Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.104

 

And thus far, there is, in some way, a harmony between his being a sacrifice, a priest, and an Advocate. As a sacrifice, our sins were laid upon him (Isaiah 53). As a priest, he beareth them (Exo 28:38). And as an Advocate, he acknowledges them to be his own (Psa 69:5). Now, having acknowledged them to be his own, the quarrel is no longer between us and Satan, for the Lord Jesus has espoused our quarrel and made it his. All, then, that we in this matter have to do is stand at the bar by faith among the angels and see how the business goes. O blessed God! What a lover of mankind art thou! and how gracious is our Lord Jesus, in his thus managing matters for us?

(2.) The Lord Jesus, having thus taken our sins upon himself, next pleads his own goodness to God on our behalf, saying, "Let not those that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake; let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel, because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face" (Psa 69:6, 7). Mark, let them not be ashamed for my sake; let them not be confounded for my sake. Shame and confusion are the fruits of guilt, or of a charge for sin, (Jer 3:25), and are but an entrance into condemnation (Dan 12:2. John 5:29). But behold how Christ pleads, saying, Let not that be for my sake, for the merit of my blood, for the perfection of my righteousness, for the prevalency of my intercession. Let them not be ashamed for my sake, O Lord God of hosts. And let no man object, because this text is in the Psalms as if it were not spoken by the prophet of Christ; for both John and Paul, yea, and Christ himself, do make this psalm a prophecy of him. Compare verse with John 2:17, and with Romans 15:3; and verse 21 with Matthew 27:48, and Mark 15:25. But is not this a wonderful thing, that Christ should first take our sins, and account them his own, and then plead the value and worth of his whole self for our deliverance? For by these words, "for my sake," he pleads his own self, his whole self, and all that he is and has; and thus he put us in good estate again, though our cause was very bad.

To bring this down to weak capacities Suppose a man should be indebted twenty thousand pounds, but has not twenty thousand farthings wherewith to pay; and suppose also that this man be arrested for this debt, and that the law also, by which he is sued, will not admit of penny bate; this man may yet come well enough off if his advocate or attorney will make the debt his own and will, in the presence of the judges, out with his bags, and pay down every farthing. Why, this is the way of our Advocate. Our sins are called debts (Matt 6:12). We are sued for them at the law (Luke 12:59). And the devil is our accuser; but behold, the Lord Jesus comes out with his worthiness, pleads it at the bar, making the debt his own (Mark 10:45. II Cor 3:5). And saith, Now let them not be ashamed for my sake, O Lord God of hosts: let them not be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. And hence, as he is said to be an Advocate, so he is said to be a propitiation, or amends-maker, or one that appeaseth the justice of God for our sins-"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins."

And who can now object against the deliverance of the child of God? God cannot; for he, for Christ's sake, according as he pleaded, hath forgiven us all trespasses (Col 2:13, Eph 4:32). The devil cannot; his mouth is stopped, as is plain in the case of Joshua (Zech 3). The law cannot; for that approveth of what Christ has done. This, then, is the way of Christ's pleading. You must know, that when Christ pleads with God, he pleads with a just and righteous God, and therefore he must plead law, and nothing but law; and this he pleaded in both these pleas-First, in confessing of the sin he justified the sentence of the law in pronouncing of it evil; and then in his laying of himself, his whole self, before God for that sin, he vindicated the sanction and perfection of the law. Thus, therefore, he magnifies the law, and makes it honorable, and yet brings off his client safe and sound in the view of all the angels of God.

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II. I come now to show you how Jesus Christ manages this office of an Advocate for us. And that I may do this to your edification, I shall choose this method for the opening of it. First. Show you how he manages this office with his Father. Second. I shall show you how he manages it before him against our adversary.

First. how does he manage his office as an Advocate with His Father?

1. He doth it by himself, by no other as deputy under him, no angel, no saint; no work has a place here but Jesus, and Jesus only. This is what the text implies: "We have an Advocate"; speaking of one, but one alone, without an equal or an inferior. We have but one, and he is Jesus Christ. Nor is it for Christ's honor, nor for the honor of the law or of the justice of God, that anyone but Jesus Christ should be an Advocate for a sinning saint. Besides, to assert the contrary, what doth it but lessen sin and make the advocateship of Jesus Christ superfluous? It would lessen sin should it be removed by a saint or angel; it would make the advocateship of Jesus Christ superfluous, yea, needless, should it be possible that sin could be removed from us by either saint or angel.

