Passed From Death to Life
The World, the flesh, and the devil are working again us. The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” We have an adversary! He does more damage as an angel of light than he does as a roaring lion. When we do not die to self, and we indulge ourselves, we find that there is pleasure in sin for a season. Satan works hard to make sin inviting.
Immediately when we sin, notice what the devil does. The Bible says in Revelation 12:10, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” When you and I sin, Satan immediately starts accusing us to God. He is an accuser of the brethren and the Bible says that he is doing it night and day. We have an adversary.
This life is not just about you and God. There is someone who is trying to get you to hell if he can. He uses procrastination if you are unsaved. “I know the right thing, but I will wait a little longer.” If you are one of God’s children, he wants to disgrace God’s name with your sinful behaviour. You may ask, “How important is my behaviour as a Christian?” If you are one of God’s children, your behaviour is a reflection of your Father. May God help us to reflect the right things about our heavenly Father.
The kind of life we live is a reflection of our heavenly Father. We are giving the Devil delight when we do not live in obedience to our heavenly Father.
We Have An Advocate
The moment our accuser goes before God, our Advocate raises up a nail-pierced hand. the moment our accuser says, “Look at him!” the Lord Jesus Christ shows His wounded hands and side. He is our Advocate!
Our Lord has said that the whole world is guilty sin. not only is the whole world guilty, but the payment of that sin demands death and hell. The wonderful thing is that even though He declared our guilt, He came to this earth and took on a robe of flesh and paid our sin debt. He died for our sins, he was buried, and rose from the dead.
Romans 6:1-8 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?…God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?…Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?…Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life…For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:…Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin…For he that is dead is freed from sin…Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.”
Christ not only died for us, He died as us! When Jesus Christ bled and died for our sins, He paid our sin debt in full! No wonder God says, “We have an advocate with the Father.” The unsaved do not have an advocate with the Father. Only those who have asked the Lord Jesus to forgive their sins and by faith have trusted Him as their Saviour have an advocate with the Father. The Bible says that this advocate is Jesus Christ, the righteous.
God carefully uses each here terms. Jesus means “our Saviour.” He is not only Jesus; He is Christ. He is god’s anointed, God’s appointed, and God’s Messiah. He is the righteous.” He never sinned; so He could pay our sin debt! “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
The accuser comes before God to say, “Look at him! He should go to hell! He is a sinner!” Immediately, our Lord raises His nail-pierced hands and says, “No He should not go to hell! I went to hell for him! I bled and died for his sin!” Jesus Christ the righteous, who died for us, is pleading our case.
He cried out on the cross, “It is finished!” Salvation’s work is finished. Hebrews 7:25 says, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” His unfinished work is His intercession for us. At this moment Jesus Christ the righteous is interceding for us.
As God’s children, we have been washed in His blood and made righteous by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Our relationships settled forever. Heaven is our home. The Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed us! Not only has He given Himself for us, but He has come to live in us that we might have His resurrected power in dealing with sin. He is our Advocate. He pleads our case. He stands between us an the angered holiness of God. He is the propitiation, the satisfaction, for our sins.
I have taken far too lightly the desire God has for my life, and the desire I should have to live in fellowship with my God. When I allow things I should not, when I refuse to submit to God, when I hold unforgiveness, I am denying Jesus Christ.
Just as surely as Peter beheld Christ viewing him and went out and wept bitterly, you and I should behold the Lord looking at us, and we should weep bitterly because of our actions and our sin. As believers, when the accuser comes, our Advocate goes to the heavenly court for us. He pleads our case on high and declares that all our sins are covered in His blood, never to be remembered again. Hallelujah, what a Saviour.
“Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” Romans 8:34
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