¹My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous . . .

One of the most mind-blowing verses in all of Scripture is this one! Of course, all of Scripture is amazing because it is God-breathed, direct communication from the Lord and Creator of the universe. But for those who understand the profound nature of sin and our guilt before a perfectly righteous God, there is no better good news than knowing our defender is none other than a perfectly righteous advocate.

The imagery here is that we are on trial, where the judge is God the Father, and the charge against us is our sin. If I am charged with a crime in the world of human legal affairs, I would want the very best defense lawyer that I could afford. He would know the applicable laws well and know all the loopholes so he could work the system and use whatever means necessary to prevent a guilty plea. After all, my future is at stake. Opposing counsel could be just as savvy as my lawyer, and my hope would be utterly dependent on my lawyer’s legal skills and the judge’s temperament and interpretation of the law. My hope for the future would not be at all certain.

In the spiritual realm, I am guilty; there is no question about it. So, what is my hope for any kind of acquittal? After all, the consequences for my future life are more profound than the consequences of any earthly crime. Furthermore, the judge is perfectly righteous, allowing no loopholes or slick legal maneuverings.

Opposing counsel is formidable; the one who accuses is relentless in his attacks before the Father. As we read in John’s apocalyptic letter, Satan is “the accuser of our brethren . . . who accuses them before our God day and night” (Rev. 12:10). Peter describes the unrelenting accuser in this way: “Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Just like he did with Job (Job 1:11) and the high priest during Zechariah’s time (Zech. 3:1), Satan will stop at nothing to ensure a guilty verdict will crash down on God’s people!

But, praise God, our defense counsel is none other than Jesus Christ the righteous! And we have Him on retainer to handle all accusations against us. He already knows us, and we know Him; we have fellowship together already. He has already secured the outcome, the ultimate forgiveness and eradication of our sins before God. But how can he do that when we are guilty? The answer which we are about to see is the spiritual-legal principle of propitiation.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for constantly being my defender before Satan’s accusations.