Again, if God should admit more advocates than one and yet make mention of never one but Jesus Christ, or if John should allow another and yet speak nothing but of Jesus only, yea, that an advocate under that title should be mentioned but once, but once only in all the book of God, and yet that divers should be admitted, stands neither with the wisdom or love of God nor with the faithfulness of the apostle. But saints have but one Advocate, if they will use him, or improve their faith in that office for their help; if not, they must take what follows. This I thought good to hint at, because the times are corrupt, and because ignorance and superstition always wait for a countenance with us, and these things have a natural tendency to darken all truth, so especially this, which bringeth to Jesus Christ so much glory, and yieldeth to the godly so much help and relief.

2. As Jesus Christ alone is Advocate, so is God's bar, and that alone is that before which he pleads, for God is to judge himself (Deut 32:36; Heb 12:23). Nor can the cause for which he is now pleading be removed from any other court, either by appeals or otherwise.

If Satan could remove us from heaven to another court, he would certainly be too hard for us, because there we should want our Jesus, our Advocate, to plead our cause. Indeed, sometimes he impleads us before men, and they are glad of the occasion, for they and he are often one; but then we have leave to remove our cause and to pray for a trial in the highest court, saying, "Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal" (Psa 17:2). This wicked world does sentence us for our good deeds, but how then would they sentence us for our bad ones? But we will never appeal from heaven to earth for right, for here we have no Advocate; "our advocate is with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

3. As he pleadeth by himself alone, and nowhere else but in the court of heaven with the Father, so as he pleadeth with the Father for us, he observed this rule. He granteth and confesseth whatever can rightly be charged upon us, yet so as that he taketh the whole charge upon himself, acknowledging the crimes to be his own. "O God," says he, "thou knowest my foolishness and my sins"; my guiltiness "is not hid from thee" (Psa 69:5). And this he must do, or else he can do nothing. If he hides the sin or lessens 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; for having thus taken the sin upon himself, as lawfully he may, and lovingly doth, "for we are members of his body" ('tis his hand, 'tis his foot, 'tis his ear hath sinned), it followeth that we live if he lives; and who can desire more? This, then, must be thoroughly considered, if ever we will have comfort in a day of trouble and distress for sin.

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METHOD OF THE DISCOURSE. WHEREIN CHRIST'S OFFICE AS ADVOCATE DOTH LIE.

When a man's cause is good, it will sufficiently plead for itself, yes, and for its master too, especially when it is made appear so to be before a just and righteous judge. Here, therefore, he needs no advocate; the judge himself will pronounce him righteous. This is evidently seen in Job-"Thou movest me against him (this said God to Satan), to destroy him without cause" (Job 2:3). Thus far, Job's cause was good, so he did not need an advocate; his cause pleaded for itself and for its owner as well. But if it were to plead good causes for which Christ is appointed Advocate, then the apostle should have written thus: If any man be righteous, we have an Advocate with the Father. Indeed, I never heard but one preacher in all my life preach from this text, and he, when he came to handle the cause for which he was to plead, pretended it must be good and therefore said to the people, See that your cause be good, else Christ will not undertake it. But when I heard it, Lord, thought I, if this be true, what shall I do, and what will become of all these people, yea, and of this preacher too? Besides, I saw by the text, that the apostle supposeth another cause, a cause bad, exceeding bad, if sin can make it so. This was one cause why I undertook this work.

When we speak of a cause, we speak not of a person simply as so considered; for, as I said before, person and cause must be distinguished; nor can the person make the cause good, but as he regulates his action by the Word of God. If, then, a good, righteous man doth what the law condemns, that thing is bad; and if he is indicted for so doing, he is indicted for a bad cause; and he that will be his advocate must be concerned in and about a bad matter; and how he will bring his client off, therein lies the mystery.

