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The Heart

#1 · August 5, 2015, 5:11 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on August 5, 2015, 5:11 pm
Posted by: thepreacherman <thepreacherman@...>

The Heart

1 Jn. 3:20-21

1 Jn. 3:20-21For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

When I use the term "heart", in this context I am referring to the "mind".

·      The heart of the man is the center of emotions.

·      How one act, feels and thinks are all actions of the mind.

·      The heart that most people refer to is only an organ that pumps blood through our bodies.

·      But the nature and spirit of man resides in his mind.

I want to speak briefly about our consciousness of sin and the sincerity of our love and commitment to God.

·      It is easy to use grace and mercy alone with the weakness of our flesh to continue sinning in areas where we really ought to be living victorious.

·      But God knows all, and that is what we must remember when we tell ourselves "God knows my heart".

Many in the church and those who have come through the church fail because of one or two reasons, a lack of correct teaching or a lack of understanding.

·      There are some important things a person needs to understand when it comes to salvation.

·      There is also important things that a person need to understand when it comes to sanctification.

·      In this lesson it is my goal to help someone see and understand both.

The first thing that we must understand is that our whole Christian walk is a struggle.

·      It is a struggle against good versus evil within our own being.

·      This is why the apostle Paul instructs us to walk in the Spirit (i.e. according to God's Word) and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (i.e. our natural desires that is contrary to God's will for us). Gal. 5:16

It is the struggle that people don't understand.

·      They don't understand that the struggle is a good thing.

·      The struggle says that I am going against my natural nature.

·      The struggle says that I desire change.

Therefore it is my goal to shed light on issues that we face every day.

·      The first thing is, that when you and I came to the Lord, we brought a lot of baggage with us.

·      We brought years of bad habits and sinful desires.

James teaches us that a person is tempted when they are drawn away from their own lust. (Ja. 1:14)

·      We can come up with some real good excuses for our sinning, but the real issue is internal desires.

·      We might use external circumstances as excuses to do what we really want to do, but it is internal desires that really motivates our actions.

Let us first look at mankind from his unregenerate state.

·      Before we became spiritually reformed we were messed up.

·      And now that we are spiritually reformed, we are a dressed up mess.

Jer. 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

The Lord through the prophet Jeremiah gives us the answer to all of mankind's problems.

·      It is our mental state.

We need to understand that our mind is shaped by our surroundings, our customs and our teachings or traditions.

·      So at the first, we may blame society for the way we think.

·      Basically our society teaches us to be the best that we can be regardless of the cost.

·      Then there is a certain class of folk that society tells that this is the way it is, the way it always have been and the way it will always be.

·      And if a person has heard these things all their life, this is what they will accept.

Two things are said about the mind.

1. It is deceitful above all things.

·      The place of the dishonesty is in the mind.

·      The mind of a person is what that person is.

·      When the mind is deceitful, that person is indeed deceitful.

·      When the deceit comes from the heart is causes a person to be deceitful in the entire area of their life.

·      It makes it natural for the person to lie, deceive etc.

2. The mind is desperately wicked.

The basic meaning of the verb "desperate" means to be sick.

·      It is used to describe a wound or pain which is incurable.

·      It describes a weakened condition that can lead to death.

·      It is used here in Jeremiah metaphorically and spiritually to describes the incurably wicked, desperately sick condition of the human heart.

·      It describes the desperate spiritual state of the heart in terms of illness.

Two things are also said about the Lord in this passage.

1. The awareness of the deceit. "The Lord search the heart."

·      Jeremiah also let us know that although we might deceive others, God knows our heart.

·      You and I can be and many times are deceived by people and don't even know it.

·      We even sometimes fool ourselves into thinking that our actions are for the better good when all the time we have an arterial motive.

2. The punishment for the deceit. "Give every man according to his ways."

·      Deceit will be punished by God.

·      It matters not who a person might be or what position they might hold, if there is deceit in the heart, it will be punished by God.

Now we cannot use the excuse that I was born like this therefore my actions are justified.

·      Our responsibility is to seek righteousness.

·      Always remember this, where there is a wrong, there is also a right.

·      Adam and Eve did not take responsibility for their actions, instead they shifted the blame.

·      Let us be responsible.

Now let's look at the sincere heart.

1 Jn. 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he (Yahweh) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him (call Him) a liar, and his word is not in us.

First thing first.

·      We must first agree with God that He is right.

·      He said that we have a deceitful heart and an untreatable wicked mind (Jer. 17:9).

