______
Jesus is God's hope for mankind. Christ in us is the Source of all our hope. When our hope is exhausted, we can still draw upon the hope of the Christ who lives within us. Of the godly patriarch Abraham, the Word says, "Who against hope believed in hope. . ." (Romans 4:18). Moffat's translation reads, ". . .when  all hope was gone, he hoped on in faith . . ."

This aging man exhausted all his hopes for a son, even after the promise of God came to him, but he learned a resource from which he could renew his hopes. He reviewed the promise God had made to him; God's Word was a reservoir of hope for him. We New Testament saints have an advantage over Abraham, for "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us . . ." (John 1:14); for us it is, "Christ in you, the hope . . ." (Colossians 1:27).

Christ's sacramental cross and His second coming form the tap root for our hope. Jesus is the source of our hope. He is the object of our hope. He has become God's supply line of hope to the believers. All the good promises of God find their fulfillment in Christ Jesus. His life within us, by means of the Holy Spirit, is a constant source of the renewal of our hope. As surely as "In Him we live, and more, and have our being . . ."

(Acts 17:28), in Christ we trust, and have put our expectation. He is our hope! *

Prayer: Father, I confess you are my Lord and my God. Jesus, help me with my vacillating and concerns for other gods, things, and remind me often that you alone are worthy of my praise. Help me to see those things that I place above you, and help me to remove those things, I pray. Thank you for wanting me, and waiting for me and placing your blessed hope in me, Amen.

1.   When the angel announced Jesus' birth to the shepherds, he  said, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Lk. 2:10-11).

2.   The good news is that Jesus came into the world and died on the cross for our sins--for every one of us and all of our sins.  In Jesus Christ we may have forgiveness of sins, right standing with the God of heaven, and hope of eternal life.  There is no news better than this.  Unless . . .

3.   Unless it is that even for believers who have fallen away there is another chance!  One day there will be no more opportunities.  The bridegroom will come and those who are ready will enter the house with Him and the door will be shut (Mat. 25:10).  But right now, on this side of eternity, there is another chance.

4.   "Please give me another chance," pleads the young athlete to his coach who has moved him from the field to the bench.  "Please give me another chance," cries the distraught man whose anger has again damaged his relationship with the woman he loves.  There are times we all wish we could have another stab at a job, a relationship, a challenge.  We believe one more chance would make the difference.  The good news is that with God we have another chance!

5.   For those who have fallen away or who are on the brink of doing so, for those who are thinking about coming back to God and haven't done so yet, for those who are struggling with themselves about what to do, I announce to you the good news of another chance.  I must tell you first, however, that there is . . .

I.   THE NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS OF THE POINT OF NO RETURN

Falling away from God is very serious and dangerous.   The Bible issues some stiff and stern warnings about it.

1.   We read of those who blasphemed against the Holy Spirit and that "it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come" (Mat. 12:31-32).  This is the strongest possible language.  They saw what Jesus was doing through the Spirit and they said it was Satan doing it (12:22-32).  Jesus said this is not only ridiculous (because it put Satan casting out Satan), but it is also very, very serious.

2.   They defiantly refused to acknowledge the Source of what Jesus was doing.  Theirs was a problem of willful spiritual self-blindness.  To see obvious evidence of the Spirit of God and call it demonic was inexcusable and unforgivable.  Jesus warned that they were perilously close to setting themselves against God to the extent that they would exclude themselves completely from Him.

3.   From a historical standpoint, the specific situation Jesus address cannot be repeated.  Jesus is not in our world casting out demons by the Holy Spirit, so we can't blaspheme the Spirit in the same way they did.  From an attitudinal stand-point, however, it is a different matter.  Their hearts were of such nature that when they saw light they called it darkness.  They had deliberately hardened themselves against God and were defiantly resisting Him.  This attitude of heart may be developed today and we need to be warned that an irreversible hardening may result.  There is a point of no return.

B.   In at least five places in the New Testament we are warned of this point.  When this point is reached, we are not in a position to tell with certainty.  What we must face is that the point of no return exists; it is a possibility.

1.   The warning of Heb. 6:4-8 warns that "it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame."  What is envisioned is a rejection of the only basis on which repentance is motivated and extended.