I know that a bad man may have a good cause, depending on the judge, and so do good men (Job 31). But then they are bold in their own cause and fear not to make mention of it, and in Christ to plead their innocency before the God of heaven, as well as before men (Psa 71:3-5. II Cor 1:23. Gal 1:10. Phil 1:8) But we have in the text a cause that all men are afraid of—a cause that the apostle concludes is so bad that none but Jesus Christ himself can save a Christian from it. It is not only sinful but sin itself: If any man sins, we have an Advocate with the Father."

Wherefore there is in this place handled by the apostle one of the greatest mysteries under heaven—to wit, that an innocent and holy Jesus should take in hand to plead for one before a just and righteous God, that has defiled himself with sin; yea, that he should take in hand to plead for such a one against the fallen angels, and that he should also, by his plea, effectively rescue and bring them off from the crimes and curses whereof they were verily guilty by the verdict of the law and the approbation of the Judge.

This, I say, is a great mystery, and deserves to be pried into by all the godly, both because much of the wisdom of heaven is discovered in it, and because the best saint is, or maybe, concerned with it. Nor must we by any means let this truth be lost, because it is the truth; the text has declared it so, and to say otherwise is to belie the Word of God, to thwart the apostle, to soothe up hypocrites, to rob Christians of their privilege, and to take the glory from the head of Jesus Christ (Luke 18:11, 12).

The best saints are most sensible of their sins and most apt to make mountains of their molehills. Satan also, as has already been hinted, doth labor greatly to prevail with them to sin and to provoke their God against them, by pleading what is true or by surmising evilly of them, to the end they may be accused by him (Job 2:9). Great is his malice toward them, great is his diligence in seeking their destruction; wherefore greatly doth he desire to sift, to try, and winnow them, if perhaps he may work in their flesh to answer his design—that is, to break out in sinful acts—that he may have by law to accuse them to their God and Father. Therefore, for their sakes, this text abides so that they may see that, when they have sinned, "they have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." And thus have I shown you the nature, order, and occasion of this office of our blessed Lord Jesus.

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METHOD OF THE DISCOURSE. WHEREIN CHRIST'S OFFICE AS ADVOCATE DOTH LIE.

Third. The occasion of his exercising of this office of advocate is, as has been hinted already when a child of God shall be found guilty before God of some heinous sin or of some grievous thing in his life and conversation. For as for those infirmities that attend the best, in their most spiritual sacrifices; if a child of God were guilty of ten thousand of them, they are of course purged, through the much incense that is always mixed with those sacrifices in the golden censer that is in the hand of Christ; and so he is kept clean, and counted upright, notwithstanding those infirmities; and, therefore, you shall find that, notwithstanding those common faults, the children of God are counted good and upright in conversation, and not charged as offenders. "David," saith the text, "did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him, all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite" (I Kings 15:5). But was David, in a strict sense, without fault in all things else? No, verily; but that was foul in a higher degree than the rest, and therefore there God sets a blot; ay, and doubtless for that he was accused by Satan before the throne of God; for here is adultery, murder, and hypocrisy in David's doings; here is notorious matter, a great sin, and so a great ground for Satan to draw up an indictment against the king; and a thundering one, to be sure, shall be preferred against him. 

This is the time, then, for Christ to stand up to plead; for now, there is room for such a question David's sin stand with grace? Or, is it possible that a man who has done as he has should yet be found a saint, and so in a saved state? Or, Can God repute him so, and yet be holy and just? or, Can the merits of the Lord Jesus reach, according to the law of heaven, a man in this condition? Here is a case dubious; here is a man whose salvation, by his foul offenses, is made doubtful; now we must to law and judgment, wherefore now let Christ stand up to plead! I say, now was David's case dubious; he was afraid that God would cast him away, and the devil hoped he would, and to that end charged him before God's face, if, perhaps, he might get a sentence of damnation to pass upon his soul (Psa 51). But this was David's mercy; he had an Advocate to plead his cause, by whose wisdom and skill in matters of law and judgment he was brought off of those heavy charges, from those gross sins, and delivered from that eternal condemnation, that by the law of sin and death, was due to it.

