HE  IS  YOUR  ADVOCATE 

 

The rock-bottom foundation of our faith, and the ground floor of our Christian service, is   establishing and pursuing a personal, trusting relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  He loves us; He died for us; He lived for us; He saves us continually; He is our Righteousness; His victory is ours; and today we’ll see that He is our Advocate.

 

What’s an advocate?  What are some types of advocates that may be familiar?  How about Ralph Nader and Herb Dennenberg.   They went to bat – they spoke out and acted on behalf of consumers.  They gave voice to the purchasing public.  They were professional Consumer Advocates.  And as our representatives, their achievements, their victories were for our   collective   benefit.  Can you hear the Gospel right there in that description?

 

The need for consumer protection is painfully obvious – perhaps now, more than ever – that’s a no-brainer.  But, why would we need    a spiritual advocate?  As we so often find, God’s Word provides the explanation:

 

Acts 17:31  Speaking of God, the Father,“… He has appointed a Day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man that He has ordained …”  That Man, being His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

Romans 3:23:  “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” and …

Romans 6:23:  “… the wages of sin is death …”

Ezekiel 59:2  “… your iniquities have separated between you and your God,

and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not  hear.”

Our sinfulness presents a barrier to open communication with Our

Heavenly Father.  That’s the bad news.

 

The good  news is found in 1 John 2:1  “… and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous.”

 

1 Tim 2:5  “… for there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ.”

 

Now, what’s a mediator?  He’s someone who seeks to bring about reconciliation between two parties – an impartial go-between … hmmm.   Is He an intercessor?  Is he a counselor?  Is he an advocate?  (Emmanuel = God with us, literally “in us” / Son of Man)

 

Heb 6:20  Jesus “has … become our High Priest forever” (NAS) … forever our Mediator, our Go-between, our Intercessor, and our Advocate, before God’s Throne of Grace.  Isn’t it interesting that the Judgment Seat is referred to as “the Throne of Grace?” 

 

Heb 7:24, 25  “Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”  (NAS)

 

Now, God’s Word warns that there is an adversary, whom he refers to as “the accuser of the brethren”.  That statement would cast Satan in the role of the prosecutor, whose ultimate purpose is to throw “the book” at fallen humanity.  But, Apostle Paul says …

 

Rom 8:33-34 “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He Who died, yes, rather Who was raised, Who is at the right hand of God, Who also intercedes for us.”  NAS

 

Are you among “the elect”?  My understanding is that ‘the elect” are those who have received the Savior, and are trusting their eternity to Him.  Since the Bible teaches that, in the same way that all were in Adam, all were in Christ – the Second Adam; and that all were judged and died in Christ at Calvary; and that all are called in God’s great invitation to Life in Christ; then, “the elect” are those who have responded to the call – who have chosen to accept the mercy and grace that God has offered thru His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

Romans 8:31  “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Think about that for a moment!  You really do want to place all your eggs in His basket. 

 

HE IS MY ADVOCATE –

 W.W. Prescott, “Victory In Christ”

 

I know that I have sinned, but I also know that I have “an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous” (I John 2:1).  Jesus lived for me, He died for me, and He was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven to be my personal Representative before the Father.

 

Since Jesus is not ashamed to call me His brother, I can confidently regard Him as my Brother.  It inspires me with hope and joy to remember that I have a Brother in heaven Who is both able and willing “to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).  “In all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren,” and therefore like unto me, “that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people,” and therefore for my sins (Hebrews 2:17).  As the Son of Man, and my Brother, Jesus entered “into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God” for me (Hebrews 9:24).

 

I find comfort in trouble, and assurance in perplexity, by “looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who . . . is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).  Although He has been exalted “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:21), yet He does not forget me and my need.  He knows that I have no righteousness of my own which would entitle me to heaven, and so, as my Advocate, He pleads His own righteousness in my behalf, and thus I find acceptance.

 

He knows my frame, and remembers that I am dust, and so, as my Priest, He ministers unto me His own Spirit of grace and power to meet my need.  He encourages me to come with confidence to the throne of grace; and when I come, I find Him there to hear my call, to grant forgiveness, and to dispense “grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).  I do not mean that this is done apart from the Father; but the love, the mercy, and the forgiving grace of the Father find expression through His Son, Jesus Christ, my Priest and Advocate, and I come to God through Him.