   They have "known" and then knowingly refused and fell away.  When what is known is rejected, there is nothing else to touch a heart and renew faith.  It is a dangerous condition.  This person has set out on a way that will result in his "being burned."

2.   The warning of Heb. 10:26-31 is similar.  To go on sinning willfully is to reject the once-for-all sacrifice for sins.  It is to trample under foot the Son of God, to regard as unclean the cleansing blood of the covenant, and to insult the Spirit of grace.  This is open, intentional, calculated rejection and apostasy.  All that awaits the person who deliberately sets out this way is "a certain terrifying expectation of judgment."

3.   In Heb. 5:15-17 the writer urges us to be careful and not be like Esau who traded the heavenly for the earthly, who focused attention on the immediate instead of the eternal.  Later, when Esau saw his folly he desired the blessing, but "he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears."  Esau did something the consequences of which could not be undone.

4.   Peter (2 Pet. 2:20-22) warned that the last state of falling away is worse than the first state of being an alien sinner.  It is "worse" because a deliberate, decisive rejection has occurred--they have known the way of righteousness and then willfully turned away from it.

    This makes the condition extremely serious and dangerous, even repulsive.

5.   John (1 Jn. 5:15-16) distinguished a sin not leading to death from a sin leading to death.  For one we are to pray on behalf of a brother or sister; for the other we are not to pray.  There is to be no prayer for forgiveness for one who has made no move toward repentance.  The sin leading to death is the sin for which there is no repentance;  "I do not say that he should make request for this."

C.   I want us to feel the full force of these stern warnings. These are frightening words.  There is a point of no return. This is not the impossibility of forgiveness, but the impossibility of repentance.  We can so far as to experience an irretrievable loss.  The not-so-good news is that falling away from God is very, very dangerous and the way back to God is very, very treacherous.  If you are away from God, come back immediately.  It only gets harder and more dangerous, never easier.  In addition to warning us, these stiff and stern warnings serve to heighten our appreciation of the good news of another chance.

II.  THE GOOD NEWS OF ANOTHER CHANCE

A.   God has made every provision for our salvation and for our security in Christ.  We may go away from God, but the good news is that we may also come back.  God is graciously willing to give us another chance.  There are at least two ideas that convey this good news:

B.   The character of God

1.   In pleading for God's continuing presence with His rebellious people, Moses asked God to show His glory (Ex. 33:12-18).  Apparently, Moses' needed reassurance that God would abide with His people in spite of their rebellious spirit.  God's response to this request was to make His goodness pass before Moses and proclaim His name

B.   The character of God

1.   In pleading for God's continuing presence with His rebellious people, Moses asked God to show His glory (Ex. 33:12-18).  Apparently, Moses' needed reassurance that God would abide with His people in spite of their rebellious spirit.  God's response to this request was to make His goodness pass before Moses and proclaim His name before Moses.  God's glory is seen in His goodness and His name, which characterizes God's basic nature.

2.   God revealed Himself by descending in a cloud and standing with Moses on Mount Sinai (34:5).  God passed by in front of Moses and proclaimed His self-description: 34:6-7.  Chosen men had many things to say on behalf of God and about God, but it is significant that this is the way God revealed Himself.  What did God say about Himself?

3.   God is compassionate, signifying a deep love rooted in a special bond.  God is gracious, describing a heartfelt response by someone who has something to give to one who has need.  God is abounding in loving kindness and truth, referring to His merciful, relational love and His utter reliability.  What do these terms mean on a practical, personal level?  In moving words we can readily comprehend and apply to our own situations, God is slow to anger, One who keeps His loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin. The piling up of terms is an attempt at a comprehensive statement about God's essential nature and His inclination to love and forgive.

4.   This moving description of God's love is balanced by the sobering addition:  "Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."  Sin will be taken into account by God and it has long-term ramifications. Left unaddressed and unforgiven, sin will be punished.  The good news is that God doesn't want to punish us.  He will indeed, but He doesn't want to.  He is slow to anger; He loves us; He will forgive all our sins if we want Him to and ask Him to.

