DAY 3 – THE ADVOCATE
These things I write to you, my little children so that you will not sin. And if anyone sins, we have a righteous advocate with the Father in Jesus Christ. 1John 2:1
Who is an advocate? Well, the Oxford dictionary refers to an advocate as a person, who adds a voice of support to a cause or a person. An advocate defends his client in the courtroom in front of the judge with all the possible statements to prove that the client is free of guilt. I believe that we would have seen the court scene on television where the mediator tries hard to save his men at all costs. The debates, the interrogations, the witnesses’ and the final verdict all increase the heat in the room.
In a similar way, the Apostle John, who was also a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, pens down an idea of a heavenly court scene for a particular congregation. The members of the church were condemning themselves for the mistakes that they had made in the past. Looking at their low spirits, John explains that "we indeed have an advocate who can prove our innocence in front of the heavenly judge on our behalf." Many people, find it hard to recover from a mistake or sin even after identifying it as a sin. Some other individuals end up forming bad habits, but they keep blaming themselves for it over and over again. And there are other people who, by any means, never accept that they are liable for a wrong deed. Only a few souls accept Christ's salvation and forgiveness and are freed from the bondage of sin.
Glancing into the first category, the Bible refers to them as humans of weaker conscience. A human’s conscience is the inner voice that mostly keeps an individual away from an immoral act. The values and morality that are inculcated through parents, surroundings, books, and personal experiences guide a person on the right path. But, if the conscience of a person is weak, they become fragile and equipment for evil in society. Titus (1:15) To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. In the life of King Solomon, David, the father of Solomon, passed over the administrating authorities, governing and ruling the land of Israel to Solomon when he was very young. On his deathbed, King David warned Solomon to follow all the commandments of God to prosper and be successful in his reign. After the death of his father, King David, Solomon seems to be obedient to the Lord during his initial days. He served and sacrificed to the Lord and kept all the laws that were instructed through Moses to the Israelites. But, as days passed, Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, "You shall not enter into marriage with them, nor shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, many of whom were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wife turned away from his heart." (1 Kings 11:1-4) Then Solomon built a high place for Che mosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. And so, he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods. (1 Kings 11:7-8) The King who built the Holy Temple for the Almighty God erected a tabernacle of worship for other gods—demons—on the holy land of Jerusalem and defiled it.
So, God appeared to Solomon and warned him to leave all the evil practices and return to him. But unfortunately, Solomon’s heart was unable to repent of his sins. Though King Solomon was powerful in dominion, the abominations dominated and failed him.
Now, what is a weak conscience?
1Corinthians 8:9 speaks about the distinct fellow being of a vulnerable inner voice. Paul continues to say that these people stumble if they are not guided righteously, as it is hard for them to choose or differentiate between right and wrong. The lack of discernment often led them astray from God. They can easily be deceived, tricked, and fooled. We could read about Jacob, who was duped in front of Isaac for his blessings. Jacob believed it to be Esau and blessed Jacob abundantly, leaving the other with nothing. Now, how can someone have a strong mind voice? The Lord Jesus Christ once told his disciples that "My sheep hear my voice and I will guide them." When we start to listen to God’s voice through sermons, scriptures, songs, etc, we will understand his guidance to walk righteously.
The second set of personalities is those that sin, regret, yet are unable to forgive themselves. Their minds recall everything frequently and torment them with their guilt. Finally, they lose their peace and happiness and live in darkness. In the Bible, we read about a man called Judas Iscariot. Judas was one of the original twelve disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was with the Lord and followed him everywhere. He listened to the sermons Jesus taught, went to synagogues with him, ate, and dined with him always. He too was a friend of Jesus, just like any other disciple. But, during the last supper that was arranged for the Lord Jesus, Satan entered Judas’ heart and corrupted him. He disclosed Jesus’ whereabouts to the high priest and elders for 30 pieces of silver and identified Jesus with a kiss. After he saw Jesus condemned to death, Judas became restless and lost his peace. He cursed himself for causing innocent bloodshed. He tried to save Jesus by throwing away the money in front of the council, but his efforts went in vain. As he couldn’t get away from the guilt, he hanged himself on a tree.
There will be certain moments in our lives where we find it extremely difficult to forgive ourselves and let go of them. Every human faces it because their conscience keeps accusing us. Many, during these times, avoid prayer. They are afraid of God’s presence and try to escape from him. But I tell you, in all those terrible times, run into God’s presence and surrender yourself to him. He alone is the God who can forgive your sins and forget them. He is capable of not only forgiving you but also restoring your lost peace and saving you from your sins.
The third type of group will never accept that they are wrong, even after going through several condemnations. The Holy Book warns such people multiple times and accuses them of the stubbornness of their hearts. But as Romans 2:5 says, "But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God."
Through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are considered to be holy and righteous. It’s by his blood that our sins are covered and are not remembered. But the blood of the Lord Jesus can cleanse us only when we repent of it in his presence and are willing to accept his salvation. But the hardness of heart refuses to understand its wickedness and boasts with pride, thinking it to be righteous.