This is then the occasion that Christ taketh to plead, as Advocate, for the salvation of his people with, the cause: He "pleadeth the cause of his people" (Is 51:22). Not every cause, but such and such a cause; the very bad cause, and by the which they are involved, not only in guilt and shame, but also in danger of death and hell. I say, the cause is bad, if the text is true, if sin can make it bad, yea, if sin itself be bad-"If any man sin, we have an Advocate"; an Advocate to plead for him; for him as considered guilty, and so, consequently, as considered in bad condition. It is true, we must distinguish between the person and the sin, and Christ pleads for the person, not the sin; but yet He cannot be concerned with the person, but he must be with the sin; for though the person and the sin may be distinguished, yet they cannot be separated. He must plead, then, not for a person only, but for a guilty person, for a person under the worst of circumstances-"If any man sin, we have an Advocate" for him as so considered.

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[METHOD OF THE DISCOURSE.]

FIRST, I shall show you more particularly this Advocate's office, or what and wherein Christ's office as Advocate doth lie. SECOND, After that, I shall also show you how Jesus Christ manages this office of an Advocate. THIRD, I shall also then show you who they are that have Jesus Christ as their Advocate. FOURTH, I shall also show you what excellent privileges they have, who have Jesus Christ as their Advocate. FIFTH, And to silence cavillers, I shall also show the necessity of this office of Jesus Christ. SIXTH, I shall come to answer some objections; and, LASTLY, To the use and application.

[WHEREIN CHRIST'S OFFICE AS ADVOCATE DOTH LIE.]

FIRST, To begin with, the first of these-namely, to show you more particularly of Christ's office as an Advocate, and wherein it lieth; the which I shall do these three ways First, Touch again upon the nature of this office; and then, Second, Treat of the order and place that it hath among the rest of his offices; and, treat of the occasion of the execution of this office.

First, To touch upon the nature of this office It is that which empowers a man to plead for a man or one man to plead for another; not in common discourses and upon common occasions, as any man may do, but at a bar, or before a court of judicature, where a man is accused or impleaded by his enemy; I say, this Advocate's office is such, both here and in the kingdom of heaven. An advocate is one of our attorneys, at least in general, who pleads according to law and justice for one or other who is in trouble by reason of some miscarriage or of the naughty temper of some that are about him, who trouble and vex, and labors to bring him into danger of the law. This is the nature of this office, as I said, on earth, and this is the office that Christ executes in heaven. Wherefore he says, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate"; one to stand up for him and to plead for his deliverance before the bar of God. (Joel 3:2. Isa 66:16. Eze 38:22. Jer 2.)

For though in some places of Scripture Christ is said to plead for his with men, and that by terrible arguments, as by fire and sword, and famine and pestilence, yet this is not that which is intended by this text; for the apostle here saith, he is an Advocate with the Father, or before the Father, to plead for those that there, or that to the Father's face, shall be accused for their transgressions: "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." So, then, this is the employ of Jesus Christ as he is for us, an advocate. He has undertaken to stand up for his people at God's bar, and before that great court, there to plead, by the law and justice of heaven, for their deliverance, when, for their faults, they are accused, indicted, or impleaded by their adversary.

Second. And now to treat of the order or place that this office of Christ hath among the rest of his offices, which he doth execute for us while we are here in a state of imperfection; and I think it is an office that is to come behind as a reserve, or for help at last, when all other means shall seem to fail. Men do not use to go to law upon every occasion; or if they do, the wisdom of the judge, the jury, and the court will not admit that every brangle and foolish quarrel shall come before them; but an Advocate doth then come into place, and then to the exercise of his office when a cause is counted worthy to be taken notice of by the judge and by the court. Wherefore he, I say, comes in the last place, as a reserve, or help at last, to plead and, by pleading, to set that right by law, which would otherwise have caused an increase to more doubts and further dangers.

Christ, as priest, doth always work of service for us, because in our most spiritual things, there may be faults and spots, and these he taketh away, of course, by the exercise of that office; for he always wears that plate of gold upon his forehead before the Father, whereon is written, "Holiness to the Lord." But now, besides these common infirmities, there are faults that are highly gross and foul, which are often found in the skirts of the children of God. Now, there are they that Satan taketh hold on; these are they that Satan draws up a charge against us for; and to save us from these, it is that the Lord Jesus is made an Advocate. When Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, then Satan stood at his right hand to resist him; then the angel of the covenant, the Lord Jesus, pleaded for his help (Zech 3). By all which it appears, that this office comes behind, is provided as a reserve, that we may have help at a pinch, and then be lifted out when we sink in the mire, where there is no standing.

