WEBVTT

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My little children, these things I write unto

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you that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have

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an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the

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righteous. And he is the propitiation for our

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sins, and not for ours only. but also for the

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sins of the whole world. Thus reads a portion

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of the Word of God as found in 1 John, the second

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chapter. To me, these are some of the most thrilling

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words in the entire New Testament. Oh, what comfort!

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What security! What hope! What... There can be

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no defeat in Christ Jesus. Know that. John, the

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great disciple of love, in the preceding chapter

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had emphasized the marvelous truth of forgiveness

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through Christ. He had stated in language which

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simply cannot be misunderstood when he said,

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The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth

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us from all sin. More thrilling words were never

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written. More thrilling words were never spoken.

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It is the blood that maketh an atonement for

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the soul. The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son.

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cleanseth us from all sin. And in those words

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he had assured his hearers that if we confess

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our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive

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us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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And then he continues. Three little words so

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full of love, so full of meaning. My little children.

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He called them by the most endearing name possible.

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My little children. These things write I unto

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you that ye sin not. Was it necessary to sin?

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Was it necessary then? Is it necessary today?

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Somehow I feel that John knew human nature. Jesus

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knew human nature. And I'm so glad that he does.

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I'm so glad that he realizes that we're still

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human, even though we've been born again. Even

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though we belong to him. Even though our past

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has been covered with the blood. It doesn't change

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the fact one iota that we're still an old body

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of flesh. This is still mortal. This is still

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corruption. Jesus remembered that we were human.

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Paul knew human nature. And we Christians soon

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learned that despite our best efforts, despite...

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Our sincerity. It happens that sometime we stumble

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and fall. We're not perfect. Not one of us. If

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you claim perfection, any perfection of yourself,

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you only deceive yourself. I cannot honestly

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claim any perfection of myself. I would not deliberately

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sin for anything in the world. I would not deliberately

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go against the word of God. or grieve the Holy

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Spirit or grieve my Lord for anything in the

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world and yet I can claim no perfection of myself.

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I am not perfect. Neither are you perfect. Neither

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is any human being in the world today perfect.

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Only one walked this earth in complete perfection

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and that one is the one who is our great advocate

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this very hour, the son of the living God. We

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must say with Paul when he said, not as though

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I had already attained. Either we're already

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perfect. That's right. We have not yet attained

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that perfection. We will not. attain perfection

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until that which is mortal will have put on immortality.

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That which is now corruption will have put on

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incorruption. Not as though I had already attained.

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Either were already perfect. At best we can merely

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say follow after and press toward the mark for

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the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus,

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as Paul expresses it. Because of our inability

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to reach perfection, some may say, well, what's

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the use of trying? Or others may say, because

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God is so ready to forgive sins, why should I

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put forth any special effort? paralyzed their

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Christian life. Hence the apostle pleads that

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we should not sin. The antidote which he offers

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is that we confess and forsake our sin. But however,

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the apostle realized full well that we should

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not achieve perfection. but that there will be

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sins and transgressions. Hence he says, and if

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any man sin, he does not say if we sin. Sin is

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the act of an individual. The individual is guilty.

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Any one of us may sin. In fact, every one of

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us does sin. Of course. As Christians, we do

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not want to sin. We fight against it. We do not

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become slaves of sin. Sin should not rule over

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us. Paul says in the sixth chapter of Romans,

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Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,

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that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

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For sin shall not have dominion over you. For

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ye are not under the law, but under grace. And

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yet, we're human. We stumble. We're as little

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children. Little children learning to walk. And

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we fall. We're exposed to severe temptations.

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And the evil one, the devil as a roaring lion,

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walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Or

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worse still, he will resort to his cunning devices

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in putting temptations in our way, in deceiving

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us. But not one of us needs yield to temptation.

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As long as we have the great advocate, as long

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as we have the great mediator, as long as we

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keep our eyes on Jesus, for there is one who

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is greater than the enemy of our soul, and that

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one is the very Son of the living God. We yield

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too easily. Scripture presents examples of great

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men of God who yielded to temptation and afterward

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regretted it deeply. Think of Moses and Aaron

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who led Israel out of Egypt but because of their

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sins were not permitted to enter the promised

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land. of David, who became guilty of adultery

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and murder. An afterword described his condition,

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saying, When I kept silence, my bones waxed old

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through my roaring all the day long. For day

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and night thy hand was heavy upon me. My moisture

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is turned into the drought of summer. Oh, the

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cry of his heart. The cry of his heart. My bones

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waxed old through my roaring all the day long.

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Think of Simon Peter who denied the Christ. who

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cursed and swore that he was not one of Christ's

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disciples, and then afterward went out and wept

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bitterly. Who is there among us? God's precious

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little children. My little children, who has

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not wept bitterly because of some failure. Some

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remorse. Some sin committed. And he went out

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and wept bitterly. Did the master cast us aside?

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Did the master cast you aside? Did he cast me

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aside? What then if you and I fall into sin?