5.   The tremendous importance of this self-revelation is seen in the fact that it is repeated frequently and regularly in the Old Testament (at least 12 more times plus other allusions writers recite God's self-description):  Num. 14:18, 2 Chron. 30:9, Neh. 9:17, Pss. 86:15, 103:8, 111:4, 112:2, 116:5, 145:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2, Nahum 1:3! (cf. Ex. 20:5-6, Deut. 5:9-10)  

    When New Testament writers encouraged repentance and confession of sins, they rooted their encouragement in the character of God:

    God is patient and does not want any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).  If we will confess our sins God "is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn. 1:9).  We have a chance because of the kind of God God is.

C.   The comprehensive and continuing work of Christ

1.   The writer of Hebrews, who issues stiff warnings about falling away, is equally emphatic about the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins.  Jesus appeared once at the consummation of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (9:26).  He "offered one sacrifice for sins for all time" and "by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified"(10:12-14).

2.   The saving work of Christ at the cross addressed the problem and penalty of sin for every sinner for all time. John makes a point of the fact that Jesus is the comprehensive atoning sacrifice "for our sins; and . . . for those of the whole world" (1 Jn. 2:2).  Jesus abides forever and holds His priesthood permanently.  Hence, "He is able to save forever (completely) whose who draw near to God through Him" (Heb. 7:24-25).

3.   The great promise and the good news is, "If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin."  And when we fail to walk in the light, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn. 1:7, 9), where the cleansing is again through the blood of Jesus.

   Simply put, the good news is that there is no sin of which we repent that God will not forgive.  Jesus' comprehensive sacrifice for sins paid the penalty for the blackest, worst, most abhorrent sin.  Now that's good news, and it should bring us to God.

D.   The character of God is such that He wants us to come back to Him.  The saving work of Christ is such that we can come back: Deut. 4:25-31.  Finally, I ask as Paul did, "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" (Rom. 2:4).  There is good news of another chance!  

Won't you come back to God now?

2 {A Message for Rebellious Judah--} Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! This is what the LORD says: "The children I raised and
cared for have turned against me.

"Everyone listen, the children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me!”   This text may have been written about the nation of Judah all those years ago but it applies to America today!

From our founding fathers, through Civil and world wars we were “One Nation Under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all”; but oh how we have turned.  We have rebelled against our roots, we have turned from our founding principles and we have abandoned our Christian faith.

3  Even the animals-- the donkey and the ox-- know their owner and appreciate his care, but not my people Israel. No matter what I do for them, they still do not understand."

I see this even today in our world.  Dogs know who loves them and care for them and will fight a grizzly bear to protect their human master.  Cows come to know their owner and come to their feeding point when his truck appears.  Horses know their owner and his touch as he grabs the reigns and the horse will respond even to the slightest input from their master.  

Humans, on the other hand, have become rebellious against their master.  We are too afraid to even speak the Name of Jesus Christ in public, much less fight for Him.  We forget where our protection, sustenance and care comes from, no matter how many times we see Him.  We will not obey any instruction, even if it leaves us at the bottom of a pit.

4 Oh, what a sinful nation they are! They are loaded down with a burden of guilt. They are evil and corrupt children who have turned away from the LORD. They have despised the Holy One of Israel, cutting themselves off from his help

“Oh, what a sinful nation America is!  We are loaded down with the guilt of millions of murdered babies, sexual perversion and greed.  Pride rules our hearts and we are a evil and corrupt creation that have turned away from the LORD.  We despise the Holy One of America and have cut ourselves off from His help.”  

This would be the prophecy of Isaiah today if he were still here.  This is a sad but true commentary on our America.  

This is not God’s America anymore.  We are living in a mess of our own creation.  America, as a nation, must turn back to God or it will soon be too late.

5 Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick.

This is a very good question!  Why do we keep living in the muck and mire of flesh, challenging God to bring judgment upon us?  Lets try to figure a few reasons out:

sexual immorality
impure thoughts
eagerness for lustful pleasure
idolatry
participation in demonic activities
hostility
quarreling
jealousy
outbursts of anger
selfish ambition
divisions
the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own
little group,
envy
drunkenness
wild parties
and other kinds of sin.

This is the list God gave us in Galatians 5:19-21.  A quick survey will show us that pride is the key element of all these sins of the flesh.

