My Advocate

His Life-Changing Answer To My Accuser

Yesterday when my husband was preaching about the Holy Spirit and the many jobs He does, he mentioned something significant. He talked about conviction and the importance of a person seeing themselves as condemned and lost in their sin before they can actually experience saving faith.

This is an age-old struggle and one that flourishes even more today. As humans, we spend a lot of time in self justification. We think of ourselves as ‘not really that bad’ because we are usually aware of many people who are worse.

However, until we recognize that we are guilty sinners and are condemned by our sin, we are unable to accept the astonishing gift of forgiveness and redemption that is provided for us by Jesus as Our Substitute.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. ~2 Corinthians 5:21

I was reminded of this favorite old poem by Martha Snell Nicholson. I just had to share it with you today.

My Advocate

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

My soul is moved and my heart is filled with humble thanksgiving every time I imagine that scene. Forgiven! The King of Heaven is My Advocate who paid my debt and pleads my case. Amazing grace, indeed!

One of my dear friends (at two weeks shy of 98 years of age) went to meet the Lord in person this month. I’m thrilled for her as I think of her joy in that meeting. She was a great witness for Christ as she spent many years trying to warn others of their need for a Saviour.

The devil cleverly uses deceitful tactics in the world and sometimes in the church to encourage us to cast off all sense of guilt and shame, while at the same time he is daily going before the throne and acting as the great accuser of the brethren. Pretty sneaky!

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. ~Revelation 12:10

The old accuser loses in the end, praise God, but how many souls did he gain along the way because of his deceitful treachery and the foolishness and stubborness in the hearts of men?

I’ve written previously about what I believe freedom in Christ and legalism look like, so I won’t reiterate it here, but I do want to emphasize the importantance of acknowledging our guilt and our sin so that we CAN stand (or bow) guiltless one day before His throne.

There is an important distinction that needs to be understood regarding guilt and shame.

1. In the hand of God, guilt and shame are vital tools to save and refine us. God uses guilt and shame to convict us of sin so that we will repent and believe. His desire is to provide forgiveness and eternal life, as well as freedom from sin and victory over sin.
   
   After salvation, God removes all the guilt and shame from our past deeds because we have been cleansed by the blood of Christ so that we are as white as snow. However, He will still use the guilt and shame of our present and continuing sin to convict, chastise, and refine us so that we can become more like Jesus.
   

2. In the hand of Satan, guilt and shame are weapons to enslave and destroy us. The devil usually wants us to feel no guilt or shame prior to salvation so that we fail to see the need of repentance and redemption. There are some exceptions when he uses an abundance of guilt and shame to make someone feel so unworthy that they begin to believe God couldn’t or wouldn’t save them. His greatest goal is to keep us from being redeemed.
   
   For those who do accept Christ and are saved by grace through faith, the devil continues to use these weapons to try to make us ineffective in God’s kingdom. He will try to use the guilt and shame of past sins to keep us discouraged or unwilling to witness. He will also twist the Scriptures to cause some to believe that they can continue to sin, guilt-free, because they’ve been saved, making their Christian testimony without salt or light in the world.

When we experience guilt and shame or a lack of them, we must remember to wisely identify the source of these emotions, and whose hand is weilding them upon us. If it is God, we should rejoice that He is working in our lives to draw us closer to Him. If it is the devil, we must reject His influence and run back to God’s Word for wisdom, guidance, and truth.

I hope these thoughts and this inspiring poem will encourage you today to recognize how much God loves you. I hope that you, too, see Jesus as your Advocate, your Mediator, your Saviour, your Master, and your King. He is SO Wonderful and loves you so much. I couldn’t live without Him!

Blessings,

Angie

P.S. I haven’t forgotten about the parenting stuff! I’m working on it. There are only so many hours in each day. :) You can still sign up for updates at parenthelps.com, and you can also get a sneak preview of some of what’s coming at storybookhut.com.