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Is our case hopeless? The grace of God reclaimed

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Moses and Aaron and David and Peter and others.

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The grace of God wants to reclaim also you and

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reclaim me and reclaim that one who has sinned.

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I have the greatest message for you this hour

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that you can possibly know. I don't care who

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you are. There is hope. No case is hopeless.

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No night is so dark, but what the master is right

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there, caring and loving. The great advocate.

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The very son of the living God. And that is the

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very point which John wants to emphasize. And

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he says, if any man sin, we have an advocate

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with the faith. Father, when we have fallen and

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are all disturbed and torn by it, God wants us

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to know that we have an advocate. In other words,

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he's saying we have a lawyer who pleads our cause.

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This presents the scene of a courtroom. We are

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the accused and must stand trial. God is our

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judge. However, here we are told that it is the

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Father, Christ's Father, our Father. Oh, what

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a wonderful and blessed advantage to have our

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Heavenly Father as our judge. Our Father who

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loves us, our Father who sent Christ in the world

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to establish this blessed, this glorious relationship

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with Father and Child. But our case is even more

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hopeful than that. For our advocate who appears

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for us before the face of God the Father, who

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stands by us and speaks for us and directs his

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plea to the Father is none other than Jesus Christ.

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It is Christ our Savior and Redeemer who once

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dwelt on earth. in the depth of poverty and lowliness

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and misery and suffering as a sin -bearer, that

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he might redeem us. It is Christ, Christ the

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anointed of God, who is redeemed for the purpose

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of being our prophet, our priest, our glorious

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king. And this same wonderful Jesus Christ now

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functions as our advocate. He intercedes for

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us. Is there anything more thrilling to God's

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children? Is there anything more thrilling to

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you this very hour as his child than to know

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that you have an advocate? There is nothing more

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thrilling to me in the midnight hour, in the

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darkness of that hour, to know as I awaken and

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look through the darkness, the blackness of the

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night, to know that I have an advocate. Jesus

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Christ the Lord. In this world of sin, I have

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security. I have a foundation. Nothing is hopeless.

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Because I have an advocate. He intercedes for

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me. He intercedes for you before the Father's

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throne. The prophet Isaiah saw all of this and

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said, He bare the sin of many. and made intercession

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for the transgressors. When cruel hands had riveted

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Christ to the cross, when godless hands had nailed

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Jesus to the cross, he prayed, Father, forgive

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them, for they know not what they do. And in

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the light of that, Paul asks, Who is he that

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condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather,

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that is risen again, who is even at the right

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hand of God, who also maketh intercession for

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us. There is one this very hour, O beloved. Sing

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it, preach it, rejoice, tell it, know it, thrill

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to it. This very hour we have one in position

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of great high priest, seated at the right hand

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of God the Father, who also maketh intercession

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for us. John is eager. to clinch this glorious

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truth even more. And he says of our great intercessor

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that he is Jesus Christ, the righteous. All those

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two words, the righteous. You know, ordinarily,

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a lawyer need not be righteous himself. He need

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not plead his own case. This would not benefit

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his client in the least. He may... be merely

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a petitioner who proves that the cause of his

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client is just. But in our case, however, we

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the clients are sinful and guilty, but our advocate

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is holy and righteous and pleads our cause on

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the basis of justice. His own justice and righteousness.

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He can say nothing good of us, for we've sinned.

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But he can say much good for us, for he has done

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much for us. Our advocate is righteous in a twofold

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sense. He himself is without sin. He lived a

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perfect life. He fulfilled every demand of God's

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holy law. No one could convict him of sin. On

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the other hand, he is righteous as a substitute.

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When he met every requirement of God's law perfectly,

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he did it for us in our stead. When he suffered

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every stroke of sin's penalty, when he died on

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Calvary's cross, he did it all for us. And Peter

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says, For Christ also hath once suffered for

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sins, the just for the... unjust. And that's

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what John means when he declares, and he is the

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propitiation for our sins. He bore them in his

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own body on the tree. He atoned for them. He

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removed this ugly and insurmountable barrier

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which separated us from God. Thus he reconciles

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us. To God. He brought us the blessed assurance

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that God loves us and wants us in his family

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for time and for eternity. Surely we must marvel

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and wonder at God's gracious dealings with us

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undeserving sinners. And it all becomes the more

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marvelous when we read, and not for ours only,

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but also for the sins of the whole world. Our

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gracious God is that who respects your persons,

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anyone, everyone, no matter who you are, or who

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will live in the days or the years which lie

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ahead. has been reconciled to God by Christ,

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and our Savior is only too eager to plead for

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him before the Father's throne. Oh, beloved,

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ponder this glorious truth, no matter who you

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are or where you may be. Listen. Christ, who

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redeemed us with his precious blood, surely has

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every reason. To plead our cause. And in this

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moment, put your case in his hands. And he will

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decide in your favor. Because as a substitute,

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he has merited.