We must also understand that these are sins that we commit.  We cannot blame them on our past, our family, our circumstances or our enemy.  They are our burden to bear and we will be called to account for what we did, not what someone else did.  There is no excuse we are to blame.

How long will we rebel?  Forever?  No just until one of two things occurs.

    ·  We repent and receive the restoration God has  waiting for us

   ·   The end comes and we are called before Him to be judged for our sins

We must choose for ourselves and our country now!  Soon it will be too late.

Many do not even realize how injured and diseased we really are.  We try to hide it, cover it up or simply remain blissfully ignorant or our situation.

6 You are sick from head to foot-- covered with bruises, welts, and infected wounds-- without any ointments or bandages.

Here the prophets words and let them sink in past the arrogance and pride of our humanity.  

We are sick from coast to coast and border to border, there is no section of the body of this America that is unaffected by this raging disease of apathy and evil.

Idaho and Montana are covered with sores.

California and North Carolina have festered and oozing wounds

Welts are risen up in Texas, Ohio and North Dakota.

There is no medicine for these ailments.  No matter how hard we, or our government try we cannot heal this country.  Only God can.

7 Your country lies in ruins, and your cities are burned. As you watch, foreigners plunder your fields and destroy everything they see.

A wave of pain washed over me as I read this scripture and thought about the devastation of September 11, 2001.  

Our Pentagon burned and the World Trade Center collapsed and hundreds perished through their heroism to destroy a plane before it could strike its intended target.  Foreigners destroyed our buildings and murdered thousands of people.

Do I “blame” God for this?  No.  We reaped the fruit we had sown.  In our arrogance we did not think this could or would happen to us.  

Evangelist Billy Graham’s daughter spoke about this on the CBS’s Early Show with Jane Clayson .  According to the transcript of the broadcast, Clayson asked, "I've heard people say, those who are religious, those who are not, if God is good, how could God let this happen? To that, you say?"

Lotz replied, "I say God is also angry when he sees something like this. I would say also for several years now Americans in a sense have shaken their fist at God and said, God, we want you out of our schools, our government, our business, we want you out of our marketplace. And God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life, our public life. Removing his hand of blessing and protection. We need to turn to God first of all and say, God, we're sorry we have treated you this way and we invite you now to come into our national life. We put our trust in you. We have our trust in God on our coins, we need to practice it."  (from truthorfiction.com)

The truth is very simple for all who will look – We Need God In America Again!

8 Jerusalem stands abandoned like a watchman's shelter in a vineyard or field after the harvest is over. It is as helpless as a city under siege.

This must have been how New York felt during and immediately after these attacks and how Oklahoma City felt when the Murrah Building was blown up.

Helpless

           Under siege

                       Frightened

9 If the LORD Almighty had not spared a few of us, we would have been wiped out as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah.

I praise God for the faithful few that have remained His obedient and faithful believers.  There is a remnant faith alive and working in America.   A vocal minority who are not afraid to cry out to Him and call a wayward nation to repentance.

If it were not for these God fearing souls I fear that judgment would have already fallen on our once great country.  We need to head their warning and answer the cry of God to return to Him and His Will for our lives…for our country.

10 Listen to the LORD, you leaders of Israel! Listen to the law of our God, people of Israel. You act just like the rulers and people of Sodom and Gomorrah

Here is a Word directly from God to our leaders in this country, be they political, religious or corporate; “STRAIGHTEN UP!  You have giving into the wiles of the flesh for too long.  Political correctness has no place in the Kingdom of God.  Follow God and His precepts and you will succeed, follow man’s way and you will perish!

11 "I am sick of your sacrifices," says the LORD. "Don't bring me any more burnt offerings! I don't want the fat from your rams or other animals. I don't want to see the blood from your offerings of bulls and rams and goats.

God is disgusted with the paltry tributes we pay Him out of a feeling of duty or remorse.  We try to placate our own conscience with giving and showing up at church for publicity shots.  Our leaders should spend more time on their prayer rug than in the board rooms, city halls and oval offices.

Our vanity has given us false hope built of false religion.  We believe that our sacrifice is enough.  The truth is that we could never sacrifice enough to redeem us from our failures.  God desires faith over sacrifice.  