·      To say that I have not sinned is the same as making the cross of Christ of no effect.

·      In other words if I don't have sin issues then there is no need for forgiveness and there is no need for Christ.

Christ is the advocate for the guilty.

·      Although we are born again we still fight wicked desires.

·      Our status with God changed but the internal battle still exists.

This agreement is done in the act of confessing our sins.

·      When we confess our sins this puts us on the mercy of the court.

·      I must not confess that I am a pastor teaching your people the best that I can.

·      My confession must be, "have mercy on me, a sinner".

This mercy is demonstrated in the act of forgiveness of our sins.

·      No, we are not innocent just forgiven.

This cleansing from unrighteousness is not from the prospect of becoming sinless, but to be covered.

·      It is Yahweh's acts of mercy and grace that causes us to stand as righteous although we are as we all know, guilty.

Ps. 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. (Ro.4:6-8)

David knew and understood what he was talking about when he penned this Psalm.

·      He had experienced the wickedness of his heart and had to own up to it.

·      If he were to be free from the guilt of this sin, it had to start with confession of the sin. (Ps. 32:3)

·      Upon confession David experienced the reality of forgiveness that lead to relief from the bondage of sin's oppression.

Therefore, when David used the word "blessed" was is speaking of something much more than happiness but he entered into a state of peace and freedom of the mind.

There were four things that contributed to David's blessedness:

First, He received forgiveness.

·      His forgiveness was based on the truthfulness of his confession. (no guile)

·      To obtain forgiveness for sin, one must confess their sin to the Lord.

Second, his sin were covered.

·      When Yahweh forgives us, He forget the offense, the sin is covered.

·      It is usually our conscience that keep the offence before our memory.

·      Understanding of justification does not free a person of the sin but it frees them from the guilt that resulted from the sin.

The verb to cover is to conceal something.

·      When used in a literal sense as it is here, it indicates that something is covering something else.

·      In our case, it is the blood of Christ or His substitution death that covers our sins.

David found reconciliation with God by not concealing his sin but confessing it.

·      And this is what John said in 1 Jn. 1:6-8, if we want forgiveness, there must be confession.

Third, The Lord did not judge him based on his actions.

·      After confession Yahweh did not "make a judgment" against David.

·      The word impute simply says that Yahweh isn't holding anything over David's head.

Fourth, there is truthfulness.

·      David admits and face the fact of who he is.

·      He is a man with evil intentions or ungodly desires.

·      A man in whose spirit there is no guile has to do with honesty as opposed to deceitfulness.

·      David is aware that he needs more than forgiveness he needs a clean heart or godly desires. (Ps. 51:10)

This blessedness or the end result of man is knowing and admitting that he is a transgressor.

·      1 Jn. 1: 9 If we confess our sins, he (Yahweh) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We covered:

1.    Man in his natural condition. Having a deceitful and incurable wicked mind.

2.    Confession of sin that not only restores us to a right relationship with God but also brings forgiveness and peace to the confessor.

Now let's look at how our sins are covered and how we are made righteous.

Heb. 8:1-5 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Heb. 8:1-5 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum:

1a. Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum…

·      The epistle to the Hebrews shows the supremacy of Christ over the law or the rituals of Judaism.

·      So to drive his point home, he says:

1b. We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

Note two things about this high priest:

1.    He is set at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 10:12; Ro. 8:34)

Ø This is a place of authority and honor.

2.    He represents us before God.

The earthly priest interceded on behalf of the people to God.

·      Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father to be our Minister in the Heavenly Sanctuary; He is there to help us.

Our concern is to please the Father and worship Him.

·      We do that through Jesus.

·      Because of Jesus we have instant access to the Father and He presents our request to the Father

So we have an Advocate who stands for the guilty.

1 Jn. 2:1-2 My 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:

2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

·      I was once told by a friend that he sought an attorney.

·      This attorney had a great record for winning cases.

·      He told the attorney that he was innocent.

·      The attorney replied to him that he could not help him because he specialized in getting the guilty acquitted.

·      So does Jesus.

Ro. 8:31-34 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us (stop us or hold us down)?

32 He (Yahweh) that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all (while we were sinners), how shall he not (now that we have submitted our lives to Him) with (through or because of Him) him (Jesus) also freely give us all things (pertaining to salvation)?

33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

34 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 also maketh intercession for us.

The apostle Paul has given to us in the epistle to the Romans the working of God's purpose of salvation.

