Christ Our Advocate
Christ Our Advocate by Rev. L. John Gable
September 12, 2021
Hebrews 4:14-16 I John 2:1-6
Several weeks ago Kristin and I were watching a documentary on a retirement village community in which one of the characters – and I use that word character intentionally even though he is a real person not an actor – because he was, in fact, a real character. Why he allowed himself to be filmed I do not know because he was shown exhibiting some rather bizarre and unorthodox behavior, some of which was unlawful, which resulted in his being arrested and ordered to appear in court. He decided it was in his own best interest to represent himself, a decision his wife strongly disagreed with, a decision even the judge who heard his case strongly disagreed with. But the man insisted and as you can well imagine things did not go well for him.
It was Abraham Lincoln who made popular the saying, “He who represents himself in court has a fool for a client.” It is not just out of protocol or familiarity with the law or court proceedings that it is wise to hire good counsel, but out of good judgment and the desire for the best possible outcome if ever we find ourselves on the other side of the law. It is to our benefit that we have an advocate when we appear before a judge, any judge, which is exactly the point being made in our lesson from I John.
John writes, “My little children, (he is writing to a community of believers he knows and loves. He is writing for their benefit). My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. (Let’s agree that the simple definition of sin is breaking the law – God’s Law; missing the mark; stepping out of bounds; crossing the line; trespassing; owing a debt we cannot repay, all things we each are guilty of!) But if anyone does sin (not so much if we sin, but when or since we sin) we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.”
I’ve chosen this particular passage as one of the 50 greatest because these two verses are the whole Gospel in summary. Let’s look carefully at what they teach us. We, by human nature, sin and fall short of the glory of God, that is a given, and one day we will have to stand before God the Father who is our judge. The very thought of that should fill us with the strange mixture of both awe and fear, of delight and terror, because while we know that God is loving and merciful, we also know that He is holy and just. There is an inherent tension in the nature of God, a balance between His being loving and His being holy. If God was only loving He would simply wink at our sin as if it doesn’t really matter and there would never be any correction for wrongdoing, ours or anyone else’s, and if He was only holy who would dare stand before Him. The balance between His holiness and His mercy is what we call the justice of God, He is right and fair in His judgment of us!
This past Wednesday during the Pastor’s Bible study Don Heitman told a story from the Civil War days that I had not heard. A young confederate soldier was ordered to appear before General Robert E. Lee to be judged for an infraction he had committed and he was terrified. General Lee said, “Don’t be afraid, son, you will find justice here!” to which the young soldier replied, “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
As we stand before our just and holy God we too should have every reason to be terrified because we know the sins we have committed for which we will be found guilty, and that is why we need an advocate, someone who will stand with us and speak for us. Again, “Anyone who represents themselves in court has a fool for a client.”
But not just any advocate will do, because anyone who is just like us, who is as guilty as we are, will also be judged and found guilty, so we need the kind of advocate who is described in the book of Hebrews: “a great high priest who has passed through the heavens; who is not unable to sympathize with us in our weakness but one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin” and there is only One who is able to do that. His name is “Jesus, the righteous, the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.” This is who Jesus is and what He has done for us. Christ is our advocate!
Let me see if this illustration is helpful for you. Imagine yourself standing before God, alone and uncertain, with all of your brokenness and sin laid bare, knowing you will be judged and found guilty by a holy God. But then imagine Jesus, coming up behind you, wrapping His arms around you, such that God sees you, not clothed in the dirty rags of your own sin, but “clothed in the righteousness of Christ”, and then hearing Him say, “This one belongs to Me!” This is what He has done for us. This is what He continues to do for us, not just once a year like the High Priest of old, but daily, hourly, in our time of need.
Do you see then how these two verses are able to summarize the whole Gospel message? Jesus Christ, and He alone, is our advocate who knows both our human weakness and need as well as the nature and character of God. He alone is our advocate as we stand in the presence of a holy God because He alone is the atoning sacrifice who has paid the penalty for our sins and restored us back in to a right relationship with God. As theologian Karl Barth put it, He is “the judge judged in our place…By putting the chains on Himself He takes them off of the other.”
For this reason the writer of the book of Hebrews encourages us to “approach the throne of grace, not with fear and trepidation, but with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.” Jesus is our advocate who forgives us of our sins and allows us to come in to the presence of God with boldness and confidence and joy.
