Walk Of Life – December 03, 2021 – Christ Centered Christmas, The Titles of Jesus Christ
The Advocate
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1
If we sin, do we lose our salvation? If we are truly saved, will we ever sin? And if we do sin, what should we do to get rid of the guilt and the grief that hangs heavy in our heart?
If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.- 1 John 1:9,10
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.- 1 John 2:2
The word “advocate” means lawyer or one who pleads our cause or case. Jesus acts as our lawyer, pleading our case before the Father. When we are tempted, if we sin, we can claim the promise of First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
First John 1:9 is often quoted to sinners, telling them to confess their sins. God didn’t tell them to. It would be impossible for a sinner to confess every wrong he had ever done, because his whole life is wrong! No, this verse was written to Christians.
John writes, “My little children [because they were saved under his ministry and were his spiritual 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.”
It is quite obvious that God does not want us to sin: “. . . these things write I unto you, that ye SIN NOT” (1 John 2:1). It is quite obvious that if we walked completely in the Word and in love, we wouldn’t sin. But it is also obvious that none of us has achieved this yet.
This scripture in First John never was intended to encourage people to sin. John is simply telling us about God’s provision for sin. The Spirit of God will help us overcome sin—not encourage us to practice it! After all, John said, “These things write I unto you, that you sin not.”
God wants His people to be restored to full fellowship with Him. It is a different matter, however, when people do not want to be restored. If they want to be restored, it is our obligation to restore them in a spirit of meekness, not arrogance. Why? “. . . considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1).
If you have sinned or failed, you cannot stand in the Presence of God without a consciousness of sin. But there is One who can go in on your behalf — Jesus Christ, the Righteous. He is the propitiation—the substitute—for our sins; and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1,2).
As our advocate, Jesus restores to us our lost sense of righteousness, But He does more than just forgive us of our sins; He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. He cleanses us from that sin-consciousness or spiritual inferiority complex that would keep us from going into God’s Presence.
In Hebrews 4:14 we read, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest . . . .” We have a High Priest who also stands in this office of Advocate that we may “. . . come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (v.16).
Mercy and grace are always available to us if we break God’s law. All we need to do is call on Christ our Advocate!