This is yet further hinted at by the several postures that Christ is said to be in, as he exercises his priestly and advocate offices. As a Priest, he sits; as an Advocate, he stands (Isa 3:13). The Lord stands up when he pleads; his sitting is more constant and, of course (Sit thou, Psa 110:1,4), but his standing is occasional, when Joshua is indicted or when hell and earth are broken loose against his servant Stephen. For as Joshua was accused by the devil, and as then the angel of the Lord stood by, so when Stephen was accused by men on earth, and that charge was seconded by the fallen angels before the face of God, it is said, "the Lord Jesus stood on the right hand of God," (Acts 7:55)-to wit, to plead; for so I take it, because standing is his posture as an Advocate, not as a Priest; for, as a Priest, he must sit down; but he standeth as an Advocate, as has been shown afore (Heb 10:12). Wherefore,

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"AND IF ANY MAN SIN, WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER, JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS."—-I JOHN 2:1.

Let me, therefore, for a conclusion as to this, give you an exhortation to believe, to hope, and to expect that though you have sinned, (for now I speak to the fallen saint), Jesus Christ will make a good end with the "Trust," I say, "in him, and he shall bring it to pass."I know I put thee upon a hard and difficult task for believing and expecting good, when my guilty conscience doth nothing but clog, burden, and terrify me with the justice of God, the greatness of thy sins, and the burning torments is hard and sweating work. But it must be; the text calls for it, thy case calls for it, and thou must do it if thou wouldst glorify Christ; and this is the way to hasten the issue of thy cause in hand, for believing daunts the devil, pleaseth Christ, and will help thee beforehand to sing that song of the church, saying, "O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life" (Lam 3:58). Yea, believe, and hear thy pleading Lord say to thee, "Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again" (Isa 51:22). I am not here discoursing of the sweetness of Christ's nature but of the excellency of his offices and of his office of advocateship in particular, which, as a lawyer for his client, he is to execute in the presence of God for us. 

Love may be where there is no office, and so no power is to do us good; but now, when love and office shall meet, they will surely both combine in Christ to do the fallen Christian good. But of his love we have treated elsewhere; we will here discuss the office of this loving one. And for thy further information, let me tell thee that God thy Father counteth that thou wilt be when compared with his law, but a poor one all thy days; yea, the apostle tells thee so, in that he saith there is an Advocate provided for thee. When a father provides crutches for his child, he doth as good as say, I count that my child will be yet infirm; and when God shall provide an Advocate, he doth as good as say, My people are subject to infirmities. Do not, therefore, think of yourself above what, by plain texts and fair inferences drawn from Christ's offices, you are bound to think. What doth it bespeak concerning thee that Christ is always a priest in heaven, and there ever lives to make intercession for thee (Heb 7:24), but this, that thou art at the best in thyself, yea, and in thy best exercising of all thy graces too, but a poor, pitiful, sorry, sinful man; a man that would, when yet most holy, be certainly cast away, did not thy high priest take away for thee the iniquity of thy holy things? The age we live in is a wanton age; the godly are not as humble, low, and base in their own eyes as they should, though their daily experience calls for it, and the priesthood of Jesus Christ too.

But above all, the advocateship of Jesus Christ declares us to be sorry creatures, for that office does, as it were, predict that some time or other we shall basely fall and, by falling, be undone, if the Lord Jesus stands not up to plead. And as it shows this concerning us, so it shows concerning God that he will not lightly or easily lose his people. He has provided well for us—blood to wash us in; a priest to pray for us, that we may be made to persevere; and, in case we foully fall, an advocate to plead our cause and to recover us from under and out of all that danger, that by sin and Satan, we at any time may be brought into.

But having thus briefly passed through that in the text which I think the apostle must necessarily presuppose, I shall now endeavor to enter into the bowels of it and see what, in a more particular manner, shall be found therein. And, for my more profitable doing of this work, I shall choose to observe this method in my discourse

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THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST AS AN ADVOCATE.

