Webster’s Dictionary defines advocate as “one who argues or pleads for a cause or proposal.” A picture of an advocate is a lawyer pleading a case before a judge for a favorable verdict for a client. This is what Jesus is for us, our advocate with God the Father. We find the word advocate in the Bible in John 2:1-2, “if anyone sins we have an Advocate who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”
Our basic problem as human beings is that we are all sinners. Sin separates us from being in a right relationship with God the Father. The guilt of our sins carries with it the sentence of death, both spiritual death in this life and eternal death in the life to come. That is the bad news, but the good news is that we have an advocate in Jesus Christ. Jesus, who is without sin, pleads our case by having offered his own earthly life as a sacrifice, which freed us from the guilt of our sin. The truth is that all who receive by faith Jesus as their Advocate will be set free from the guilt and the power of sin and into a new relationship with God, a relationship that brings salvation to life that is both abundant and eternal.
A favorite hymn of the Church is, “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place.” The refrain catches the essence of Jesus as an advocate. It goes, “I need no other argument, I need no other plea; it is enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me.”
So remember this, when Satan tries to lay a guilt trip on a Christian, Jesus steps in as advocate and says, “this believer is mine and is forgiven and is free from any condemnation.” That fact of blessed assurance is what gives a Christian peace that passes all human understanding. That’s really good news.
Image by Godsgirl_madi from Pixabay
Answers to Life’s Greatest Questions is provided by Living Dialog Ministries. Visit our website at LivingDialog.org where you’ll see the wide range of books and booklets to help you go deeper in the study of God’s Word.
