The Unmerited Favor of God

“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

I know that there are lots of folks who think of the Lord as a God who is always waiting to lower the boom on someone for their sins, or who desires to keep someone in misery trying to follow all the rules and regulations of what folks consider to be God’s requirements to fend off punishment.  It has been said that children get their view of God from their earthly father.  If kids have a father who is grouchy, judgmental, without compassion, distant, or absent, that is likely how they will see God.  But that’s not the God that I know, nor is it the God of scripture.  Yes, it is true that He did allow His wrath to consume lots of evil folks in the Old Testament times, but it was and is His prerogative to punish sin in whatever way He deems appropriate because all sin is ultimately against Him.

Today we live in the age of grace which is the sixth dispensation, “an era of time during which man is tested in respect to obedience to some definite revelation of God’s will” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary).  The first five dispensations are as follows:  Innocence, Conscience, Human Government, Promise, and Law.  The seventh and last dispensation is the Kingdom, the time when Jesus returns to rule the earth..  The age of grace began with the death and resurrection of Christ.  No longer are people answerable to the law as a means to be temporarily accepted by God until the time when Jesus came to fulfill God’s penalty for man’s sin.  In the age of grace, people are accepted by God through repentance of sin and placing faith in Jesus Christ alone followed by a life of good works in service to Him.  I don’t think any of us, even the most committed Christian, fully understand grace.  We know that grace is defined as “God’s riches at Christ’s expense”, which supports the fact that none of us are deserving of God’s favor.  He loves us because He wants to.  God sent His sinless Son to die for our sins because He wanted to.  He loves us so much that He made the way for us sinners to be reconciled to Him.  A very simple analogy of grace would be if you owed me $50, and I asked for it back, but you didn’t have it so I gave you $50 to pay me back and called it even.

Since we have such a One who cares so deeply it gives us confidence that we can “come boldly unto the throne of grace” with any problem or situation we are facing no matter how big or small it is.  If anyone comes to me with a situation like one that I have gone through, I am more than willing to help them, pray for them, listen and offer counsel if requested.  Now if I, the sinful creature that I am, will take the time and the effort to comfort another, then how much more will the One who died for sinners be willing to listen and offer comfort to those who are hurting, grieving, or anxious?

Ephesians 3:20 tells us that Jesus “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to (His) power that works in us.”  God has an abundant supply of mercy and grace, more than enough to help us in our time of trouble and sorrow, and will generously bestow them upon us when needed.  So don’t be afraid to ask Him.