“Approach God’s Throne with Confidence”
In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our text is from today’s Epistle Reading in the fourth chapter of Hebrews.
First, let’s look at the historical background, the reason why this
letter to Hebrew Christians, Christians of Jewish descent, was written. You’ve heard the phrase, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned”?
That’s the historical background of the book of Hebrews.
There was a terrible fire that destroyed most of Rome in 64 A.D.
A big scandal followed over the lack of proper fire protection.
The rumor spread that while Rome burned the insane Emperor Nero
nonchalantly stood on the balcony of his palace overlooking the city, playing
his violin and commenting how pretty the flames looked. Many
Romans concluded—probably correctly—that Nero purposely arranged for inadequate
fire protection and then had the city set afire so that he could carry out a pet
project that he had been trying to push through for years, a complete
redevelopment and rebuilding of Rome. Everyone suspected Nero; his emperorship itself was in trouble; he needed a
scapegoat, and he found it in a new religion that had recently gained much
popularity in Rome: Christianity. The official report on the
fire blamed Christians for setting the city ablaze. The
motive was unknown but somehow related to the dangerous doctrines of this
strange cult. Christianity was declared a religo ilicita,
an illegal religion, and a terrible persecution followed. The
Apostles Peter and Paul were executed. Many Christians were
crucified, or thrown to the vicious dogs in the arena, or covered with tar, tied
to stakes and burned to death as human torches in Emperor Nero’s gardens.
The people of Rome bought Nero’s story that those vile Christians were to
blame for the fire, so Christians who weren’t put to death were hated and
harassed and outcast. It was dangerous to be a Christian, a
follower of this religio illicita. But, the large number of Christians in Rome who were of JEWISH descent had
what seemed to be an easy way out. Judaism had long ago
received special dispensation as a religio licita, a legal religion.
So, all Jewish Christians had to do was retract, or at least tone down,
their confession of Jesus as the Messiah; then they would be safe from
persecution. That is the situation for which the book of Hebrews was written, to ENCOURAGE
these Jewish Christians to remain faithful to Jesus, and to IMPRESS on them that
even if remaining faithful would mean earthly suffering, it was nothing compared
to the incomparable SPIRITUAL advantage of being a Christian. You are invited to follow along in the bulletin the last paragraph of the
Epistle Reading: “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we
profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every
way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach
the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace
to help us in our time of need.” That is the incomparable
spiritual advantage of being a Christian: You can APPROACH GOD’S THRONE WITH
CONFIDENCE. In the past year or two there have been many embarrassing revelations about
the conduct of some politicians and government officials.
What they thought was secret has been broadcast for all the world to see,
especially embarrassing emails and text messages, about immoral and possibly
criminal activities. They thought it would all stay hidden,
from the public, their co-workers, and their spouses. But,
now that it has come out, a number of prominent people have been demoted, fired,
and divorced. And there’s probably more to come, and a lot of
nervous people in Washington, D.C. right now. Though I don’t have any sympathy
for the wrongs they may have done, you can appreciate how devastating it must be
to have what you thought were your carefully hidden secret sins suddenly
splashed on the front page of the papers and leading every newscast.
And you may even be forced to testify about all the embarrassing details
on national TV. The verses just before our text say, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from
God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the
eyes of him to whom we must give account.” The bad news is,
your life is an open book before God. Your sins will probably
never make the national news, but God already knows even your secret sins.
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.
Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must
give account.” But, our text continues with the Good News: “We have a great high priest who
has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.” The high
priests of the Old Testament offered animal sacrifices, and once a year, on the
Day of Atonement, they passed through the outer courts of the Tabernacle or
Temple and entered the holy of holies. But those high priests
and those animal sacrifices were only pre-figurements of the REAL THING, picture
prophecies pointing forward to the great high priest, Jesus, the Son of God.
Elsewhere Hebrews says, “Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that
was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us
in God’s presence. . . he has appeared once for all at the
end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
There is a phrase in one of our communion hymn that always sticks in my
mind: “Offered was He for greatest and for least, Himself the Victim, and
Himself the Priest.” Jesus says it this way in today’s Gospel
Reading: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give
HIS LIFE as a ransom for many.” “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.”
Trust in Jesus Christ and APPROACH GOD’S THRONE WITH CONFIDENCE,
confidence, first of all, that your SINS are all FORGIVEN because Jesus gave
himself as an atoning sacrifice for you. “Himself the Victim,
and Himself the Priest”—for you! Secondly, approach God’s throne with confidence that he SYMPATHIZES with you,
and HE understands your situation. “For we do not have a high
priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has
been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”
In his earthly life, Jesus endured the pains and sufferings and struggles
that you face in this world, as the old spiritual says, “Jesus walked this
lonesome valley.” Approach God’s throne with confidence that
he SYMPATHIZES with you, and he understands your situation, because he went
through it himself. Finally, approach God’s throne with confidence that he will always favorably
receive your prayers, that he will hear you and help. “Let us
then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Did you know that traditionally only two people on earth have direct access
to the President, the privilege of just showing up at the Oval Office, uninvited
and without an appointment: the First Lady, and the White House Chief of Staff?
Everyone else, even the current President’s daughter and son-in-law who
are actually advisers working in the White House, has to first go through the
White House Chief of Staff before seeing the President. Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one
comes to the Father except through Me.” As a Christian you
have the blessed privilege of direct access to a much higher authority than even
the President. As Paul says in Ephesians, “In him and through
faith in him we may approach GOD with freedom and confidence.”
The Lord Almighty will not turn you away; he will not spurn your plea as
unworthy or unimportant. Jesus promises, “I tell you the
truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name,” and John says,
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything
according to his will, he hears us.” Approach God’s throne
with confidence that he will always favorably receive your prayer, that he will
hear you and help. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we
are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of
grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in
our time of need.” That is the incomparable SPIRITUAL advantage of being a Christian: You can
APPROACH GOD’S THRONE WITH CONFIDENCE. Confidence that your
SINS ARE FORGIVEN: “we have a great high priest who has gone through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God.” Confidence that he
SYMPATHIZES with you and HE UNDERSTANDS your situation: “For we do not have a
high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who
has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.”
Confidence that through Christ you have DIRECT ACCESS to God, he will
always favorably receive your prayer, he will hear you and help: “Let us then
approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help us in our time of need.” Amen. Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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