·      Salvation is ours although sanctification is progressive.

·      As humans there are some disturbing facts.

·      Although we may have no doubt about God's power; but we have serious reservations about our own goodness.

·      We face opposing forces that interrupt our sanctification process and peace of mind.

Sin is the first of the threats to our salvation.

·      Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

The issue is clear, it is the charge concerning right and wrong.

·      We know that we have failed to meet God's standard of integrity, we have offended against God's holy law.

·      Therefore, it is our conscience concerning sin that brings charge against us.

·      Our conscience knows how seriously such failure jeopardizes our spiritual life.

·      Paul is dealing with an issue that is not isolated or unreal, we are very conscious of our sins and failures.

It is God who justifies; who is to condemn?

·      We have a new standing with God, and this gives us our security.

·      Although we are sinners we have been acquitted.

·      Not innocent but cleared of the charges against us.

In spite of God's grace and mercy, we are always tempted to prove that we are accepted because of what we have actually done or because of what we don't do.

·      This however, is due to the dangerous pressure of legalism in the human mind.

Our assurance and confidence should be in the fact that Christ cannot be against us if He is interceding on our behalf. ( Ro. 8:34)

·      We need to rely on Christ and our complete dependence should be on Him and Him alone.

In Christ there is no ground for condemnation.

·      Christ who died for us is at the Father's right hand interceding for us.

Note four great truths concerning our assurance and protection:

(1) Christ died for our sins. He is our propitiation.

(2) He is risen again for our justification (Ro. 4:25). We are "saved by His life"   (Ro. 5:10).

(3) "He is at the right hand of God," He is our representative.

(4) He's making intercession, He is our Advocate pleading our case

(1 Jn. 2:1).

Our future in glory is assured by the perfect defeat of our adversary, and the perfect intercession of our Advocate.

·      Christ died, He arose, He ascended and He intercedes for us!

Something else is worthy of noting:

(a) Christ is not dead, but lives; He's interceding for us.

(b) Christ is not powerless to save, but is crowded in power.

(c) Christ is not uninterested to our needs, but in unfailing and effective compassion and understanding makes known our concerns to God the Father, Yahweh.

To be conscious of our sinfulness is a necessary counteraction to spiritual pride.

·      But to be constantly and hopelessly focused on the reality of sin leads to depression.

·      It is wrong to ignore our spiritual failures, since that leads to spiritual laziness or an excuse not to reach for perfectness.

·      It is also wrong to be fixated with our weaknesses and sins because this leads to defeat.

Paul gives us a method which makes us honest with ourselves about sin but saves us from an unhealthy obsession with it.

When he say, it is God who justifies; who is to condemn?

·      He is showing us how to acknowledge the realness of sin while at the same time how to escape from its oppression.

·      Justification speaks of the seriousness of our wrongdoing as well as the graciousness of our Justifier; this puts us in a new relationship with God.

·      Understanding justification is the only way of finding mental peace and to be spiritually healthy.

·      In this we are free from the twin temptations of ignoring sin and of dwelling upon it.

Jude 1:24-25 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

The praise for Jesus Christ is twofold.

The helping by Christ. Jude praise Christ for the help He gives to believers.

There is the protection of believers. "Him that is able to keep you from falling."

·      Christ is able to preserve the saint from the loss of salvation.

·      Falling does not refer to being sinless, but to not losing faith in Christ in spite of the sin.

·      Remember the conscience and those who would remind us of our wrong have the tendency to rob us of our peace in Christ and to condemn us.

Then there is the presentation of believers. "Present you faultless before the presence of his glory."

·      Believers will be presented before the Divine throne as sinless.

·      Not that we are sinless, but we will be presented as though we have not sinned simply based on the fact that we have accepted and trusted in Jesus' complete ministry. (Ps. 32:1-2)

And finally there is the pleasure in the believers. "With exceeding joy."

·      While the joy here refers to the joy that is Christ's in presenting the saved to God, believers are also included in the joy because we are accepted in glory.

·      Christ is our Joy.

1 Jn. 3:20-21 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

We have confidence toward God means that we trust in God's plan of righteousness and not our own merits.

·      This refer to God's righteousness which is Christ.

·      We are the righteousness of God in Christ.

Yes God knows our heart and I hope each one of us is sincere about our dealings in Christ.

·      And if you are not you can ask Yahweh to give you a desire to change your desire to being sincere and seek God's will for your life.