The stuff we do is of no value without a solid faith built through a relationship with Him

We come to know God by experience as we obey Him and He completes His Work through you.  

12 Why do you keep parading through my courts with your worthless sacrifices?

13 The incense you bring me is a stench in my nostrils! Your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath day, and your special days for fasting-- even your most pious meetings-- are all sinful and false. I want nothing more to do with them.

14  I hate all your festivals and sacrifices. I cannot stand the sight of them!

God is saying here that everything we do out of tradition, religion, holidays and festivals are rotting garbage in His holy eyes.  Without faith and a focus on Him they are just so much rubbish that should be taken to the curb and hauled to the dump!

Our nation spends billions of holiday gifts, parties and decorations and forgets all about God.

We celebrate “x-mas” because we don’t want to think about Christ during the celebration of HIS BIRTH.

We may go through a ritual celebration of the Passover or the deliverance of Israel but we do not have faith in the God who delivered them.

We may observe the great festivals and feasts of Leviticus 23 and miss the whole point of worshipping the Creator, Deliverer and Sustainer.  We must study and know why they are so important and how God is their focus and not us or the feast.

How far do we think we can go with false worship and holidays?  God wants no part of them.  They have become ours, not His.

15 From now on, when you lift up your hands in prayer, I will refuse to look. Even though you offer many prayers, I will not listen. For your hands are covered with the blood of your innocent victims.

God has no room or time for false religion or flesh based faith.  If we decide to do it ourselves, He will let us try but He will have no part of it.

He will not look.  The turning of God’s Face away from a people is extremely significant.  We are lost and without hope when the Creator is no longer looking after His creation.  We desperately need God’s guidance and direction, we NEED His correction and discipline; but if we will not receive His love given help we will perish.

He will not listen.  Our cries to Him are in vain unless they are cries of repentance and faith.  We need a relationship with Him that is so real and personal that we KNOW He is listening all the time.

Our hands are covered with the blood of the innocent.  How damning is this scripture upon a country that murders hundreds of innocent babies every day; or allows the murder of the aged and infirmed.  

In the name of tolerance and acceptance our laws have released millions into abhorrent lifestyles.  We file lawsuits against someone who uses calls upon God at a football game while we invite homosexual groups to give talks at our schools about their lifestyle.  Children’s television now promotes homosexuality as normal.

Millions have died, families have been ripped apart by their seams and billions of dollars have been spent on alcohol, yet it remains not only legal, but glamorized in our movies, books and televisions.

The blood of the innocent is on our hands.

What can we do?  Is there any hope?  Can America return to its’ Godly foundation before it is too late?  

Maybe.

Here is the path way back into righteousness.

16  Wash yourselves and be clean! Let me no longer see your evil deeds. Give up your wicked ways.

Repent.  A religious term that many of us do not understand.  God Himself defined it for us in 2 Chronicles.

2 Chronicles 7:14-15  “Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.  I will listen to every prayer made in this place”   (NLT)

God has promised us that is the believers of this country will

Humble ourselves
Pray
Seek God’s Face
Turn away from our evil and wicked behavior
He will:

·        Hear us

·        Forgive us

·        Heal our land.

Note that this is not my plan, or a Baptist plan, a Jewish plan or any religions plan; it is GOD’S PLAN.  His is the most important plan there is.  His Will is much more than our petty plans could ever be.

Get cleaned up America!

17  Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the op-pressed. Defend the orphan. Fight for the rights of widows.

Learn to do good.  God knows that we have strayed far from His teachings and need to learn what good is again and how to obediently work His Good in His Will for His people.

Seek justice.  Not political correctness, not  some sort of “touchy feely” equality for all or even what benefits us the most.  Seek God based Justice for everyone.  This is justice based on God’s Laws and not mans; on God’s precepts and not the Supreme Courts thoughts and decisions on the matter.  I could really care less what 9 sinful men and women or even worse, that 5 of them are a majority and decide the direction of our country, think about any issue when I have God’s Word and His presence to guide us.

Help those who are oppressed.  We have a duty to aid and assist those who are under attack and chained by others.   We have often gone to war to protect those who cannot protect themselves.  This is God’s way.  

