Be Confident Not 'Full of Yourself'

Read Hebrews 4:14-16
Title in NIV: Mercy is found at the throne of God..

I think it will be helpful to understand some definitions when reading this passage.

High Priest- priest that gave sacrifices and gifts to God; mediator between God and people

Faith- Hebrews 11:1- being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Grace- undeserved love and salvation God gives

Romans 5 says if we have faith we are justified, we receive grace, we have peace with God; through Jesus Christ we have gained access to grace in which we now stand

Justified-to be free from guilt of blame by faith

Reconciled- to settle differences, to be in harmony again; Romans 5:10 talks about being ALREADY reconciled to God because of Jesus' death and we should rejoice. Our differences are already settled.

Jesus is our great high priest who has gone through heaven and held out a bowl of his blood. He can sympathize with our weakness because he was on earth and was tempted in every way.  We should, then, hold firmly to the faith we say we have. There is a problem when we profess Jesus Christ, but we say things like, "I hope I am saved," or "I'm not confident of my salvation."  I have heard people say those things and it makes me sad. Be confident.

Confidence in salvation is different than pride ( 'full of yourself'). Don't confuse confidence in salvation  with pride. Verse 16 says, "Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

There is a difference  between confidence and 'full of yourself'.  Confidence is brave but not showy; quiet and not boastful; humble/meek but not a push over; respects others but does not compromise; joyful even in trials (not to be confused with happy); peace WITH God not fear OF God. We are told in Proverbs 3:26 that the Lord is our confidence.

Isaiah 32:17, "The fruit of righteousness will be peace, the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.

I believe the promises of God more than I am scared of the Judgment Day because I AM in Jesus Christ. I am actively seeking Him each day (of course I could do better), but I am not running away from Him so I am remaining in Him as a choice.  We have not been given a spirit of timidity, 2 Timothy 1:7.

Be confident in your salvation! Confident people do great things!