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How
Can I
Live Forever?
Chapter 8
Our
Advocate, Friend And Substitute
In this chapter the focus of our attention falls on the
very special work that Jesus, our Judge, Advocate,
Substitute and Friend is doing on our behalf in the most
holy place where John saw Jesus standing in the center of the
throne as a Lamb - `looking as if it had been slain.'
(Rev 5:6)
The
work that the slain Lamb of God is doing for us, even
today, is of utmost importance and significance.
`As
in the typical service the priest looked by faith to the
mercy seat which he could not see, so the people of God
are now to direct their prayers to Christ, their great
High Priest, who, unseen by human vision, is pleading in
their behalf in the sanctuary above.' (PP353)
With
such a fine and efficient High Priest, none need fear,
for . . .
`Our
Redeemer has opened the way so that the most sinful, the
most needy, the most oppressed and despised, may find
access to the Father.' (DA113)
`No
sooner does the child of God approach the mercy seat
than he becomes the client of the great Advocate. At his
first utterance of penitence and appeal for pardon
Christ [takes up] his case and makes it His own
request.
As Christ intercedes in our behalf, the Father lays open
all the treasures of His grace for our appropriation, to
be enjoyed and to be communicated to others.' (6T364)
With
these encouraging thoughts in mind, it is good to know that even our most
faltering of prayers ascends to the sanctuary where they
are edited, so to speak, and presented by Jesus in the
most eloquent rhetoric to the Master of the universe.
`The
prayer of the humble suppliant He [Jesus] presents as
His own desire in that soul's behalf. Every sincere
prayer is heard in heaven. It may not be fluently
expressed; but if the heart is in it, it will ascend to
the sanctuary where Jesus ministers, and He will present
it to the Father without one awkward, stammering word,
beautiful and fragrant with the incense of His
perfection.' (DA667)
Then,
besides being our High Priest and our Advocate, Jesus is also our best
friend. This is why . . .
`Every
soul if he will may say, I have a Friend at court.'
(MS101, 1897)
And
there, in the courts of heaven, Jesus pleads our case,
not just to secure our acquittal, but because, as a true
Friend, He genuinely longs to spend eternity with us.
Job
gives us some idea of the friendship that we should be
enjoying with Jesus. Said
Job . . .
`My
intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to
God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man
pleads for his friend.' (Job 16:20,21)
When
Jesus pleads our case, He does not present our imperfect
lives to God - for by so doing He would surely be
pleading a lost cause.
Rather, He steps boldly before the throne and declares
to the Father that He has suffered our penalty and,
because we have accepted Him as our Saviour, He is
entitled to stand, not only as our representative, but
also as our substitute.
So please do take courage, dear fellow sinner, for
. . .
`He
has never lost a case that has been committed to Him. We
may trust in our Advocate; for He pleads His own merits
in our behalf.' (RH, Aug. 15, 1893)
`As
the prayers of the sincere and contrite ones ascend to
heaven Christ says to the Father, "I will take their
sins. Let them stand before you innocent." '
(7BC930/1)
The
argument of Jesus' life, presented as the only evidence
in our case, is so powerful that it wins for us not only
a complete pardon, but an addendum is
attached to the verdict declaring that, as far as the
Great Judge is concerned, we are perfect and we always
have been perfect. This is why . . .
`If
you give yourself to Him as your Saviour, then, sinful
as your life may have been, . . .
¤
for His sake you are
accounted righteous.
¤ Christ's character stands in place
of your character,
¤ and you are accepted before God as if
you had not sinned.' (SC62)
What
an Advocate! He secures for erring sinners a verdict of
absolute innocence, and this verdict covers a time span
ranging from eternity in the past to eternity in the
future.
And what a Judge! What judge on this earth would
allow his son to suffer our punishment? What judge on
this earth would make believe that the character of his
son is the character of the accused? What judge on this
earth would declare us to be righteous, on the strength
of the righteousness of a third party? What judge on
this earth would consider that we had never erred,
knowing full well that we have erred exceedingly?
In
truth, Jesus
is such a great Advocate and Friend, and the Judge is so
kind and gracious, that together they have devised a plan, not only
to secure our release from the condemnation of the law,
but also to secure our justification.
But
just what is meant by this word . . . justification?