 

I know from the scriptures that I must render my account to Him “Who, without respect of persons, judgeth according to every man’s work” (I Peter 1:17), and that “the hour of His judgment is come” (Revelation 14:7).  Therefore I must not indulge in any false sense of security, but must rest only upon a hope “both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; whither the Forerunner is for us entered (Hebrews 6:19, 20).  He is my Advocate.  He, as my personal Representative, pleads my case.  I have committed the keeping of my soul unto Him, and I rest wholly in His work for me.

 

I am glad to testify to others concerning Jesus, my all-sufficient Advocate.  I would that He might be your Advocate.  Will you accept Him.

 

 

We are transgressors of God’s Law.  But God has demonstrated His mercy and grace   in that   the Law-giver  –  the One Who gave the Law at Mt. Sinai  –  has volunteered to become our Defense Attorney … and there is no more-capable, no more-competent representation in all of Creation   than He!

 

Moreover, thru His abiding Spirit, He wants to be our Comforter.  Would you like a lawyer who will comfort and console, strengthen and encourage you?

 

Hebrews:  Chapter One – It is imperative that Jesus be wholly and

completely God, in substance and in nature, in order to qualify as our

personal Savior, capable of reconciling us to Our Heavenly Father.

Chapter Two – It is also imperative that Jesus be fully, wholly and

totally human, in substance and in nature, in order for Him to qualify as our Advocate, our Mediator and our Intercessor.

 

What if … Just what if … you ran afoul of the law and required the services of a good attorney.  And you learned that a US Senator, who had actually written and enacted the very laws under which you were to be tried,   was available and willing to defend you?

 

Now, what if you learned that this supremely-qualified advocate of yours had been appointed to the bench – and, although he would still be pleading your case on your behalf, he would also be serving as the presiding judge, and would render the final decision in your case?

 

Did you know     that Jesus will be our final Judge?  John 5:22: “For the Father judges no man,    but has committed all judgment to the Son.”

 

My personal lawyer became President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas …

 

Now, coming back to your court case:  What if you actually were  guilty of the charges against you; but then you found that your attorney had already paid the penalty … he’d gone and paid it himself?  Watch this:

 

1 John 2:1-3  “My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself  IS  the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.    NAS

 

Are you familiar with, or have you ever participated in a legal class action?  A lawyer will go to court on behalf of an entire group, or class, of individuals; and the disposition of that case will apply to the entire body that he represents.

 

Early in 2011, a class action was brought against Wal-Mart on behalf of its female employees, seeking compensation for alleged pay-rate disparity with male employees holding the same positions.  Did you know that David v. Goliath was a class action?  One brave individual, David, stepped forward to single-handedly represent Israel in a winner-take-all, judgment smack-down against the Philistines.  And, yes!  Calvary!  Jesus at the Cross most definitely qualifies as the ultimate class action in the history of planet earth!

 

Scripture declares that Jesus Christ has already appeared before the Judgment Bar, in a class action on behalf of the entirety of Adam’s fallen race.  He has pled “guilty” – and has paid the full penalty with His own spilt blood and His broken body, standing in our place.  The claims of God’s Law have now been satisfied, as Romans 8:1 unequivocally states,“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”

 

The One Who thoroughly identified with us, as “The Son of Man”, carried all of our burdens, and experienced every form of trial, heartache and infirmity that we bear in this life …Who has already gone to Judgment in our stead, and paid the supreme penalty … and has been appointed by Our Heavenly Father as the Judge Who will render the final decision in our case … He … He  now offers to – and He will – serve as your personal Advocate, your very own  Representative before the Judgment Bar – your Attorney, your Counselor in Heaven’s Court … if you’ll come to Him in prayer and claim it all.

 

As Jesus cried out on the Cross, “It is finished!”  All that remains, now, is your acceptance – your receiving all that’s already been completed on your behalf.  

 

Romans 8:31  “If God is for us, who can possibly prevail against us?”