·      After all God knows that we are screwed up inwardly, but He has given us a way out so that we don't have to be burdened by the conscience (our prosecutor) of our sinfulness.

1 Jn. 2:1-2 My 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:

2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

·      Amen

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Posted by: thepreacherman <thepreacherman@...>

The Heart

1 Jn. 3:20-21

1 Jn. 3:20-21For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

When I use the term "heart", in this context I am referring to the "mind".

· The heart of the man is the center of emotions.

· How one act, feels and thinks are all actions of the mind.

· The heart that most people refer to is only an organ that pumps blood through our bodies.

· But the nature and spirit of man resides in his mind.

I want to speak briefly about our consciousness of sin and the sincerity of our love and commitment to God.

· It is easy to use grace and mercy alone with the weakness of our flesh to continue sinning in areas where we really ought to be living victorious.

· But God knows all, and that is what we must remember when we tell ourselves "God knows my heart".

Many in the church and those who have come through the church fail because of one or two reasons, a lack of correct teaching or a lack of understanding.

· There are some important things a person needs to understand when it comes to salvation.

· There is also important things that a person need to understand when it comes to sanctification.

· In this lesson it is my goal to help someone see and understand both.

The first thing that we must understand is that our whole Christian walk is a struggle.

· It is a struggle against good versus evil within our own being.

· This is why the apostle Paul instructs us to walk in the Spirit (i.e. according to God's Word) and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (i.e. our natural desires that is contrary to God's will for us). Gal. 5:16

It is the struggle that people don't understand.

· They don't understand that the struggle is a good thing.

· The struggle says that I am going against my natural nature.

· The struggle says that I desire change.

Therefore it is my goal to shed light on issues that we face every day.

· The first thing is, that when you and I came to the Lord, we brought a lot of baggage with us.

· We brought years of bad habits and sinful desires.

James teaches us that a person is tempted when they are drawn away from their own lust. (Ja. 1:14)

· We can come up with some real good excuses for our sinning, but the real issue is internal desires.

· We might use external circumstances as excuses to do what we really want to do, but it is internal desires that really motivates our actions.

Let us first look at mankind from his unregenerate state.

· Before we became spiritually reformed we were messed up.

· And now that we are spiritually reformed, we are a dressed up mess.

Jer. 17:9-10 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

The Lord through the prophet Jeremiah gives us the answer to all of mankind's problems.

· It is our mental state.

We need to understand that our mind is shaped by our surroundings, our customs and our teachings or traditions.

· So at the first, we may blame society for the way we think.

· Basically our society teaches us to be the best that we can be regardless of the cost.

· Then there is a certain class of folk that society tells that this is the way it is, the way it always have been and the way it will always be.

· And if a person has heard these things all their life, this is what they will accept.

Two things are said about the mind.

1. It is deceitful above all things.

· The place of the dishonesty is in the mind.

· The mind of a person is what that person is.

· When the mind is deceitful, that person is indeed deceitful.

· When the deceit comes from the heart is causes a person to be deceitful in the entire area of their life.

· It makes it natural for the person to lie, deceive etc.

2. The mind is desperately wicked.

The basic meaning of the verb "desperate" means to be sick.

· It is used to describe a wound or pain which is incurable.

· It describes a weakened condition that can lead to death.

· It is used here in Jeremiah metaphorically and spiritually to describes the incurably wicked, desperately sick condition of the human heart.

· It describes the desperate spiritual state of the heart in terms of illness.

Two things are also said about the Lord in this passage.

1. The awareness of the deceit. "The Lord search the heart."

· Jeremiah also let us know that although we might deceive others, God knows our heart.

· You and I can be and many times are deceived by people and don't even know it.

· We even sometimes fool ourselves into thinking that our actions are for the better good when all the time we have an arterial motive.

2. The punishment for the deceit. "Give every man according to his ways."

· Deceit will be punished by God.

· It matters not who a person might be or what position they might hold, if there is deceit in the heart, it will be punished by God.

Now we cannot use the excuse that I was born like this therefore my actions are justified.

· Our responsibility is to seek righteousness.

· Always remember this, where there is a wrong, there is also a right.

· Adam and Eve did not take responsibility for their actions, instead they shifted the blame.

· Let us be responsible.

Now let's look at the sincere heart.

1 Jn. 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he (Yahweh) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him (call Him) a liar, and his word is not in us.

First thing first.

· We must first agree with God that He is right.

· He said that we have a deceitful heart and an untreatable wicked mind (Jer. 17:9).

