August 29, 2022 – Monday
Hebrews 4:16 NIV
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16 KJV
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16 YLT
16 we may come near, then, with freedom, to the throne of the grace, that we may receive kindness, and find grace — for seasonable help.
Comments
You may be wondering why three different versions of this verse and we will get to that shortly, but first using the NIV here is the context of the verse, the last verse of this chapter, 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
This may seem a bit odd to us as we do not have high priests in most Christian churches, but the Jewish people, the Hebrews did and as they followed Christ, Jesus was looked upon as a Great High Priest as well as their Lord and Savior through His sacrifice on the cross. While we do not have high priests in our churches, verse sixteen is still applicable to us and everyone who comes to Jesus in repentance and faith.
So now why the three different versions above? Only one was necessary to address the throne of grace, which is the source of the grace we receive, the unmerited, undeserved, unearned favor and forgiveness of sins from God. And it is Jesus who sits on the throne of grace. Amazingly, all state we can find more unearned favor in our times of need.
The reason for the three versions is how we are able to go about approaching the throne of grace. The NIV says we can approach it with confidence, while they KJV says we can approach it boldly and YLT says we can approach it with freedom. Thus, I was curious about the word that could be translated in these ways. The word is the Greek parrhesia, Strong’s 3954, which the HELPS Word-studies here tells us it is from 3956 /pás, “all” and rhēsis, “a proverb or statement quoted with resolve,” – properly, confidence (bold resolve), leaving a witness that something deserves to be remembered (taken seriously). Strong’s definition gives all out-spokenness, i.e. frankness, bluntness, publicity; by implication, assurance:—bold (X -ly, -ness, -ness of speech), confidence, freely, openly, plainly(-ness), which is where the KJV finds boldly.
Frankly, I found boldly to be odd and somewhat inappropriate to my mind. MacLaren’s Exposition agrees as he states, Now boldly is a somewhat incongruous word; it neither conveys the original, nor does it correspond to our sense of propriety. The thought would be far more beautiful and far more naturally represented by a more literal translation – ‘Let us come with frank confidence’ to the throne of grace. But then I am reminded of Proverbs 28:1, The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. Still, approaching Jesus, I can only imagine doing so with great humility, even with great confidence.
Bottom Line: Jesus is approachable in our time of need and will supply additional grace when we need it.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Grace is what saves us when we repent, and grace exists without limit if we will but call upon Jesus for it. Thank You Father. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek