Christ Our Advocate

Nothing But the Blood

Above All

WELCOME

Welcome to our Good Friday service, a special service every year set aside specifically to remember what Jesus accomplished for us on that fateful Friday 2000 years ago.

Tonight: look at the events of Good Friday through the eyes of Peter

On one hand, great man of God

On the other hand, great failure

We’ll consider . . .

Peter’s denial of Jesus . . . and ask ourselves how we are guilty of the same sin?

Jesus’ prayer for Peter (that his faith would not fail) . . . and discover how Jesus prays in a similar way for us today

Jesus’ prediction that Peter would return and strengthen his brothers . . . and ask ourselves how the Lord’s Supper pictures our own redemption and our own calling to strengthen one another

Then we’ll conclude by celebrating

Peter’s restoration through Christ’s work on the cross

But first let’s pray.

Luke 22:31-34 (Sterling Tollison)

[Jesus said] “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”

Lead Me to the Cross

John 18:15-18a, 25-27 (Jason Wells)

Simon Peter followed Jesus, and . . . the servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. . . .

Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

It Is Not Death to Die

SERMON

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

What was Jesus praying for Peter?

Was He praying for the Father to protect Peter from the sin itself?

Was Jesus asking the Father to keep Peter from denying Him?

No. Peter’s denial was part of God’s plan.

Jesus wasn’t praying for Peter to be protecting from the sin itself, but from the effects of his sin. Jesus was praying that Peter wouldn’t give into the crushing weight of shame. He was praying that Satan, the accuser, wouldn’t sift Peter like wheat. He was praying that Peter’s faith wouldn’t fizzle out once he realized what he had done.

Think about the very first Good Friday. . .

Two of Jesus’ disciples wept bitterly that day.

. . . Judas, after betraying Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

. . . Peter, after hearing a rooster crow.

But one of these men would turn again and strengthen his brothers. The other would not. Why?

Because Peter had an advocate.

Turn to 1 John 2

About 50 years after Jesus died, the Apostle John (one of Jesus’ closest companions during His earthly ministry) is writing a letter to believers who, like us, were not eyewitnesses to the events we celebrate every Good Friday.

He writes his letter so that we who believe in Jesus will know that we have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

He doesn’t want us wondering, “will I end up like Peter, or will I end up like Judas?”

And one of the precious doctrines that helps us to know we have eternal life is the truth that Jesus is our advocate.

As an advocate, Jesus protected Satan from sifting Peter like wheat on Good Friday. And as an advocate, Jesus is protecting every Christian in this room right now.

1 John 2:1—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.

With God’s help, we’ll answer four basic questions from our text:

What is an Advocate?

Who Has an Advocate?

Who Needs an Advocate?

Who is Our Advocate?

How Does Jesus Advocate?

What is An Advocate?

We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Picture a defense attorney, standing beside the defendant in a courtroom.

He doesn’t stand between the judge and the accused. He stands beside the accused. He identifies with him.

He doesn’t wait until the accused is out of the woods before he speaks up. He speaks up when the accused cannot speak for himself. He speaks up when the accused is at his worst.

He is not just anyone speaking up for the accused. He’s not a witness on the stand who happens to know the accused. He’s an expert in the law. He is skilled in arguing those he defends.

That’s an advocate.

Who Has An Advocate?

We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Who is the we?

1 John 5:13—I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God

Writing to Christians

In the U.S., when an individual is accused in court but cannot afford an attorney, he or she is given a public defender. A public defender represents those without an advocate.

There are no public defenders in the court of heaven. Yes, there is an Advocate, but He is only available to those who have trusted in His blood.

You cannot have Jesus as your advocate if you will not have Him as your substitute.

1 John 2:2—He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Unbelievers: repent and believe in the Gospel

Who Needs An Advocate?

Years ago my dad was a salesman for a company called “Pre-Paid Legal.” The idea was simple: instead of paying a lawyer’s expensive hourly rates, why not pay a small monthly fee and get access to experienced attorneys whenever you need them?

The services were not easy to sell. If I don’t need a lawyer, why should I pay for one? If I stay out of trouble, why do I need a lawyer?

Maybe that’s what you think about an advocate.

If Jesus has already died, if you’ve already been forgiven, why do you need an advocate?