· To say that I have not sinned is the same as making the cross of Christ of no effect.

· In other words if I don't have sin issues then there is no need for forgiveness and there is no need for Christ.

Christ is the advocate for the guilty.

· Although we are born again we still fight wicked desires.

· Our status with God changed but the internal battle still exists.

This agreement is done in the act of confessing our sins.

· When we confess our sins this puts us on the mercy of the court.

· I must not confess that I am a pastor teaching your people the best that I can.

· My confession must be, "have mercy on me, a sinner".

This mercy is demonstrated in the act of forgiveness of our sins.

· No, we are not innocent just forgiven.

This cleansing from unrighteousness is not from the prospect of becoming sinless, but to be covered.

· It is Yahweh's acts of mercy and grace that causes us to stand as righteous although we are as we all know, guilty.

Ps. 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. (Ro.4:6-8)

David knew and understood what he was talking about when he penned this Psalm.

· He had experienced the wickedness of his heart and had to own up to it.

· If he were to be free from the guilt of this sin, it had to start with confession of the sin. (Ps. 32:3)

· Upon confession David experienced the reality of forgiveness that lead to relief from the bondage of sin's oppression.

Therefore, when David used the word "blessed" was is speaking of something much more than happiness but he entered into a state of peace and freedom of the mind.

There were four things that contributed to David's blessedness:

First, He received forgiveness.

· His forgiveness was based on the truthfulness of his confession. (no guile)

· To obtain forgiveness for sin, one must confess their sin to the Lord.

Second, his sin were covered.

· When Yahweh forgives us, He forget the offense, the sin is covered.

· It is usually our conscience that keep the offence before our memory.

· Understanding of justification does not free a person of the sin but it frees them from the guilt that resulted from the sin.

The verb to cover is to conceal something.

· When used in a literal sense as it is here, it indicates that something is covering something else.

· In our case, it is the blood of Christ or His substitution death that covers our sins.

David found reconciliation with God by not concealing his sin but confessing it.

· And this is what John said in 1 Jn. 1:6-8, if we want forgiveness, there must be confession.

Third, The Lord did not judge him based on his actions.

· After confession Yahweh did not "make a judgment" against David.

· The word impute simply says that Yahweh isn't holding anything over David's head.

Fourth, there is truthfulness.

· David admits and face the fact of who he is.

· He is a man with evil intentions or ungodly desires.

· A man in whose spirit there is no guile has to do with honesty as opposed to deceitfulness.

· David is aware that he needs more than forgiveness he needs a clean heart or godly desires. (Ps. 51:10)

This blessedness or the end result of man is knowing and admitting that he is a transgressor.

· 1 Jn. 1: 9 If we confess our sins, he (Yahweh) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We covered:

1. Man in his natural condition. Having a deceitful and incurable wicked mind.

2. Confession of sin that not only restores us to a right relationship with God but also brings forgiveness and peace to the confessor.

Now let's look at how our sins are covered and how we are made righteous.

Heb. 8:1-5 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.

4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:

5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Heb. 8:1-5 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum:

1a. Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum…

· The epistle to the Hebrews shows the supremacy of Christ over the law or the rituals of Judaism.

· So to drive his point home, he says:

1b. We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;

2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

Note two things about this high priest:

1. He is set at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 10:12; Ro. 8:34)

Ø This is a place of authority and honor.

2. He represents us before God.

The earthly priest interceded on behalf of the people to God.

· Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father to be our Minister in the Heavenly Sanctuary; He is there to help us.

Our concern is to please the Father and worship Him.

· We do that through Jesus.

· Because of Jesus we have instant access to the Father and He presents our request to the Father

So we have an Advocate who stands for the guilty.

1 Jn. 2:1-2 My 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:

2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

· I was once told by a friend that he sought an attorney.

· This attorney had a great record for winning cases.

· He told the attorney that he was innocent.

· The attorney replied to him that he could not help him because he specialized in getting the guilty acquitted.

· So does Jesus.

Ro. 8:31-34 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us (stop us or hold us down)?

32 He (Yahweh) that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all (while we were sinners), how shall he not (now that we have submitted our lives to Him) with (through or because of Him) him (Jesus) also freely give us all things (pertaining to salvation)?

33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

34 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 also maketh intercession for us.

The apostle Paul has given to us in the epistle to the Romans the working of God's purpose of salvation.

· Salvation is ours although sanctification is progressive.

· As humans there are some disturbing facts.

