1 John 2:1-2: Jesus, Our Divine Defense Attorney

1 John 2:1-2.. "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."

Ever been on jury duty? Ever had a mock court case in government class? Ever watched a crime drama with a court trial (I know I have!*)? If you've done any of those, you have a pretty good idea of what a court case looks like. There are many different roles in a court case. You have the judge, who is deciding whether or not the defendant is guilty. You have the accuser, who is trying to convict the defendant. You have the defendant, who is trying to plead innocent. You have the defense attorney, who is helping the defendant plead his case. Why do I bring this up this morning? Because a very similar situation goes on in the spiritual realm each day. Let us look this morning at who plays which role in these "divine court case" and how it applies to our lives.

God the Father is the judge. He is deciding who is guilty and who is innocent, and he makes no error. He is a righteous judge (Ps. 7:11) who shows no partiality (Rom. 2:11). He justifies the righteous (Rom. 8:34) and condemns the unrighteous.

Satan is the accuser. He is bringing charges against God's children. He is trying to convict everyone and have them condemned. He is against the people of God.

You are the defendant. You are pleading your case to God, asking him to declare you righteous rather than guilty. You are the accused.

Jesus is the defense attorney. He is standing in the way helping the defendant plead his case, and even doing it for him (Rom. 8:34, 1 John 1-2). He is pleading innocent for his defendant...but not on the basis of his defendant, but on the basis of himself.

Do you see the wonder of the divine court case here? Satan, the accuser, is bringing perfectly honest convictions against us. He knows that we are sinners, and he is trying to get God to condemn us because of our actions, yet there is another factor in the equation: Jesus. Jesus is our advocate before God the Father. Yet the beauty of it all is that he isn't pleading our innocence because of our innocence, but because of his innocence. Our diving defense attorney paid the price for our sin, and now stands before the throne of God above day and night interceding on our behalf.

Satan brings before God his best case: "This man you see here today, he's lied." Jesus steps in, "I paid for that sin on the cross." Satan grumbles, but then says, "Oh yeah, well this man stole." Jesus intercedes once again, "I paid for that sin on the cross." Satan comes again, "This man cheated." Jesus replies, "I paid for it on the cross." Satan, "This man has been disrespectable to his parents. He's not forgiven someone who hurt him. He's viewed pornography. He's sinned daily over and over again. He has failed at honoring your commandments almost every moment of every day." Christ's only reply: "The cross. I lived a perfect life. I died a perfect death. The cross has covered this man's sin."

The old hymn tells us that "before the throne of God above, [we] have a strong and perfect plea: the great high priest whose name is love, who ever lives and pleads for me." Are you feeling condemnation today? If you are truly a child of God, the condemnation is not coming from God, but Satan (see Romans 8:1). However, in the great divine court case, Satan isn't the judge, God is. And in God's economy, Jesus bailed you out of condemnation. He paid the price so you wouldn't have to. He died the death you deserved, and he stands in your place in the court case and pleads your perfect innocence, even though you have sinned. So I ask again: do you feel condemned today? Don't. Rather, take a hold of the great promise that Christ is your divine defense attorney, and weep no more.

*Fun Fact: I love crime dramas; I bet none of you knew that.