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. .

We are called not to sin. John (and Jesus who discipled him) call us to repent of sin. To turn away from it. To go and sin no more. That’s the standard.

But what’s reality?

Anyone who sins needs an advocate.

Do you sin?

“Not as much as I used to.” . . . Anyone who sins needs an advocate.

“Not as much as other people.” . . . Anyone who sins needs an advocate.

“Not the really bad sins.” . . . Anyone who sins needs an advocate.

“Only sometimes.” . . . Anyone who sins needs an advocate.

“But I ask for forgiveness when I sin.” . . . Anyone who sins needs an advocate.

“But I’m a Christian!” . . . Anyone who sins needs an advocate.

But why? Why do Christians need an advocate?

Reason 1: The Father is an Impartial Judge

1 Peter 1:17—And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile

John Bunyan—“Alas! the Judge is the almighty and eternal God; the law broken is the holy and perfect rule of God, in itself a consuming fire. The sin is so odious, and a thing so abominable, that it is enough to make all the angels blush to hear it but so much as once mentioned in so holy a place as that is where this great God doth sit to judge.”

The fact that our Father is an impartial judge means He doesn’t give us special treatment because we’re His kids. He doesn’t bend the law or ignore it. He’s impartial. So we need an advocate.

Reason 2: Satan is a Relentless Accuser

Revelation 12:10 calls Satan “the accuser of our brothers” who “accuses them day and night before our God.”

The story of Job: “does Job fear God for nothing?”

Zechariah 3: Satan stands before God to accuse a high priest named Joshua

Preparing this sermon, stressed and mad! Satan accuses me!!!

Dane Ortlund—“The Bible nowhere teaches that once we have been savingly united with Christ, we will find grievous sins to be a thing of the past. On the contrary, it is our regenerate state that has more deeply sensitized us to the impropriety of our sins. Our sins feel far more sinful after we have become believers than before. And its not only our felt perception of our sinfulness; we do indeed continue to sin after becoming believers. Sometimes we sin big sins.” (Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly, 90-91. Emphasis added.)

Who Is Our Advocate?

This week the nation has been captivated by the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who is on trial for the murder of George Floyd last May. Perhaps the only person despised as much as Derek Chauvin in the court of public opinion is Eric Nelson, the attorney who is defending him. Right or wrong, attorneys who defend those guilty (or assumed guilty) of despicable crimes are often despised.

You can’t defend the guilty without getting your hands dirty. That’s what makes what John says about our advocate so incredible. . .

We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Not just righteous, He loves us!!!

1 John 4:10—In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

It’s one thing to have an attorney who tolerates you. But imagine if you have a lawyer who LOVES you! How much more fervently will he fight for you if he does!

“Who is Jesus, in those moments of spiritual blankness? Not: Who is he once you conquer that sin, but who is he in the midst of it? . . . His heart is such that he stands and speaks in our defense when we sin, not after we get over it.” (Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly, 91-92. Emphasis added.)

Peter is denying Jesus in a courtyard. But Jesus isn’t denying Peter. He’s pleading for Him in the presence of the Father. He’s standing up against the accuser. He’s advocating for him. And he’s doing the same for us.

How Does Jesus Advocate?

He doesn’t deny the sin

He doesn’t minimize the sin

He doesn’t look for legal loopholes

He shows the Father His scars

1 John 2:2—He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

John Bunyan—“[Jesus] grant[s] and confesse[s] whatever can rightly be charged upon us; yet so as that he take[s] the whole charge upon himself, acknowledging the crimes to be his own. "O God," says he, "[You] know my foolishness, and my sins"; my guiltiness "is not hid from [You]" (Psa 69:5). And this he must do, or else he can do nothing. If he hides the sin, or lessen[s] it, he is faulty; if he leaves it still upon us, we die. He must, then, take our iniquity to himself, make it his own, and so deliver us.”

Almost three hundred years ago, Charles Wesley wrote a hymn that explains Christ’s advocacy this way:

Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears Before the throne my surety stands Before the throne my surety stands My name is written on His hands

[By the way, a surety is a person who pays another person’s debt in court]

Five bleeding wounds He bears, received on Calvary They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me “Forgive him, oh forgive,” they cry “Forgive him, oh forgive,” they cry “Nor let that ransomed sinner die!”

The Father hears Him pray, His dear Anointed One He cannot turn away the presence of His Son His Spirit answers to the blood His Spirit answers to the blood And tells me I am born of God

My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear With confidence I now draw nigh With confidence I now draw nigh And “Father, Abba, Father” cry

In just a moment we’re going to sing this song together. But before we do, I want to suggest five ways to respond to this message. . .

1. Confess

When you understand Christ’s heart towards you as your advocate, you should want to confess!

1 John 1:9—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

If you need someone to pray with you or for you go to the white flag when we sing

2. Obey

When you understand Christ’s heart towards you as your advocate, you should want to obey!

1 John 2:3 transitions immediately towards obedience. Jesus’ advocacy should not lead you to a careless attitude towards sin. It should strengthen your resolve to obey!

But when you fail to obey . . .

3. Trust

Unbeliever: repent and believe!

Christian: Stop trying to defend yourself! Stop trying to make amends! Stop trying to live in a functional purgatory!

4. Speak

John Bunyan—“if Christ stands up to plead for us, why should not we stand up to plead for him? . . .

He stands up to plead with God, we stand up to plead with men. . . .

He pleads for sinners, for the inconsiderable, vile, and base; we plead for Jesus, for the great, holy, and honourable. . . .

He stand[s] up to plead for us in the most holy place, though we are vile; and why should we not stand up for him in this vile world, since he is holy? . . .

He pleads for us, though our cause is bad; why should not we plead for him, since his cause is good? . . .

He pleads for us, against fallen angels; why should we not plead for him against sinful vanities? . . .

He pleads for us to save our souls; why should not we plead for him to sanctify his name? . . .

He pleads for us before the holy angels; why should not we plead for him before princes? . . .

He is not ashamed of us, though now in heaven; why should we be ashamed of him before this adulterous and sinful generation?

He is unwearied in his pleading for us; why should we faint and be dismayed while we plead for him?”

5. Worship

John Bunyan—“Christ gave for us the price of blood; but that is not all; Christ as a Captain has conquered death and the grave for us, but that is not all: Christ as a Priest intercedes for us in heaven; but that is not all. Sin is still in us, and with us, and mixes itself with whatever we do, whether what we do be religious or civil; for not only our prayers and our sermons, our hearings and preaching, and so; but our houses, our shops, our trades, and our beds, are all polluted with sin. Nor do[es] the devil, our night and day adversary, [cease] to tell our bad deeds to our Father, urging that we might for ever be disinherited for this. But what should we now do, if we had not an Advocate; . . . if we had not one that could prevail, and that would faithfully execute that office for us? Why, we must die." (John Buynan, The Work of Jesus Christ as an Advocate, 116)

Sing with gusto, like you mean it!

1 John 2:1—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.

Stand with me as we sing. . .

Arise, My Soul Arise

LORD’S SUPPER

1 Cor. 11:26—For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Didn’t receive a communion cup when you came in and you want to take communion with us, hold your hand up.

But before you prepare to take, let’s remind ourselves what the Lord’s Supper is and who it’s for.

The Lord’s Supper is a church’s symbolic meal of bread and cup that unites the church, renews the believer, and proclaims the gospel.

Bread—represents the body of Jesus

Cup—represents the blood of Jesus

Because the Lord’s Supper is pointing to Jesus and the Gospel, it’s for those who have trusted Him!

Not a Christian? Don’t take (even if we gave you cup). Receive Christ!

Christian? Take with joy! Yes, confess sin but don’t forget the point of the meal is that you’re not good enough. But you’re trusting in the One who is.

Tonight: bread in small groups, cup as a church family

If you’re comfortable, you’re invited to come to one of our elders as a small group of 3-4 and stand where you’re comfortable. An elder will pray over you and you can take the bread together then head back to your seat.

If you’re not comfortable with that, you’re welcome to spend time in prayer in your seats and then take the bread when you’re ready.

Peel back the layer of plastic covering the cup. Thank Jesus for shedding His blood for you.

In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Let’s sing together

Hallelujah for the Cross

BENEDICTION

Leave with this benediction from Peter’s first letter . . .

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.