Christ Our Advocate

(Heidelberg Q&A 49) How does Christ's Ascension into heaven benefit us? 

First he is our Advocate in heaven before the Father. Second we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that he, our Head will also take us, his members up to himself. Third he sends us his Spirit as a counter pledge by whose power we seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and not the things that are on earth

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1st John 2: 1-2)

Advocate: a person who pleads for or in behalf of another, intercessor. 


Have you ever felt exhausted and weighed down by the condemnation that can come from your own heart? Is your mind an endless list of evaluations of motives and sins? Weary one, are you close to despairing in your wavering? Some of us have been duped into thinking that we can achieve a false victory by looking to our own ability to obey God. The more we look to the law to sanctify us, the more the law does what it was meant to do: to show that we are utterly hopeless and in desperate need of a perfect law keeper. I've been there. I've felt like I was running on a treadmill that got me nowhere but exhausted. I've wanted to give up and walk away completely, with no hope of perseverance. 

Oh weary, restless, wanderer there is a perfect rest purchased for you in Christ. The Holy God has called you to reconciliation through His righteousness. You can freely say that you are weak, but your Savior is sufficient. You may fail frequently, but His love is sure and unwavering. As Spurgeon says, "You are safe in the wounds that constantly plead for you!" When you are overwhelmed with the fear of falling away, see Christ seated at the right hand of God praying that your faith would not fail.  

He is faithful to preserve you and present you blameless before the Father's presence with great joy! (Jude 1:24)Come and rest! Cease the meaningless striving for what has already been freely given to you and come and exult in Christ your great treasure. Behold the Christ, whose striving and perfect obedience is now freely imputed to you as righteousness.  Look to the Lamb of God, slain to satisfy divine justice for the sins of His people.  Fix your eyes upward to Him who advocates for you constantly before the throne. Exhale deeply, knowing that the Spirit also prays for you in your weakness. The greatest consolation for your despair is to know that God is the just and justifier of the ungodly. (Romans 3:26)  No longer despair in your wavering, but rejoice in His faithfulness. 


"Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly at heart and you will find rest for your souls" Matthew 11:28-29

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Undertone of Lordship Salvation

Image
  Disclaimer: It is  not the purpose of this post to elaborate on the teachings of Lordship Salvation and how it compares to Reformed Confessional Theology. At the end of this post I will provide resources that deal more deeply with the differences. This post is more to describe to the best of my ability what it was like for me to  believe that the tenets of Lordship Salvation were the only faithful expression of the Christian faith. If anyone reading identifies with what I am describing, this post is for you to show you that  your sentiments are valid.  I promise that there is a better, more restful, and comforting alternative that is both faithful to the Scriptures and faithful to maintain the necessity of repentance and obedience without compromising the comfort and rest that sinners can find in Christ.  undertone: an underlying quality or feeling If there is one word that I could use to describe what it was like being influenced by the teachings of Lordship Salvation, it would be t
Read more

The Name He Gives

Image
  "And If He has redeemed me, I am not my own. The measure of my worth is His love alone. He declares my standing and He declares my state. So I will know myself by the name He gave..." - I am Not My Own - Keith & Kristyn Getty & Skye Peterson  I found this picture of myself a few months ago. I immediately was drawn to it. I think it is because I am able to look at this little girl objectively. My childhood memories are fuzzy. There are a lot of things that my mind has subconsciously blocked out in order to insulate myself from the weight of painful memories. The process of finding this picture and staring at it curiously was very disorienting for me. However, God's providence led me to see it and really look at the little girl in this picture.  I often like to joke that I was named after a dog. My parents had a dog named Joy before I was born. I personally feel that they didn't really name me after the dog, but something about knowing that there was a dog Joy
Read more

"I Stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ"

Image
"There is one gospel to which I cling. All else I count as loss. For there, where justice and mercy meet, he saved me on the cross. No more I boast in what I can bring. No more I carry the weight of sin. For he has brought me from death to life. I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!" - CityAlight  CityAlight released a new single called "There is One Gospel"   this past Friday. I have been listening to this song on repeat. The lyrics are wonderfully simple and deeply rich. The last lyric for each stanza is, "I stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ'.  I have been thinking the past few days about what that means. What does it mean for Christians to be able to stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  Stand in Christ's Righteousness  To stand in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a Christian means to stand in His righteousness. It is to understand that everything that He has earned for us in his living is now ours by faith.  We believers, who have been regenerated t
Read more