Mark Vestal Supporter Proud of nothing of myself. Freed by Christ who did it all!

When Satan attempts to blame us before God for our sins, Christ 'stands up for us' as our advocate and proclaims that we belong to Him because of the protection we have under His shed blood by faith. It is then Jesus Christ who justifies us before God through having this faith alone in Him. This is why the resurrection of Christ is so important. Without His resurrection we would have no one to justify us before God that our sins stayed in the tomb of Christ. However, because Christ lives we have an advocate through Him that we too defeated sin with Christ upon our faith in His shed blood, burial, and resurrection for us (1 Cor 15:1-4)! 

We cannot justify ourselves or be our own advocate. We must place all accountability of the work that God required (that we are incapable of doing) on that of Jesus Christ. We therefore take ZERO credit for Christ's accomplishment for us. This is why salvation is the free unmerited gift of God and not something that we can earn by our own merits or works. It is truly what it means to have a savior in Jesus Christ (Eph 2:8-9).

Are believers trusting in their own efforts to be accepted by God, or are they trusting in what Jesus Christ completed for them on the cross as their means of acceptance? It is Jesus Christ in whom God is pleased, but we please God and are in fact "made the righteousness of Him" (2 Cor 5:21) by placing our faith in Him and His finished cross-work performed for us and nothing of ourselves (Eph 2:8-9, Heb 11:6).

When Satan tries to blame you before God would you try to defend yourself by replying "but I did all of this and that for you, God", or would you instead proclaim that "God did it ALL for me through Jesus Christ!"?

Rom 3:23-26
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

Rom 10:3-4
"For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."

January 04 2024 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

Good question. I like how the New Life Version puts it: I have loved this verse since I first heard it @ Scottsdale Bible Church or Arizona Bible College. At ABC I took a class in the Johannine Epistles (1, 2, 3 John). My teacher was Dr. Vernon Doerksen.

VERNON DOERKSEN (B.A., Pacific College; B.D., Th.M., Talbot Theological Seminary; Th.D., Grace Theological Seminary) was dean of students and professor of Bible and theology at Arizona Bible College (Phoenix, Arizona).

NLV:
"My dear children, I am writing this to you so you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, there is One Who will go between him and the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the One Who is right with God." 1 John 2:1
An "advocate" is a "go-between." 

"Christ in heaven intercedes for Christians who sin upon earth. The next verse declares that He is the "propitiation for our sins" and His propitiatory work lies at the basis of His intercession." --E. Y. Mullins 

Propitiation is:

The act of appeasing the wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person; the act of making propitious. [1913 Webster]
That which propitiates; atonement or atoning sacrifice; specifically, the influence or effects of the death of Christ in appeasing the divine justice, and conciliating the divine favor. [1913 Webster]
"He [Jesus Christ] is the propitiation for our sins." [1913 Webster]

"My Advocate" is the title of a sermon illustration. It goes as follows:

I sinned. And straightway, post-haste Satan flew
Before the presence of the Most High God,
And made a railing accusation there.
He said, “This soul, this thing of clay and sod
Has sinned. ‘Tis true that he has named Thy name,
But I demand his death, for Thou hast said,
‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die!’ Shall not
Thy sentence be fulfilled? Is Justice dead'
Send now this wretched sinner to his doom.
What other thing can righteous ruler do?”
And thus he did accuse me day and night,
And every word he spoke, O God, was true!

Then quickly One rose up from God’s right hand,
Before Whose glory angels veiled their eyes.
He spoke, “Each jot and tittle of the law
Must be fulfilled: the guilty sinner dies!
But wait. Suppose his guilt were all transferred
To ME and that I paid his penalty!
Behold My hands, My side, My feet! One day
I was made sin for him, and died that he
Might be presented faultless, at Thy throne!”
And Satan fled away. Full well he knew
That he could not prevail against such love,
For every word my dear Lord spoke was true!

--Martha Snell Nicholson, Treasures, (Moody Press, Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, 1952)

I believe Martha Nicholson alluded to the following Scriptures (scriptural allusions):

"railing accusation" (Jude 1:9)

'The soul that sinneth, it shall die!" (Ezekiel 18:20 KJV) or better (Ezekiel 18:4,20)

"He did accuse me day and night," (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.” 

“Each jot and tittle of the law must be fulfilled: (Matthew 5:17)

"Behold My hands, My side, My feet!" =

(Luke 24:39) --
"Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see me have." 


"And died that he might be presented faultless, at Thy throne!” =

(Jude 1:24) 
"To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—"

August 25 2024 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report