“Our Advocate with the Father”
1 John 1:1-2:2

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Second Sunday of Easter—April 11, 2021

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Part of today’s Epistle Reading from 1st John may have sounded familiar to you: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Those words sound familiar because we just spoke them responsively at the beginning of today’s service.  Perhaps you didn’t realize that those words from the Confession of Sins in our Liturgy are actually a direct quote from the Bible.

The thing that stands out in today’s Epistle Reading from 1st John is that in just a few sentences the word “sin” is repeated nine times.  That’s what this reading is about: the problem of sin and the solution for sin. 

The Greek word for “sin” was originally a term used in archery; it means literally “to miss the mark.”  Eventually that word came to mean “sin” because the only way you could ever earn your way into heaven is by getting a perfect score, being perfectly on target with God’s law; but we have all “missed the mark.”  As Paul says in Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . . .  There is no one who is righteous, not even one.”  John says simply, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

That is the problem of sin; the solution for sin is Jesus Christ: “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. . .  and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin.”

Paul says in 2nd Corinthians, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not counting men’s sins against them.”  That is the Gospel, the Good News: Because of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on your behalf, your sins are not counted against you by the Lord.  In fact, all your sins are forgiven and forgotten by the Lord, as he says in Hebrews, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  Trust in Jesus as your Savior; he is your personal solution for the problem of sin.

But, if God always forgives and forgets all my sins, does that mean I have a blank check from the Lord to commit sin?  When the greatness of God’s unlimited forgiveness is first grasped by confirmation students, they sometimes ask, “If God always forgives anything I do, does that mean I can do anything I want?”  It’s like the little boy who says to his mother, “It’s okay Mommy, I apologized before I did it.” 

“My dear children,” John says, “I write this to you so that you will NOT sin.”  The Good News that God forgives all your sins will inspire you not to GET away with as much sin possible, but to DO away with as much sin possible.  Paul says in 2nd Timothy, “He saved us and called us to a holy life,” and in 1st Thessalonians, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified. . . For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”  Peter says, “What kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.”

That is the goal of your life in this world as a Christian, to live a holy and godly life, out of gratitude to God.  But, it is not easy, for as long as you live in this world, you are constantly tempted by and struggling against the devil, the world, and your own sinful, fallen flesh.  As Paul himself says in Romans: “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”   As long as you live in this world, your old sinful self still clings to you, as Paul says in Galatians: “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”

After his resurrection, Jesus told the disciples, “You will be clothed with power from on high.”  That is what you must have if you are to live a holy and godly life—power from on high.  As Jesus said at the Last Supper, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

To live a godly life you must stay plugged into your power-source.  Like the two prongs of a plug, power from on high is communicated to you through the Word of God and the Sacraments, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion.  Through the Word of God and the Sacraments you receive the power of the Holy Spirit, living in you, transforming your life, helping you to grow in holiness and dedication to the Lord.  Stay plugged into your power-source by hearing, reading, and studying the Word of God; by recalling your baptism, which is the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit; and by receiving Christ’s body and blood in Holy Communion, to strengthen and preserve you steadfast in the true faith unto life everlasting.

“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.”  The Good News that God forgives all your sins will inspire you not to GET away with as much sin possible, but to DO away with as much sin possible.  “But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”  John finally adds this comforting promise that if you do fail, if you do fall, Jesus is still on your side, he is your “Advocate with the Father.” 

The Greek word for “Advocate” actually means a defense attorney, one pleads your case, seeks your acquittal.  “But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”  If you do fail, if you do fall, turn again to Jesus in repentance.  He is still on your side, he is your Advocate who speaks to the Father in your defense, pleading for you.  And you have the blessed assurance that your Advocate with the Father always, without fail, secures for you forgiveness in the heavenly court.  For, in the very next sentence John gives the reason why the Father forgives you on his Son’s account, the basis for your acquittal: “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Jesus is your “Advocate with the Father” not only to plead for your forgiveness.  He is also your “Advocate with the Father” to plead on your behalf for all your other wants and needs and problems and burdens.  Paul puts it this way in Romans: “Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” 

“Come unto me,” Jesus says, “all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  Come unto him in prayer, with your needs and wants and problems and burdens.  By yourself you are not worthy to come before your heavenly Father’s throne, to ask for his blessing.  But, his own Son pleads for you, his own Son invites you to come unto him in prayer. 

Paul writes in 1st Timothy, “There is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”  As your Mediator, your go-between with God, Jesus receives your prayers.  And then as your Advocate with the Father he presents your prayers before the Father’s throne.  And he adds to your prayer his own plea for God the Father to hear, and answer, and bless you, on his account, because of his sacrifice.  To hear, and answer, and bless you, not because of who you are, but because of who he is; not because you have earned it or deserve it, but because he earned it and deserved it for you.  That is why we pray in Jesus’ name, as he promised, “The Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”

“We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”