"AND IF ANY MAN SIN, WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER, JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS."—-I JOHN 2:1.

Another thing that the apostle would have us learn from the words is that remembering and believing that Jesus Christ is an Advocate for us when we have sinned is the next way to support and strengthen our faith and hope. Faith and hope are very apt to faint when our sins in their guilt do return upon us; nor is there any more proper way to relieve our souls than to understand that the Son of God is our Advocate in heaven. True, Christ died for our sins as a sacrifice, and as a priest, he sprinkleth with his blood the mercy-seat; ay, but here is one that has sinned after profession of faith, that has sinned grievously, so grievously that his sins are come up before God; yea, are at his bar pleaded against him by the accuser of the brethren, by the enemy of the godly. What shall he do now? Why, let him believe in Christ. Believe, that is true; but how now must he conceive in his mind of Christ for the encouragement of him to do? Why, let him call to mind that Jesus Christ is an Advocate with the Father, and as such he meeteth the accuser at the bar of God, pleads for this man who has sinned against this accuser, and prevails forever against him. Here now, though Satan be turned lawyer, though he accuseth, yea, though his charge against us is true (for suppose that we have sinned), "yet our Advocate is with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Thus is faith encouraged, thus is hope strengthened, and thus is the spirit of the sinking Christian revived and made to wait for a good deliverance from a bad cause and a cunning adversary, especially if you consider,

7. That the apostle doth also further suppose by the text that Jesus Christ, as Advocate, if he will but plead our cause, let that be never so black, is able to bring us off, even before God's judgment seat, to our joy, and the confounding of our adversary; for when he saith, "We have an Advocate," he speaks nothing if he means not thus. But he doth mean thus; he must mean thus because he seeketh here to comfort and support the fallen. "Has any man sinned? We have an Advocate." But what of that, if yet he is unable to fetch us off when charged for sin at the bar and before the face of a righteous judge?

But he is able to do this. The apostle says so, in that, he supposes a man has sinned, as any man among the godly ever did; for we may understand it; and if he giveth us not leave to understand it so, he saith nothing to the purpose neither, for it will be objected by some-But can he fetch me off. However, I have done as David, as Solomon, as Peter, or the like? It must be answered, Yes. The openness of the terms ANY MAN, the indefiniteness of the word SIN, doth naturally allow us to take him in the largest sense; besides, he brings in this saying as the chief, most apt, and fittest to relieve one crushed down to death and hell by the guilt of sin and a wounded conscience.

Further, methinks by these words the apostle seems to triumph in his Christ, saying, My brethren, I would have you study to be holy; but if your adversary the devil should get the advantage of you, and besmear you with the filth of sin, you have yet, besides all that you have heard already, "an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," who is as to his person, in interest with God, his wisdom and worth, able to bring you off, to the comforting of your souls

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THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST AS AN ADVOCATE.

"AND IF ANY MAN SIN, WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER, JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS."—-I JOHN 2:1.

3. As the text supposes that there is a judge and crimes of saints, so it supposes that there is an accuser, one that will carefully gather up the faults of good men and that will plead them at this bar against them. Hence we read of "the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night" (Rev 12:10–12). For Satan doth not only tempt the godly man to sin, but, having prevailed with him, and made him guilty, he packs away to the court, to God the judge of all; and there addresses himself to accuse that man, and to lay to his charge the heinousness of his offense, pleading against him the law that he has broken, the light against which he did it, and the like. But now, for the relief and support of such poor people, the apostle, by the text, presents them with an advocate; that is, with one to plead for them, while Satan pleads against them; with one that pleads for pardon, while Satan, by accusing, seeks to pull judgment and vengeance upon our heads. "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." That is the third thing.

