John the apostle has been sharing with us the idea that God wants to have fellowship with people, and that by confession of our sins that keep us separated from that fellowship, Jesus' blood brings forgiveness and cleansing to all who will do so. In chapter two of this awesome letter John writes in verse one:
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
We learned yesterday that one of the reasons John wrote this book is so that we would not sin. However, to be sinless completely is something that only Jesus did on Earth. John knows this, and for those who occasionally sin even when they desire not to, John has a solution - “we have an advocate with the Father”.
An “advocate” literally means “one who comes alongside; one who pleads another's cause before a judge; a pleader; a counsel for defense”. In other words, an advocate is an attorney. Whenever there is an occasional, and not habitual, sin within a person's life who follows Jesus Christ as their Savior, Jesus steps in as their attorney who represents them before God the righteous judge. Jesus makes a plea on the sinner's behalf, and the Father hears His Son's case.
Jesus is a faithful attorney like no other in that He paid the price in advance for the sins we have committed. Paul the apostle wrote it this way in Second Corinthians chapter five verse twenty-one:
For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Jesus as our great advocate, our faithful attorney, not only steps in for the one who sins, but has already paid the penalty for those sins. His plea before the Heavenly Father is that because of His sacrifice, we are now righteous in Him. When one thinks about this concept for very long, it is indeed humbling. John the apostle knows our nature is to sin, and when we do so, Jesus steps in with arguments that cleanse, forgive and makes us righteous before the judge. No wonder “Elvina Hall” wrote the words to this famous hymn:
Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, find locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
No comments:
Post a Comment