Jesus is now praying for his people, his main ministry. Christ is the Sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, but He is Advocate only for believers.

1 John 2:1 (KJV)
¹My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

        The word "advocate" means a lawyer. It is the same word Jesus used when He was talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16 (KJV)
¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

John 14:25 through John 14:26 (KJV)
²⁵These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. ²⁶But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 15:26 (KJV)
²⁶But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

        The advocate (comforter) means "one called alongside." He is the one who stands beside us and pleads our case. Jesus finished his work of earth (John 17:4) -- the work of giving his life as a sacrifice for sin. Today He has an unfinished work in heaven. He represents us before God's throne. As our High Priest, He sympathizes with our weaknesses and temptations and gives us grace.

Heb. 4:14 through Heb. 4:16 (KJV)
¹⁴Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. ¹⁵For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

        Jesus represents us before God's throne. He helps us when we sin. When we confess our sins to God, because of Christ's advocacy God forgives us.

I.   Jesus Is The Propitiation For Our Sins.

1 John 4:10 (KJV)
¹⁰Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Rom. 3:23 through Rom. 3:26 (KJV)
²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ²⁴Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: ²⁵Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; ²⁶To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

        The Christian has sinned and has confessed his sin to God the Father. Our Advocate, the Lord Jesus is pleading our case on the basis of a propitiation and God, the Father forgives the Christian.

        What do we mean by "propitiation?" If you look up 1 John 1:9 the meaning of the word in the dictionary you may get the wrong idea of its meaning. The dictionary tells us that to "propitiate" means to appease someone who is angry." If we apply this to God, we get the picture of an angry God about to destroy the world and Jesus , a loving Savior, giving himself to appease this angry God. This is not the correct Bible meaning. Rather the word "propitiation means "the satisfying of God's holy law." God is a holy God and how can He forgive sinners? The answer is in the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.

        Propitiation means that the penalty for our sin has been paid and Jesus pleads for us on the basis of his sacrifice.

        As J. F. Strombeck says, "It is He himself (Jesus) that points to his death and pleads. I am the Lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:19). I am that Just One, dying for the unjust (1 Peter 3:18). I was bruised for his iniquities (Isaiah 53:5). I bore his sins in my body upon that tree (1 Peter 2:24). I have redeemed him from the curse of this law under which he is now being accused because I was made a curse for him (Galatians 3:13). I, the Righteous One, was made sin for him that he might be made righteous in the sight of his holy law (2 Corinthians 5:21). The death of Jesus is the ground for his pleading. Paul grasped the full glory of this when he through inspiration exclaimed, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who maketh intercession for us (Romans 8:33-34).

        As one puts it. "The advocacy of the Savior. The Apostle John wrote that Jesus Christ is a good lawyer. He is in good standing with the court: He is called "Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." And He already has paid for my crime. What an unusual lawyer this is! He doesn't plead innocence for us. He doesn't plead justifiable circumstances for us. He pleads His blood. He says to God, "Father, look at the nail prints in My hands and feet. I don't plead their innocence -- I plead My blood. I've already paid for every sin on the list."

        And the verdict? "There is now no condemnation. How can we be certain? We have and Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. And the presence of this person and the power of his propitiation ensures our forgiveness: "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin."

II.   Our Present Sins

        We all sin and need forgiveness and cleansing. There are some who claim that Christians can and must live above sin. They claim to live a perfect life. They base their position on an interpretation of 1 John 3:9.

1 John 3:9 (KJV)
⁹Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

        The Bible proves this as it tells of Noah's sin, of Daniel's sin, of Peter's sin and many others. It is true that the inner man which is born of God does not sin, the spiritual nature, the nature of God, which one receives when he is saved does not sin.

2 Pet. 1:4 (KJV)
⁴Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

        Our spiritual nature is perfect like its Father, the Holy Spirit, of whom we are born. But on the other hand, every saved person has a nature which has not been born again. In this flesh we have a lot of trouble. Because of the old Adam in us we are often led astray. This is what the Bible means when it says, "If we say we have not sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).

        Paul gives the experience of every child of God in Romans 7:14-25. Read this passage and note the constant conflict in Paul's twofold nature. He says: "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but eh evil which I would not, that I do"

        Grover Cleveland, near his death said, "I have tried so hard to do the right." Dr. H. C. Morrison, a great Pentecostal preacher was asked, "Dr. Morrison, have you ever got to where you don't sin?" He said, "No, but I've got to where I don't want to."