4. As the apostle supposeth a judge, crimes, and an accuser, so he also supposeth that those herein concerned with, the sinning children-neither can nor dare attempt to appear at this bar themselves to plead their own cause before this Judge and against this accuser; for if they could or durst do this, what need do they have an advocate? for an advocate is of use to them whose cause themselves neither can nor dare appear to plead. Thus Job prayed for an advocate to plead his cause with God (Job 16:21); and David cried out, "Enter not into judgment with thy servant," O God, "for in thy sight shall no man living be justified" (Psa 143:2). Wherefore, it is evident that saints neither can nor dare adventure to plead their cause. 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 place as that is where this great God doth sit to judge. This sin now hangs about the neck of him that hath committed it; yea, it covereth him as doth a mantle. The adversary is bold, cunning, and audacious and can work a thousand of us into an utter silence in less than half a quarter of an hour. What, then, should the sinner, if he could come there, do at this bar to plead? Nothing; nothing for his own advantage. But now, in his mercy-he has an Advocate to plead his cause-"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." That is the fourth thing. But again,

5. The apostle also supposes by the text that there is an aptness in Christians when they have sinned to forget that they "have an Advocate with the Father"; therefore, this is written to put them in remembrance-"If any may sin, [let him remember] we have an Advocate." We can think of all other things well enough-namely, that God is a just judge, that the law is perfectly holy, that my sin is horrible and an abominable thing, and that I am certainly thereof accused before God by Satan.

These things, I say, we readily think of and forget them not. Our conscience puts us in mind of these, our guilt puts us in mind of these, the devil puts us in mind of these, and our reason and sense hold the knowledge and remembrance of these close to us. All that we forget is, that we have an Advocate, "an Advocate with the Father"-that is, one that is appointed to take in hand in open court, before all the angels of heaven, my cause, and to plead it by such law and arguments as will certainly fetch me off, though I am clothed with filthy garments; but this, I say, we are apt to forget, as Job said, "O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbor!" (Job 16:21). Such one Job had, but he had almost at this time forgotten it; as he seems to intimately also where he wisheth for a daysman that might lay his hand upon them both (Job 9:33). But our mercy is, we have one to plead our cause, "an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," who will not suffer our soul to be spilt and spoiled before the throne but will surely plead our cause.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.96

 

THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST AS AN ADVOCATE.

"AND IF ANY MAN SIN, WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER, JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS."—-I JOHN 2:1.

First, For the first of these—to wit, what the apostle should here mean by sin—, "If any man sin."

I answer, that since there is a difference in the persons, there must be a difference in the sin. That there is a difference in the persons is shown before; one is called a child of God, and the other is said to be of the wicked one. Their sins differ also, in their degree at least; for no child of God sins to that degree as to make himself incapable of forgiveness; "for he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not" (I John 5:18). Hence, the apostle says, "There is a sin unto death" (v. 16). See also Matthew 12:32. Which is the sin from which he that is born of God is kept. The sins therefore are thus distinguished: The sins of the people of God are said to be sins that men commit, the others are counted those which are the sins of devils.

1. The sins of God's people are said to be sins that men commit, and for which they have an Advocate, though they who sin after the example of the wicked one have none. "When a man or woman," saith Moses, "shall commit any sin that men commit—they shall confess their sin—and an atonement shall be made for him" (Num 5:5-7). Mark, it is when they commit a sin which men commit; or, as Hosea has it, when they transgress the commandment like Adam (Hosea 6:7). Now, these are the sins under consideration by the apostle, and to deliver us from which, "we have an Advocate with the Father."

2. But for the sins mentioned in the third chapter, since the persons sinning go here under another character, they also must be of another stamp wit, a making head against the person, merits, and grace of Jesus Christ. These are the sins of devils in the world, and for these, there is no remission. These, they also that are of the wicked one commit, and therefore sin after the similitude of Satan, and so fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Second, what is it for Jesus to be an Advocate for these? "If any man sins, we have an Advocate."

An advocate is one who pleaded for another at any bar or before any court of judicature but of this more in its place. So, then, we have in the text a Christian, as supposed, committing sin, and a declaration of an Advocate prepared to plead for him-"If any man sins, we have an Advocate with the Father."

And this leads me first to inquire into what, by these words, the apostle must, of necessity, presuppose? For making use here of the similitude or office of an advocate, thereby to show the preservation of the sinning Christian, he must,

1. Suppose that God, as judge, is now upon the throne of his judgment; for an advocate is to plead at a bar before a court of judicature. Thus it is among men, and forasmuch as our Lord Jesus is said to be an "Advocate with the Father," it is clear that there is a throne of judgment also. This the prophet Micaiah affirms, saying, "I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left" (I Kings 22:19). Sitting upon a throne for judgment; for from the Lord, as then sitting upon that throne, proceeded that sentence against king Ahab, that he should go and fall at Ramoth-gilead; and he did go, and did fall there, as the award or fruit of that judgment. That is the first.