Cain and Abel were the two sons of the parents, Adam and Eve. Cain was working in the field while Abel was taking care of the cattle. On a fine day, Cain offered his grains at the altar of God, and Abel brought the best sheep to be offered. Abel’s tithe was accepted by God, but he rejected Cain’s offerings, which made Cain furious. In his outrage, Cain took Abel to the field and killed him cruelly. God stepped down from heaven and enquired about Abel, to which Cain replied that he knew nothing about Abel. This saddened God’s heart, as he knew what had happened and cursed Cain for his action against his brother. If at all, Cain accepted his misdeed and tried to reconcile with God, God would have graciously forgiven him. Which is the reason David pleads to God for an understanding heart, a heart that can distinguish between the good and the bad, a heart that can fear the voice of God. Even as we meditate today, let’s ask God for a heart that can listen to God and obey all that he commands. Ezek 36:26-27, God says, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”
The fourth batch of souls is very small in number and is considered to be upright before God. They are someone who can readily accept their flaws and surrender them to God in reconciliation. They are someone who fears God and willfully obey him as they love him. They are unshakable by worldly pleasures and are firm in the faith. They overcome the world with the help of the Lord Jesus Christ and are considered victorious. They conquer the world and battle the enemy with faith, declaring, "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. " Micah (7:8)
King David was a man after God’s own heart. He was a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking young man. And the Lord was with him. (1 Sam 16:18) God protected David from all his enemies and enabled him to rule the nation of Israel. But when David became king, he forcefully committed adultery with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and murdered Uriah. This was found to be evil in God’s sight. God sent Nathan to David to rebuke him for his offense. And when David heard the word of God, he immediately confessed his sins. He repented wholeheartedly and waited for God’s mercy. And as he waited on God, the merciful God generously forgave him and bloated out the transgressions. 1 John (1:8), "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
SCENE FROM A HEAVENLY COURT
Joshua, who is mentioned in the book of Zechariah 3, was a Levite and a descendant of Aaron. Joshua returned from Babylon along with Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, Azariah, and many others. As the first high priest in the rebuilt Jerusalem, Joshua played a significant historical role and was a precursor to Ezra, who came to Jerusalem during the second wave of returning exiles. God's prophet Zechariah was also with them, revealing God’s plan and guiding them. One day. God showed Zechariah a heavenly vision. In the vision, Zechariah saw Joshua, the high priest, who was standing before the Angel of the Lord. To his right was Satan, who also presented himself before God. In the scene, Satan was found continually accusing the high priest, Joshua. When we look into our lives, there may be some violations that we committed in the past, thinking that nobody was aware of them.
But in reality, even the secrets of the dark are revealed in front of the almighty God. In the same way, Satan also knew all the shortcomings that a man had in his life. We can't hide from both of them. He immediately approaches God's throne and begins to obligate in front of God. He exactly did that in the life of Joshua. Joshua, a symbol of guilt, was seen in court wearing filthy clothes. The Lord saw the uncleaned garments of Joshua and ordered the Angel to bring a clean cloth to represent that the sins of Joshua were forgiven.
THE ADVOCATE IS LORD JESUS CHRIST.
The Lord Jesus Christ was given to mankind as a ransom for the people. He bore our transgressions and redeemed us from all unworthiness. On the cross, he laid himself down as an atonement for human redemption. It is through the blood of the Lord Jesus that our sins are removed and we are cleansed. He is given the authority to forgive the sins of mankind. And whoever comes to him, he does not cast away.
Lord Jesus was on earth, he was preaching to a particular group one day. As he was preaching to the crowd, there was a sudden hustling of another crowd. When the Lord Jesus Christ saw, he found a few men who had caught a woman in adultery. They wanted to stone the woman to death and fulfill the law that Moses gave them. The death penalty is enshrined in Old Testament law for a woman who is found to be an infidel. Everyone in the crowd was waiting for the Lord Jesus to stone her to death. However, to everyone’s surprise, Lord Jesus began to scribble something on the ground and looked to the men, and said, "If anyone without fault can throw the first stone at her." The buzzing crowd went speechless, and everyone went one by one away from her. Finally, the Lord Jesus asked the woman, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? "
She replied, "No one, sir."
Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. From now on, do not sin anymore. "
The Lord Jesus Christ saved her that day and redeemed her life from the judgmental mob. Sometimes, we judge people based on their actions or on what we hear about them. We gossip about the person, condemn them, and treat them rudely because of their previous actions. But God, who looks at the heart, offers forgiveness to all who ask. When we meet the Lord Jesus, neither the world nor Satan can charge us.
Today, let’s pray to God that He forgives us for all the wrongs that were done intentionally or unintentionally. He is our Advocate who gives freedom from the bondage of sin. May God bless you and your family abundantly.
PRAYER: On these days of Lent, Advocate, Lord, I acknowledge that you came into the world to offer yourself to me. Your love, manifested in the form of sacrifice, was all I needed. The Bible says someone can die for a righteous man, but Christ died for us while we were still sinners. I accept and confess that I’ve broken your heart in the past. I admit that I didn’t live a righteous and pleasing life. But, after understanding the greatest price that was paid on my behalf, I completely surrender to you. Give me a heart that follows your decree. May I live the rest of my life to glorify you? Accept me and live with me. Thank you for the unconditional love that you have for me. In Jesus' name, amen!!
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