President Lincoln is known to have been one of our most accessible Presidents. Historians and biographers alike describe long lines of office seekers and common citizens who frequently came to the White House to meet with him. But the story is also told of one Union soldier who had been badly injured in battle who came to visit the President in the latter days of the war, and despite his best efforts for several weeks, was unable to make it in to the President’s company. He was coming to plea for the release of his brother from military service so he could return home and work the family farm. Unable to gain access to the President he was found one day sitting on a bench on the White House lawn, near where one of the President’s sons was playing ball. In despair the soldier poured out his story to the boy who had discovered him there in tears with his head in his hands. Without a word the lad reached out and grasped the hand of the crippled soldier. He led him across the beautifully manicured lawn, up the steps, through those great pillars, into the building. Down the hall he went, striding ahead of the hobbling warrior, past the sentry, past the officious secretary, through those great doors, right up to the front of the President’s desk. He introduced his new found friend to his father, who then extended him the pardon he came seeking.
This is exactly what Jesus has done for us as our advocate. He has given us access to our Heavenly Father, so that, standing with us and speaking on our behalf, we may approach the throne of grace with boldness and confidence, not because of who we are but because of who Christ is; not because of what we have done but because of what Christ has done for us. And we would be foolish to think that we could represent ourselves before God without Him for He is our advocate.
Before we leave this great passage we need to look briefly at the second half of what it teaches. The portion we’ve looked at, the first two verses, explain the theology of the atonement, Jesus’ work of reconciling us back to God by His sacrificial death; the remaining four verses tell us how we should then live, how our restored relationship with God should impact and change the way we live our lives. John goes on to write, “Now by this we may be sure that we know Him, if we obey His commandments. Whoever says, ‘I have come to know Him’, but does not obey His commandments is a liar and in such a person the truth does not exist; but whoever obeys His word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in Him; whoever says, ‘I abide in Him’, ought to walk as He walked.”
Our right relationship with God should always find expression in our desire for right relationships with one another. Our love of God should always find expression in our loving care of others. If we say we know Him, but then don’t desire to live like Him or to obey His commandments, we are not speaking the truth. We show that we know Him by walking as He walked.
Now, our walking in His way may take the form of evangelism, of our sharing the Good News and introducing others to the love of God. We want for others what we have experienced for ourselves. It may take the form of social welfare, of our caring and providing for the needs of others. We who have must help care and provide for those who have not. It may also take the form of advocacy, of our seeking justice and equity for those among us who are disadvantaged, over-looked, under-resourced or under-privileged. We want others to have access to the same resources and opportunities we have and we know that is not the case too often and for too long regarding access to good education or health care or housing or employment and the likes. We who are so privileged have responsibility to advocate for those who are under-served or under-resourced. We who have hold of the long end of the stick must support those who hold the short end of the stick. We who have access to those who have decision-making power must speak on behalf of those who do not such access. We must speak for those who do not have either the voice or the platform to speak for themselves. Just as Jesus assumes the role of being our advocate, so we must also assume the role of being an advocate for those around us who are not able to advocate for themselves.
You will recall that our Vision Renewal statement is established on three separate but inter-dependent legs: Greater Faith, Deeper Relationships and a Stronger Community. Each of these is evidenced in the passage we’ve read this morning as it calls for Greater Faith and confidence in Jesus as our advocate, for a Deeper Relationship with God and others through the reconciling work that Christ has done for us, and for a Stronger Community by our living out the Gospel message through our loving care and concern for the well-being of our neighbors.
Listen to the way our Vision Renewal statement explains what we mean by A Stronger Community: “Tab will be a congregation that partners with its neighbors to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the community outside its doors, working to equip people to overcome obstacles, collaborating with individuals and organizations to advocate for justice, and recognizing that our faith and obedience will be judged by the way we walk with those in need.”
This beautiful passage summarizes the entire Gospel message as it reminds us that Jesus is our advocate, who stands with us and speaks for us as we stand before our just and merciful God. We would be foolish to do so without Him. And it also reminds us that we are called to live out our faith by learning to walk as Jesus walked by caring for the needs of others and advocating for them as He has for us. In these ways we show that we know Him.
Rev. L. John Gable
Tabernacle Presbyterian Church
Indianapolis, IN