2. The text also supposeth that the saints as well as sinners are concerned at that bar; for the apostle saith plainly that there "we have an Advocate." And the saints are concerned at that bar; because they transgress as well as others, and because the law is against the sin of saints as well as against the sins of other men. If the saints were not capable of committing sin, what need would they have of an advocate (I Chron 21:3-6. I Sam 12:13,14)? 4 Yea, though they did sin, yet if they were by Christ so set free from the law as that it could by no means take cognizance of their sins, what need would they have of an advocate? None at all. If there be twenty places where there are assizes kept in this land, yet if I have offended no law, what need have I of an advocate? Especially if the judge be just, and knows me altogether, as the God of heaven does? But here is Judge that is just; and here is an Advocate also, an Advocate for the children, an Advocate to plead; for an advocate as such is not of use but before a bar to plead; therefore, here is an offense, and so a law broken by the saints as well as others. That is the second thing.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; What Shall A Man Give In Exchange For His Soul.95

 

THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST AS AN ADVOCATE.

"AND IF ANY MAN SIN, WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER, JESUS CHRIST THE RIGHTEOUS."—-I JOHN 2:1.

THAT the apostle might obtain due regard from those to whom he wrote, touching the things about which he wrote, he tells them that he received not his message to them at second or third hand, but was himself an eye and ear witness thereof-That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled—of the word of life, (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you.

Having thus told them of his ground for what he said, he proceeds to tell them also the matter contained in his errand—to wit, that he brought them news of eternal life, as freely offered in the word of the gospel to them; or rather, that that gospel which they had received would certainly usher them in at the gates of the kingdom of heaven, was their reception of it sincere and in truth—for, saith he, then "the blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God cleanseth you from all sin."

Having thus far told them what was his errand, he sets upon an explication of what he had said, especially touching our being cleansed from all sin—"Not," saith he, "from a being of sin; for should we say so, we should deceive ourselves," and should prove that we have no truth of God in us, but by cleansing, I mean a being delivered from all sin, so as that none at all shall have the dominion over you, to bring you down to hell; for that, for the sake of the blood of Christ, all trespasses are forgiven you.

This done, he exhorts them to shun or fly sin and not to consent to the motions, workings, enticings, or allurements thereof, saying, "I write unto you that ye sin not." Let not forgiveness have so bad an effect upon you as to cause you to be remiss in Christian duties or as to tempt you to give way to evil. Shall we sin because we are forgiven? or shall we not much matter what manner of lives we live because we are set free from the law of sin and death? God forbid. Let grace teach us another lesson and lay other obligations upon our spirits. "My little children," saith he, "these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." What things? Why, tidings of pardon and salvation, and of that nearness to God, to which you are brought by the precious blood of Christ? Now, lest also by this last exhortation, he should yet be misunderstood, he adds, "And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." I say he addeth this to prevent desponding in those weak and sensible Christians that are so quick of feeling and of discerning the corruptions of their natures; for these cry out continually that there is nothing that they do but it is attended with sinful weaknesses.

Wherefore, in the words we are presented with two great truths—l. With a supposition, that men in Christ, while in this world, may sin—, "If any man sin;" any man; none are excluded; for all, or any one of the all of them that Christ hath redeemed and forgiven, are incident to sin. By "may," I mean not a toleration but a possibility: "For there is not a man, not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not" (Eccl 7:20; 1 Kings 8:46). II. The other thing with which we are presented is, an Advocate—, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

Now there lieth in these two truths two things to be inquired into, as-First, What the apostle should here mean by sin. Second, And also, what he here does mean by an advocate-"If any man sin, we have an Advocate." There is ground to inquire after the first of these, because, though here he saith, they that sin have an advocate, yet in the very next chapter he saith, "Such are of the devil, have not seen God, neither know him, nor are of him." There is ground also to inquire after the second, because an advocate is supposed in the text to be of use to them that sin—, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate."