Come Boldly Before the Throne of Grace, Part 3

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the garden, we became like a branch that sawed itself off from the tree. In our attempt to find satisfaction apart from God, we separated ourselves from our very life source. But God was not willing to leave us in our brokenness. Jesus comes as our High Priest, the only one who could be the go-between, the only one who could truly restore us to the Father.

The Old Testament ritual of the High Priest was a shadow of what Jesus would complete for us. Hebrews 4.14 says, Let's listen in as Rich unpacks Hebrews 4.14-16. This is the third part of a message titled, Come Boldly Before the Throne of Grace.

It was first preached on June 17, 2012. And so the first two major themes of this section are one, the priesthood, second, progressive revelation that God is giving us more information and He holds us accountable for it. And then the third major theme in the background for this whole section is this warning to press on to maturity. And through it all, He is challenging the people to press on to maturity, which is the New American Standard in translation of it. We need to press on to maturity in light of progressive revelation. In other words, we need to move from mere information over to transformation.

Why is that? Because information alone does not transform. You possessing a copy of the Scriptures does not transform you. Even if you memorize or you know the Scriptures, you can know it academically, but the information itself does not transform you. And so He was challenging the Hebrew people to go from that information into transformation, which is in Christ, the real thing. Information does not transform, but in Christ, the righteousness required by God becomes the believer's nature. That's the New Testament, the New Covenant.

And that's what we must understand. Not only do we move from information to transformation, but we move from ritual to reality. Move from those foreshadows to the reality in Christ.

And you might be thinking, well, okay, we have done that. We're not practicing all those sacrifices and the priesthood and the rituals of the Old Testament. But could it be possible that an application for us today in 21st century America, could it be possible that we're so busy going about doing all the things that our Christians are supposed to do, that they have become rituals to us. We've become perfunctory in our Christian practice and they've become rituals to us, that we're so bent on the rituals and doing the right thing, that we have lost the reality in Jesus Christ. Being busy for God and doing all the things that a Christian is supposed to do is not the same thing as walking with God, of being in Christ.

It's not the same thing. So maybe we should heed that warning as well. The scripture is written to us today as well, to move from ritual to reality, a picture, move from the picture to the real person. The third point is don't be complacent with incomplete truth. The revelation that God has given, your knowledge of the scriptures, are you content there? Are you just going to sit back and say, well, I'm just going to be happy with what I know and move on from there. We're never going to learn anymore? Are we never going to grow? Are we just going to be content with incomplete truth?

Turn the page on the owner's manual. Know the information that God has given you, and this is part of the warning that we find in Hebrews chapter 5, that we are called to be skilled in the Word, skilled in the Word, so that our senses are exercised by use to discern good and evil, and not be simply complacent with incomplete information. The fourth point is to move on to maturity. Move on to maturity. We are called to move on to maturity. For the Hebrews, it was moving on from just the information, moving on from just the ritual, into the reality and the transformation that is in Christ. If you ignore Christ, you ignore the reality. You ignore the real thing. You ignore the transformation that God has for you, and we need to move on to maturity.

Let me give you an example. Back in March, Ben and Lindsay were about to leave Back to Word of Life from their spring break, and they're gone a long time. We've not seen a whole lot of them over the last year, and it was really weighing on Lindsay. She was 18, and it's this whole idea of having to grow up. She misses home. She misses being under mom and dad and around her siblings and just the life that she was used to, and now she's in a place where there's growing responsibility.

She's being stretched. She's being challenged, and it was just hitting her heavy because this was the day before that they were going to leave, and it was, I'm having to grow up, and you know what? Life is just changing. I'm not sure I want to become an adult and leave that being mom and dad's little girl. That's what she was dealing with, okay? And I says, I understand, honey. I understand, but let's look at it this way. You're 18 now. Envision yourself still living with mom and dad 15 years from now, and she said, ugh. It's time to move on to maturity.

It's time to move on. This is what the writer of Hebrews is saying to his readers, okay? Because true pilgrims make progress. One who genuinely follows Christ, and when I say genuinely follows, I mean you're not just associated with Christ. You've not just chosen to somehow associate with Him.

You're not just listening to the lectures. You are genuinely following Christ because you have entrusted your life to Him. One who genuinely follows Christ on the God-ward path makes progress.

The true pilgrims make progress. We are called on to maturity. Now, this is the premise.

This is what the writer of Hebrews is arguing. For this whole next section of moving on to maturity, three major themes behind it all. Priesthood, progressive sanctification, and pressing on to maturity, to use the New American Standard Language. And so then he takes us then, he begins with the priesthood, and he says, we have, this is his thesis, this is his introductory statement in verses 14 to 16, we have a priest par excellence.

What do you mean by that? The priest who is the best of his kind and nothing compares. As he says, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus the Son of God. He is our great high priest. The person of Christ is the reality for right standing before God because that's the question. If you're depending on any of the shadows, if you're depending on incomplete information, if you're depending on rituals to give you right standing before God, the writer of Hebrews says, press on to maturity. We have a priest par excellence, nothing can be compared because if you miss out on Christ, you miss out on God.

It's a pretty straightforward statement, isn't it? Any other means of right standing before God falls short. You must have Christ. He is our mediator. So we have that then in chapter 4 verse 14, seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. He's not just a man here on the earth. He is the Son of God, God-man who is now in the very presence of God for you and me. And that is the significance of our mediator who has passed through the heavens. Our mediator stands in the very presence of God and he's there for us. With him, we get God.

Apart from him, we do not. Not only is he there in the presence of God, but unlike the priest in the Old Testament, that foreshadow, unlike the priest in the Old Testament, he could go in once a year, get it done and get out. Jesus is there in the very presence of God for you and me to stay.

And then we come to verse 15. Not only is he there in the very presence of God for us, but Christ identifies with our humanity. Christ identifies with our humanity for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. He is the perfect representation of humanity. He is my perfect representation before the consuming fire.

I, who deserve nothing less than to be consumed by his purity, he stands there for me. And he represents humanity perfectly without disobedience to God and he perfectly represents us to God. So verse 15, Christ identifies with our humanity.

Very important that he's able to do that. Because were he not able to identify with us, because the priests in the Old Testament, they were men acting on behalf of the people, ushering them into the presence of God to make atonement for their sin. Christ represents us before an infinitely holy, consuming God. And with him, we get God.

And then we come to verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, Seven Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's word the very purpose for which you were designed. Seven Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace, weekdays at 10 a.m.