        A battle goes on all the time between our sinful nature we received from Adam and our spiritual nature we received from the Holy Spirit.

Gal. 5:17 (KJV)
¹⁷For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

        What happens to this Christian when he falls again? This is a question which is asked repeatedly. In 1 John 2:1, the apostle writes: "My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. . . " Sin in the life of a Christian is a reality -- a grim, terrifying, discouraging reality. Many good people have claimed to total lack of sin in their lives, but in this respect the overwhelming majority of us must admit frustration and defeat. If sinlessness is a present accomplishment for the Christian, rather than the goal, if sinlessness is the hitting of the target, rather than the aiming of the arrow, then I have not achieved it. In this I am a miserable failure.

        First of all when the apostle writes, "sin not," the greatly discourages me. I wish, I hope, I pray, I strive for such perfection, as does any sincere Christian, but I don't achieve it. What discourages me in this: When I pray, my soul doesn't always rise to heaven. When I would study, I don't always concentrate. When God speaks, He doesn't always get my attention. When I should be listening to the troubles of some person, I am too busy giving advice. In the very act of preaching the gospel, many times I am to control my terrible impatience and some waitress upsets me. I mean to love everyone, then some person comes along who irritates me. In my very best moments when I repent of all resentments irritations, lusts and self-love, and yield them completely to God and ask him to purge me from these sins, I arise clean, warmhearted, joyful. But those high moments, though real are never permanent. Trust and pray and try as I may, I am sure to fail somewhere down the line.

        Others may talk, preach and write books on the victorious life, the overcoming life, the deeper life. For them, the sky is blue, the grass green, their problems solved, their victories over sin, constant. With me, it is always a race to run, a battle to fight, a war to win, lose a battle; when I think that I have won a battle, the same day I lose a skirmish.

        John gives us some words which greatly encourages us. "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous." He is handling our case and as we have already said, because of his sacrifice He will prevail.

        Jesus is praying for us -- for me and for you. If that doesn't cause us to rejoice and fall deeper in love with our precious Savior, I don't know shat it would take. Thank you, dear Lord, thank you.

III.   Jesus Praying For Us Is a Guarantee Of Our Eternal Salvation.

        We preachers preach a sermon on salvation in three tenses: We were saved, we are being saved and we shall be saved. We were saved by the power of God. We are being kept by the power of God. We shall be eternally saved by the power of God.

        These are scriptural and true but why are we sure that we are saved now and will be finally and completely saved? Leave out the present work of Jesus and we have no assurance. We are told that Christ ever lives to make intercession for us and by ever living and ever interceding for us H preserves our relationship with the Father.

Heb. 7:25 (KJV)
²⁵Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

        I have heard people say, "He is able to save from the gutter most to the uttermost," and that He is. But that is not what this means. I have heard them say, "Oh, Jesus is able to reach down to the very deepest depths of sin and save people." That He is. That He is thank God. But that is not what it means. He is able to save to the uttermost. It is not how far down He reaches, it is how far out, thank God, his salvation goes. It means that He is able to save to the uttermost; to the end; to the farthest extremity. While the ages roll, while eternity goes on and on and on, Jesus, thank God, keeps his people saved. He is able to save to the farthest extremity all those who come unto God by him. The "uttermost" in John 13:1 is translated "unto the end." It is an eternal salvation.

Rom. 5:10 (KJV)
¹⁰For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Romans 5:10

        What does it mean? I have heard people say, "Doesn't it mean that if we follow his example, his life, He never did wrong. He was right with others, right with God, true with himself. if we follow his example, walk in his steps we will be saved by his life on earth." That is not the life He is talking about. It is not his life yonder side of the cross; it is not his life yonder side of the tomb; it is his life this side of the cross; this side of the tomb. At the throne, in the glory, "We shall be saved by his life," at the right hand of God. The literal interpretation is that we were reconciled to God by his death and we are kept saved by his life. The ascension of Jesus Christ and a constant work of intercession.

        The writer of Hebrews makes it crystal clear that Christ intercedes only for them "that come to God through him." Behind this statement is the word of Jesus himself. In Matthew 10:32-33, our Lord speaks of his intercession:

Matt. 10:32 through Matt. 10:33 (KJV)
³²Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. ³³But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33

        Our confession of faith in Christ means that we ask him to take our case. This is the starting point. Salvation of the past is by his death. Salvation of the present and the future is by his resurrection and his intercession for us at the throne of God.

        Have you come to God through Jesus? There is no other way to the Father.