Of
recent date, there have been some men who are considered by thousands
to
be leaders in theological scholarship, casting this superlative term in
a bad light. Commenting on Hebrews 4:16, John R. Rice, quoting
Bob
Jones, Sr. approvingly, states, “I am not a stranger. I am at home in
my
heavenly family. I just pull my chair up to the table and say, ‘Pappy,
please pass the biscuits,” STEPS FOR NEW CONVERTS, By John R.
Rice,
page 23.
When
Paul says in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly
unto
the throne of grace” he does not mean we are to equate God
with
earthly fathers, who not only often look the other way when their
little
darlings sin, but who, also many times due to sentiment and ignorance,
place approbation on the sinful actions of their children. Such a
postulate
as Jones and Rice puts forth impugns the holy character of God, and
serves
to diminish the respect children should have for their earthly parents.
No true parent can be a tyrant in the home. Neither will the true
parent
allow his affection for his children to be abused by them. Rashness and
irreverence
are incongruous to the nature of filial love, and this being true in
the
natural realm it is all the more true regarding the believer’s
relationship
to his heavenly Father.
The
Term “boldness” Viewed In Its Proper Light
The
word “boldness” translates a Greek word which denotes freedom of
speech. True liberty of speech is not to say what we please, but what
we
ought to say. “For so is the will of God that with well doing ye may
put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. As free, and not using your
liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God” (I
Peter 2:15-16). Christ is the one Mediator and official
Spokesman
in the presence of God for all believers. Therefore, their every
acceptable
utterance unto God is channeled through Him, (Hebrews 9: 24,
John
14:6, I Timothy 2:5). Thus, it is, the term “boldness”
as used by Paul in our text, and in Hebrews 4:16, and Hebrews
10:19 bespeaks the liberty which believers have to approach God
directly
through their Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous. The term as used by
Paul in the above references indicates more than liberty of approach,
it
also evidences the absence of restraint in the believer’s approach. The
one thing that hindered the Israelite’s entrance unto God under the
Mosaic
economy was fear, fear that his sacrifice would be rejected by God, “They
shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die”
(Leviticus 22:9). The difference between the entrance of an Old
Testament Israelite and that of a New Testament believer is, the
Israelite’s
sacrifice was typical, and could not eternally stay the condemnation of
sin (Hebrews 10:4). Christ is the anti-type of Israel’s
sacrifice,
the eternally perfect and all sufficient sacrifice, and by the virtue
of
His shed blood the believer has liberty void of fear to enter the
presence
of God. Under Judaism the Israelites were debarred or precluded from
the
presence of God, even the Levites which ministered in the tabernacle
were
strenuously shut out from the holy of holies. Only the high priest was
permitted behind the veil, and that only once a year, (Exodus 30:10,
Leviticus
16:34, Hebrews 9:7). The High Priest entered the holy of
holies
with the utmost caution, and with ultimate religious awe. Being acutely
aware of his own unworthiness and knowing his sacrifice may be rejected
by God gave birth to tormenting fear that held his whole essence and
being
under arrest. If the sacrifice was rejected it meant there was sin in
the
camp which was un-repented of, the consequence being, divine
chastisement.
The fear of rejection and divine rebuke held the people in bondage year
in and year out for fifteen hundred years. But today, the believer’s
High
Priest is the sinless Son of God, Who has consecrated for us a “new
and living way” and delivered “them who through fear of death
were
all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:15, 10:20).
In view of the foregoing, Paul says, “Let us draw near with a true
heart
in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:22).
(Sovereign
Grace Advocate - February, 1978)