“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16, ESV)
A father sat at the kitchen table on a Saturday morning. He was reading the newspaper on his iPad, pondering the jobs needing to be done around the house, and enjoying a breakfast of eggs and toast. Coming down the steps from his bedroom, his fifteen-year-old son ambled into the kitchen and sat next to him. After a few moments and yawns, the boy said, “Dad, I need $40 to fix my bike.”
The father replied, “Do you think money just grows on trees? I’ve set aside money for my own projects today. Go mow Aunt Amber’s lawn and do some other work to get the money you need.”
The son replied, “I don’t have time to earn the money. I need the parts for my bike now.”
The father ended the discussion by saying, “You should have thought about this two weeks ago when all you did during spring break was play video games, lay on the couch, sleep in, and complain about the slow internet speed.”
After speaking to many fathers over the years, this type of discussion goes on in every family to some degree. Like the son in the exchange above, there are many people who are lazy. They expect others to supply their needs. They sit around and hope money falls into their laps. They don’t plan for tomorrow. They don’t maintain what they have but instead only think about the care of their possessions when something breaks down. When something goes wrong, they expect others to just step in and fix their own problem.
I have seen many fights break out in families, on the job site, and in school by people who wanted to skate through life and have others fix their problems. I remember a counseling session where a wife was upset that her husband didn’t make more money so that whenever she had any want or need, she could just use a credit card to fix it. At a construction site, a woman complained to friend of mine that he was not doing his job. When he asked what she was complaining about, she mentioned that if anything weighed more than twenty pounds, he was supposed to lift it for her without her having to ask! Both received the same salary. Both were hired for the same work. She just had this notion that her co-workers were obligated to do part of her job, so she didn’t strain herself.
Sadly, these same wrong attitudes also occur in the spiritual realm. Many Christians go through life expecting grace to just fall from the sky. Many “prosperity gospel” believers of the 1970’s and 1980’s had the notion that when you make a promise to believe in Jesus, you will inevitably get wealthy, be permanently happy, and nothing will ever really go wrong in your life. There will be smooth sailing all your days, God fixing every problem before you even have to ask. What a bunch of lies! Another example of this can be found in the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer from the 1930’s. It concerns the topic of “Cheap Grace”. Cheap grace occurs when people believe that all their sins will be fixed by God without any delay or atonement or repentance or any effort on their part. Bonhoeffer wrote that this type of spiritual attitude is not only detrimental but unbiblical.
Yes, grace is a free gift from God. Yes, grace will grant you forgiveness and mercy and restore your relationship with God. But grace is not cheap nor lazy. Grace from God requires your willingness to take part. You must reject your sin. You have to change your ways. You need to ask God for forgiveness and do any required atonement to make things right in response to God’s grace. Grace from God is free. It is not cheap or easy and does not ever “fall from trees”. It requires changes in your attitude, actions to make things right, and promises to do your part.
Look at the scripture for today. In seeking forgiveness and grace, the author of Hebrews 4:16 urges all the faithful to “confidently draw near the throne of God”. There, through prayer and an attitude of repentance, the person should “find grace in a time of need”. If you read this verse carefully, you will notice that God offers grace to the believer openly. However, the believer must do his or her part. Anyone needing grace must “draw near” to God. That person needs to seek out God’s grace to “receive mercy”.
I was in a counseling session many years ago. There, a woman was complaining that her husband was the cause of her biggest problems. As she went on and on complaining about his lack of care, I finally had to ask an important question, “Have you ever specifically asked your husband to help you, forgive you, or do some of these things you want him to do?”
“Of course not!” she replied. “He should know what I want and need! If he loved me, he shouldn’t have to be told, right?”
After her last few sentences, we had a long talk about the fact that people can’t read minds and sometimes do not know what someone else wants or needs. We also talked a good deal about making assumptions about what another person is thinking and expecting a spouse to fix things without even asking for help.
God expects you to be open and honest and to “draw near” to His throne of grace. He desires that you ask for mercy when you are in need. However, God will not just “fix things” when you mess up, overlook your failings and sin, and grant you grace “just because”. You need to do your part. You need to confess your sin. You need to actively pursue repentance. You must be willing to come to God’s throne and ask for mercy when you mess up. Don’t expect God to shower you with grace and mercy and forgiveness just because you were baptized years ago. When you mess up, go to God. Offer up your confession. Ask for forgiveness and mercy. Then, do what you can to show your thankfulness when God grants you grace.
Grace is a free gift from God. Grace can impart forgiveness and mercy from God. Grace can free you from the heavy burden of sin. It can make your heart light and your hopes soar! But grace is not without cost. It should not be taken for granted. To receive grace, you need to do what it takes to draw near to God. You need to come to God. You may need to come back to God. If you want to feel the awesome effects of grace, it will take your willingness to be humble, an admission of your sin, a desire to make things right, and a conviction to change your ways. Grace is wonderful. It is life-changing. It is beautiful. Grace is free, but grace is never cheap. Jesus died on a cross to bring grace to you.
The father replied, “Do you think money just grows on trees? I’ve set aside money for my own projects today. Go mow Aunt Amber’s lawn and do some other work to get the money you need.”
The son replied, “I don’t have time to earn the money. I need the parts for my bike now.”
The father ended the discussion by saying, “You should have thought about this two weeks ago when all you did during spring break was play video games, lay on the couch, sleep in, and complain about the slow internet speed.”
After speaking to many fathers over the years, this type of discussion goes on in every family to some degree. Like the son in the exchange above, there are many people who are lazy. They expect others to supply their needs. They sit around and hope money falls into their laps. They don’t plan for tomorrow. They don’t maintain what they have but instead only think about the care of their possessions when something breaks down. When something goes wrong, they expect others to just step in and fix their own problem.
I have seen many fights break out in families, on the job site, and in school by people who wanted to skate through life and have others fix their problems. I remember a counseling session where a wife was upset that her husband didn’t make more money so that whenever she had any want or need, she could just use a credit card to fix it. At a construction site, a woman complained to friend of mine that he was not doing his job. When he asked what she was complaining about, she mentioned that if anything weighed more than twenty pounds, he was supposed to lift it for her without her having to ask! Both received the same salary. Both were hired for the same work. She just had this notion that her co-workers were obligated to do part of her job, so she didn’t strain herself.
Sadly, these same wrong attitudes also occur in the spiritual realm. Many Christians go through life expecting grace to just fall from the sky. Many “prosperity gospel” believers of the 1970’s and 1980’s had the notion that when you make a promise to believe in Jesus, you will inevitably get wealthy, be permanently happy, and nothing will ever really go wrong in your life. There will be smooth sailing all your days, God fixing every problem before you even have to ask. What a bunch of lies! Another example of this can be found in the writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer from the 1930’s. It concerns the topic of “Cheap Grace”. Cheap grace occurs when people believe that all their sins will be fixed by God without any delay or atonement or repentance or any effort on their part. Bonhoeffer wrote that this type of spiritual attitude is not only detrimental but unbiblical.
Yes, grace is a free gift from God. Yes, grace will grant you forgiveness and mercy and restore your relationship with God. But grace is not cheap nor lazy. Grace from God requires your willingness to take part. You must reject your sin. You have to change your ways. You need to ask God for forgiveness and do any required atonement to make things right in response to God’s grace. Grace from God is free. It is not cheap or easy and does not ever “fall from trees”. It requires changes in your attitude, actions to make things right, and promises to do your part.
Look at the scripture for today. In seeking forgiveness and grace, the author of Hebrews 4:16 urges all the faithful to “confidently draw near the throne of God”. There, through prayer and an attitude of repentance, the person should “find grace in a time of need”. If you read this verse carefully, you will notice that God offers grace to the believer openly. However, the believer must do his or her part. Anyone needing grace must “draw near” to God. That person needs to seek out God’s grace to “receive mercy”.
I was in a counseling session many years ago. There, a woman was complaining that her husband was the cause of her biggest problems. As she went on and on complaining about his lack of care, I finally had to ask an important question, “Have you ever specifically asked your husband to help you, forgive you, or do some of these things you want him to do?”
“Of course not!” she replied. “He should know what I want and need! If he loved me, he shouldn’t have to be told, right?”
After her last few sentences, we had a long talk about the fact that people can’t read minds and sometimes do not know what someone else wants or needs. We also talked a good deal about making assumptions about what another person is thinking and expecting a spouse to fix things without even asking for help.
God expects you to be open and honest and to “draw near” to His throne of grace. He desires that you ask for mercy when you are in need. However, God will not just “fix things” when you mess up, overlook your failings and sin, and grant you grace “just because”. You need to do your part. You need to confess your sin. You need to actively pursue repentance. You must be willing to come to God’s throne and ask for mercy when you mess up. Don’t expect God to shower you with grace and mercy and forgiveness just because you were baptized years ago. When you mess up, go to God. Offer up your confession. Ask for forgiveness and mercy. Then, do what you can to show your thankfulness when God grants you grace.
Grace is a free gift from God. Grace can impart forgiveness and mercy from God. Grace can free you from the heavy burden of sin. It can make your heart light and your hopes soar! But grace is not without cost. It should not be taken for granted. To receive grace, you need to do what it takes to draw near to God. You need to come to God. You may need to come back to God. If you want to feel the awesome effects of grace, it will take your willingness to be humble, an admission of your sin, a desire to make things right, and a conviction to change your ways. Grace is wonderful. It is life-changing. It is beautiful. Grace is free, but grace is never cheap. Jesus died on a cross to bring grace to you.