we also will proclaim the gospel without fear. Witnessing faith is the victory that overcomes the world. We must advertise what we believe; if not, we must question whether we believe it at all. May God help us to believe and may God forgive us our sin of silence. Do not shrink back! We are to hold fast to our confession even if it means dying for the faith.

Hebrews 12:3-4 exhorts, “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lost heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” To cling to our faith is to die for it. Christianity is the only faith worth dying for. In Hebrews 13:12-13 we read, “And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.” That is exactly what these people did not want to do. PGM They wanted to have a comfortable life without persecution, shame, and trouble. But there is no such life for a true Christian.

In Matthew 10 Jesus speaks about witnessing: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (vv. 32-33). Therefore, let us hold fast and cling to our confession. Believe it in your heart and prove that you believe by declaring it before men.

Draw Near to God

The second exhortation is “Let us draw near with boldness.” We must draw near to God-not draw back, not fall away, not backslide. Why do people backslide? Because they want to sin. There is no other reason to move away from the true and living God. Such people do not want to be light and the solution to the problems of the world.

Draw near to God! We have weaknesses and problems, and we need help. The poor widow came to Elisha with a problem, and he solved it. When Jesus Christ was on earth, people were constantly bringing problems to him: “My son is full of demons”; “My servant is dying”; “My daughter is dead.” What was their common cry? “You alone are able to solve my problem.”

Thank God, we do not have to go to Jerusalem, or even make a hole in the roof of a house to let a sick man down before Jesus. Jesus has made it easy for us to draw near to him. Let us, therefore, draw near to our able, sympathizing, helping high priest.

The Old Testament uses the term “draw near” to describe the service of the priests in the temple. But we need no human priest. Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ is a priest and has the right to draw near to the throne of grace. Whether young or old, whether weak or strong, every believer is invited to come to approach God in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself says, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). And in Revelation 22:17 we read, “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”

When we come to Jesus with all our weaknesses, and sins, he will give us rest. He will remove our confusion and give us understanding. He will solve our problems and show us the way to go. He will open a way where there is none, drying up our Red Sea and flood-stage Jordan River.

As we come to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith, he will receive us, for he promises to never cast us out of his presence. The cross opened what our sin closed; he has prepared heaven for us. The veil is torn from top to bottom. The cross has transformed the throne of judgment to the throne of grace. We must come to that throne. The blood of Christ was sprinkled on the throne so mercy and grace are there for us. There is a new and living way made for us by Jesus Christ. Dr. Philip E. Hughes says, “The Son of God came to our aid in the incarnation in order that as our fellow man he might take our place on the cross and then by his resurrection, ascension, and glorification, open the way for us into the presence of God himself” (Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977], 170).

Therefore, draw near. If you are a believer, you are a priest: “As you come to him, the Living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:4-5). We do not need a priest; we have one in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he makes us kings and priests in him: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

Not only are we priests, but we are also sons of glory, possessing the full rights of sons. Because we are sons, God sent his Holy Spirit into our hearts whereby we cry, “Abba, Father,” and God our Father welcomes us. We can come to him any time and every time, with all our weaknesses, and he will hear our prayers.

We must come to him in boldness. The disciples in the book of Acts were all bold people. Timidity and shame are a result of sin and nakedness. But when we are clothed with salvation and the Spirit of the living God, we will be bold, confident, and fearless.

When Christ died for our sins, the barrier of sin was removed, our sins have been forgiven and we have been justified and adopted. As sons and daughters of God, we may come to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are citizens of the kingdom of God, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. We are kings and priests in Christ.

Come, therefore, with confidence; our sin problem has been solved. Draw near in private prayer, family devotions, and Sabbath worship. The writer instructs us: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb. 10:24).

When can we draw near? There is no specific time or place. We can drive and draw near. We can wash the dishes and draw near. Our Father’s door is always open. We can come now with all our problems and fears to our welcoming high priest.

Then we are told, “Come to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace.” We need God’s mercy for our failures and his forgiveness for our many sins, both of commission and omission. We receive mercy from the One who is seated on the mercy seat. From there mercy flows down to us because of Jesus. Yes, he knows our sins and failures, but he still bids us come to him to receive mercy. Our sins will be forgiven because Jesus Christ is always interceding in behalf of us, and his intercession is always effectual.

Not only do we need mercy, but we also need grace to live a Christian life in this world of trouble. We need grace to deal with diseases and chronic conditions. We need grace to live a married life and grace to live a single life. We need grace to get pregnant and give birth to children, and grace to raise those children in godly fear. We need grace to go to school and study under unbelieving professors. We need grace to witness for Jesus Christ as well as grace to be longsuffering toward our Christian brothers. We need grace when we face divorce. We need grace to resist the devil and overcome daily temptation. We need grace to pray effectually, to help those in need, and to die a good death.

Finally, we are told to draw near to receive timely help. When we cry out to God in the name of Jesus, our heavenly older brother runs to help us in the nick of time. The sinking Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!” and Jesus reached out and drew him into the boat. Our Christ is not hard-hearted. He is a sympathizing high priest, tender and sensitive to our needs.

Paul encourages us: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). He also says about the troubles he faced: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:8-10).

Think all you want about your weaknesses, but after doing so, go to our welcoming high priest, who will put his strength into you to deal with our problem. Paul declares, “I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13, author’s translation). Our God does not come late to help us; he comes when we need him.

Let Us Draw Near to God!

Are we afraid, murmuring, and defeated? If so, we are not holding fast to our confession. We are not drawing near to our great high priest and telling him our problems. So we are without grace and mercy. We are trying to be self-sufficient, thinking we can solve our problems without God by leaning onto our own understanding, only to learn that we really could not solve them.

How do we draw near to God? Let me give you an illustration from Luke 11. A friend visited a friend at midnight. This host did not have any bread, so he went to another friend in the middle of the night and asked for bread. The third man said, “I am not going to get up to give you anything. I am tired, I am lying down, and my children are with me.” But the man looking for bread did not go away. He kept knocking, and finally his friend got out of bed and gave him all the bread he needed.

That is what God is asking us to do. We have a friend, an older brother, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is seated in heaven and the door is open. We may come to him any time. “Draw near” is in the present tense, meaning we are to continually draw near because of our continuous need. He is our constant help, our permanent help, and our present help. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1).`

Are you tempted? Are you troubled? Do you have problems? Consider this encouraging word from the apostle Paul: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able; but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13, NASB). That is what grace is all about. Go to God. Our great, sympathizing, welcoming high priest is waiting, in spite of our sins, to welcome us to him. “Come,” he says, not to the earthly Zion, but to the heavenly Zion, to our great God, to Jesus Christ. Therefore, may God help us to heed these exhortations to hold fast to our confession and draw near to him with confidence that we may receive grace in our time of need.