Names of Jesus - ADVOCATE 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: 1 John 2:1 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Romans 8:33-34 NLT Yesterday we talked about Jesus Christ the Righteous, and how we are in need of his righteousness, not our own. Today well talk about what it looks like. Picture this... Youre in a courtroom. Youre on trial. The defendant. God is the judge. The prosecutor is Satan, the enemy of God and all people. The prosecutor has a long list of charges against you. The problem is, every one of them is true. There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers. Proverbs 6:6-19 There are so many more ways that we can miss the mark (sin), I dont need to name them all but I use this for illustration. What do we say? Im a pretty good person, Ive never murdered anyone... But there are so many ways we fall short, and they all begin in the heart before we ever put our hands to do them. Just based off of this list, we would probably all be guilty of at least 6 out of these 7. Many times over. So back to our courtroom. You stand before the judge, guilty of every crime youve been accused of. The prosecutor knows hes got an open-and-shut case. But the defense attorney stands. Its Jesus our advocate. Whats he going to do? Go for a plea bargain? Present false evidence? No, this is Jesus Christ the Righteous. He is Truth and only speaks truth. What then? Will he throw you under the bus? Tell the judge to throw the book at you? No, this is Jesus the Good Shepherd, who gives his life for his sheep. (Look for that one coming up!) Your advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous, stands up before the judge, the just judge, who doesnt wink at sin or turn a blind eye. Your advocate begins to speak. He agrees with the prosecutor that you are indeed guilty of the charges against you! He agrees that these crimes must be paid for! What?! What kind of advocate is this? However, he continues, *I* am not guilty. I am innocent of any wrongdoing. I have chosen to pay the penalty myself. And he holds out his hands. His nail-pierced hands. The just judge knows he speaks truth. This is his own son, the sinless one. And he speaks. You have committed these crimes. There is a price to be paid. But based on the righteousness of my son, and the fact that he has chosen to take your place, my verdict is... NOT GUILTY. If you want to receive that NOT GUILTY verdict, you need to choose your advocate before you reach the courtroom. “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18 For my Christian friends, those who have trusted the blood of Jesus to cover your sin, the prosecutor, Satan, is still after you. He loves to point out where youve fallen short. His purpose is to make you feel hopeless, like youre no good, why would God love me after this, its no use. Right? He whispers words of CONDEMNATION. But Jesus your advocate speaks CONVICTION. Whats the difference? He comes to you in love, showing you where you need to confess your sin to him, repent - turn around, and find forgiveness and mercy for today. And by his power, to be transformed. To walk in truth. In faith. When you get those thoughts, think about it... is it CONDEMNATION or CONVICTION? If its condemnation, its NOT OF GOD. If its CONVICTION, thank God for showing you. Confess your sin to him. Receive forgiveness. And ask him to help you make a change and overcome it. youtu.be/FX16mqI1dNo {permission to repost given by JM}
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 14:41:08 +0000
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