· Although we may have no doubt about God's power; but we have serious reservations about our own goodness.

· We face opposing forces that interrupt our sanctification process and peace of mind.

Sin is the first of the threats to our salvation.

· Who shall bring any charge against God's elect?

The issue is clear, it is the charge concerning right and wrong.

· We know that we have failed to meet God's standard of integrity, we have offended against God's holy law.

· Therefore, it is our conscience concerning sin that brings charge against us.

· Our conscience knows how seriously such failure jeopardizes our spiritual life.

· Paul is dealing with an issue that is not isolated or unreal, we are very conscious of our sins and failures.

It is God who justifies; who is to condemn?

· We have a new standing with God, and this gives us our security.

· Although we are sinners we have been acquitted.

· Not innocent but cleared of the charges against us.

In spite of God's grace and mercy, we are always tempted to prove that we are accepted because of what we have actually done or because of what we don't do.

· This however, is due to the dangerous pressure of legalism in the human mind.

Our assurance and confidence should be in the fact that Christ cannot be against us if He is interceding on our behalf. ( Ro. 8:34)

· We need to rely on Christ and our complete dependence should be on Him and Him alone.

In Christ there is no ground for condemnation.

· Christ who died for us is at the Father's right hand interceding for us.

Note four great truths concerning our assurance and protection:

(1) Christ died for our sins. He is our propitiation.

(2) He is risen again for our justification (Ro. 4:25). We are "saved by His life" (Ro. 5:10).

(3) "He is at the right hand of God," He is our representative.

(4) He's making intercession, He is our Advocate pleading our case

(1 Jn. 2:1).

Our future in glory is assured by the perfect defeat of our adversary, and the perfect intercession of our Advocate.

· Christ died, He arose, He ascended and He intercedes for us!

Something else is worthy of noting:

(a) Christ is not dead, but lives; He's interceding for us.

(b) Christ is not powerless to save, but is crowded in power.

(c) Christ is not uninterested to our needs, but in unfailing and effective compassion and understanding makes known our concerns to God the Father, Yahweh.

To be conscious of our sinfulness is a necessary counteraction to spiritual pride.

· But to be constantly and hopelessly focused on the reality of sin leads to depression.

· It is wrong to ignore our spiritual failures, since that leads to spiritual laziness or an excuse not to reach for perfectness.

· It is also wrong to be fixated with our weaknesses and sins because this leads to defeat.

Paul gives us a method which makes us honest with ourselves about sin but saves us from an unhealthy obsession with it.

When he say, it is God who justifies; who is to condemn?

· He is showing us how to acknowledge the realness of sin while at the same time how to escape from its oppression.

· Justification speaks of the seriousness of our wrongdoing as well as the graciousness of our Justifier; this puts us in a new relationship with God.

· Understanding justification is the only way of finding mental peace and to be spiritually healthy.

· In this we are free from the twin temptations of ignoring sin and of dwelling upon it.

Jude 1:24-25 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

The praise for Jesus Christ is twofold.

The helping by Christ. Jude praise Christ for the help He gives to believers.

There is the protection of believers. "Him that is able to keep you from falling."

· Christ is able to preserve the saint from the loss of salvation.

· Falling does not refer to being sinless, but to not losing faith in Christ in spite of the sin.

· Remember the conscience and those who would remind us of our wrong have the tendency to rob us of our peace in Christ and to condemn us.

Then there is the presentation of believers. "Present you faultless before the presence of his glory."

· Believers will be presented before the Divine throne as sinless.

· Not that we are sinless, but we will be presented as though we have not sinned simply based on the fact that we have accepted and trusted in Jesus' complete ministry. (Ps. 32:1-2)

And finally there is the pleasure in the believers. "With exceeding joy."

· While the joy here refers to the joy that is Christ's in presenting the saved to God, believers are also included in the joy because we are accepted in glory.

· Christ is our Joy.

1 Jn. 3:20-21 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

We have confidence toward God means that we trust in God's plan of righteousness and not our own merits.

· This refer to God's righteousness which is Christ.

· We are the righteousness of God in Christ.

Yes God knows our heart and I hope each one of us is sincere about our dealings in Christ.

· And if you are not you can ask Yahweh to give you a desire to change your desire to being sincere and seek God's will for your life.

· After all God knows that we are screwed up inwardly, but He has given us a way out so that we don't have to be burdened by the conscience (our prosecutor) of our sinfulness.

1 Jn. 2:1-2 My 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:

2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

· Amen

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