`[Justification]
is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the
dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his
power to do for himself.' (TM456)
`When
the sinner believes that Christ is his personal Saviour,
then according to His unfailing promises, God pardons
his sin and justifies him freely. The repentant soul
realizes that his justification comes because Christ, as
his substitute and surety, has died for him, is his
atonement and righteousness.' (6BC1073)
In
a nutshell, when we accept Jesus as our Saviour and
Substitute, and we give our lives to Him,
. . .
(1)
we receive a full and complete pardon for sin -
regardless of our past, and . . .
(6BC1071)
(2)
God declares before all the universe that we are
perfectly righteous and that we always have been
perfectly righteous. (1SM392)
What
is most encouraging, however, is the good news that this
transaction is not conditional on human achievement, for
it takes place from the moment that we accept Jesus
as our Saviour.
`The
moment the sinner believes in Christ, he stands in
the sight of God uncondemned; for the righteousness of
Christ is His: Christ's perfect obedience is imputed to
him [put to his account].' (FE429)
`When
the sinner believes that Christ is His personal Saviour,
then [in that moment], according to His unfailing
promises, God pardons his sin, and justifies him
freely.' (1SM367)
We will appreciate, therefore, that justification is a
gift and that, as such, it cannot be earned. It is a
gift that we receive from the moment that true faith
comes to life.
`The
moment true faith in the merits of the costly
atoning sacrifice is exercised, claiming Christ as a
personal Saviour, that moment the sinner is
justified before God, because he is pardoned.'
(3SM195)
In
that wondrous moment, . . .
`All
our transgressions are transferred to Christ. While he
who knew no sin was made sin for us, and the sinless is
accounted sinful, the righteousness of Christ is placed
upon the undeserving, so that the repenting sinner is
declared to be sinless before God.’ (ST 01-16-96)
Clearly, therefore,
if we are justified in the moment that faith flickers to
life, we certainly do not have much opportunity to earn
our justification. This is why we have been told that . . .
`The
sinner cannot depend upon his own good works as a means
of justification.' (6BC1071)
And
this is why we need a complete Saviour, and this is why
salvation must be a free gift, for . . .
`No
man of himself can repent and make himself worthy of the
blessing of justification.' (1SM390)
Of
course, we can reject the gift of justification, and
this through persistence in premeditated sin, but we
cannot do anything to earn or to deserve the gift - and
this
is why the good news assures us
that . . .
`The
grace of Christ is freely to justify the sinner without
merit or claim on his part.' (6BC1071)
This being the case, shall we not give thanks and praise to God
in that. . .
`The
righteousness of Christ is imputed to us, not because of
any merit on our part, but as a free gift from God.'
(1SM360)
Shall we not rejoice in the knowledge that our own works can never bring
justification, and that . . .
`The
Gift . . . brought justification' (Romans
5:16)
The only problem with all of this good news is that it
is almost too good to believe, yet Scripture assures us
that . . .
`The
result of one act of righteousness was justification
that brings life for all men.' (Romans 5:18)
Notice
from the above verse that it was His act of
righteousness that brought justification - not our acts
of righteousness. Notice too that His act of
righteousness actually made full and abundant provision
for the justification of all men - that is, for
everyone who ever lived, and for everyone who is yet to
be born.
This
being the case, it remains only for us as
individuals to accept the gift by acknowledging our
sinfulness and by declaring that we have a desperate
need of a complete Saviour - and a desperate need of a righteousness that
is all His and none of ours.
Shall we not marvel at the thought that . . .
`Through
His sacrifice, human beings may reach the high ideal set
before them, and hear at last the words, "Ye are
complete in him," not having your own
righteousness, but the righteousness that He wrought out
for you. Your imperfection is no longer seen; for you
are clothed with the robe of Christ's perfection.'
(7BC907)
This
is good news, indeed, and this is our only hope; and
this is why . . .
`His
righteousness must be your righteousness. He wrought it
out for you, and when you receive it you stand justified
in the presence of God.' (MM115)
This
is the kind of good news that motivates us to work and
to live holy lives, not in order to be saved, but
because God loves us with such an amazing love. Once we know how much He loves us, and we realize how
undeserving we are of all that He has done for us, we
will work with the right
motive - we will work, not out of fear of loss, not out
of fear of death, but because we love and appreciate Him who first loved us
and who, through infinite suffering, purchased our right
to be saved.
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