Defend the orphan.  Fight for the rights of the weakest among us, the parentless child who has no one to stand up for his or her rights.  Children have a special place in God’s heart, and even more so the orphan.  He wants us all to be His children and find the love and hope we are looking for in Him.

Fight for the rights of widows.  God calls us to stand firm for the rights of those who cannot or will not fight for themselves.  Ladies in this time who had no husband had no rights and were often ignored and discarded.  They owned no land and no shelter and were often left to beg for food and shelter until a kinsman redeemer could come and deliver them from their pain.  Often this never happened.  

We are to help those who are in need.  The young, the old, the infirmed and the unjustly treated must be restored into an active and functional part of society

18 "Come now, let us argue this out," says the LORD. "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool.

Lets argue this issue to it’s conclusion!  God wants us to know that no matter how sin stained and filthy we have become, individually or as a country, there is forgiveness available to us.  But this forgiveness is available only from Him.  There is no other way in heaven or earth to be forgiven except through faith in God.

He can restore the faith and power of America beyond the best it has ever been!  We can know new levels of joy, prosperity and hope when we repent and return to Him.

19  If you will only obey me and let me help you, then you will have plenty to eat.

How many people go hungry in America today?  How many in the world?  We could supply their needs through His bounty if we only had faith to believe and trust to obey.

20 But if you keep turning away and refusing to listen, you will be destroyed by your enemies. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

The “final warning” if you will.  If America, and its inhabitants do not turn to God and listen to His Word we will falter, fail and be destroyed.

God has spoken.

We Need God in America Again!
 

    I.  The Judge:  God.  ("For God Himself is judge" -- Ps.  50:6).

A.  Human judges may make wrong decisions, but we never have to worry about the heavenly judge erring.

   1.  He "knows all things" (1 John 3:20), every law and every action.

   2.  He "is not unjust" (Heb.  6:10), He is totally righteous and will never be bribed or biased.

B.  God is far more powerful than earthly judges, because He is judge and jury.

   1.  He not only tries the case, but renders the verdict and assigns the sentence.

   2.  These verdicts are never biased, because God does not show partiality (Acts 10:34).

   3.  Further, we can know what His rulings will be, because He has given us His word (John 12:48).

   II.  The Defendant:  All Mankind.

A.  We are all on trial before God, and we all will meet Him in judgment.

B.  More than that, we are all absolutely guilty -- Rom. 3:9-11, 23.  

   Not framed or taking the rap for someone else.

C.  Further, we all deserve the same penalty, death (Rom.6:23).

   III.  The Prosecutor:  Satan.

A.  Our system of justice is sometimes called the adversarial system.  We truly have an adversary in the Devil.

   1.  His very name in Hebrew and Greek (satan) means "adversary."

   2.  That is why Peter says he is our adversary (1 Peter 5:8).

B.  The devil is "the accuser of our brethren" (Rev. 12:10).

   1.  But his accusations are not made in the interest of truth.

   2.  He is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).

C.  Ever heard of entrapment?  That's this prosecutor's specialty.

   1.  This is why the Bible warns about the "deceitfulness of sin" (Heb.  3:13).

   2.  See for example 1 Tim.  6:9.

   IV.  Counsel for the Defense: Jesus.

A.  The Bible says that Jesus is our advocate--1 John 2:1.

   1.  Refers to one called along side to help (cf.  Holy Spirit, "Helper).

   2.  More specifically this word means "intercessor," or "defense attorney" (IVP Bible Background Commentary, p.  738).

   3.  He is a "righteous" Advocate.  "This Advocate does not need to resort to questionable devices to secure acquittal for his clients; he is a righteous Advocate" (F.F.  Bruce, p.  49).

B.  If you trust Him with your case you will never lose, and He is always ready--Heb.  7:25.

C.  Many defense attorneys only defend clients they believe are innocent.  But Jesus only defends those who plead guilty!

   1.  How?  Non-Christian -- 1 Peter 3:21.

   2.  Christian?  1 John 1:8-9.

D.  This Advocate is unique, because the way He won our exoneration by taking our punishment for us.

   1.  1 John 2:2, propitiation is an offering that turns away wrath.

   2.  Jesus experienced punishment for all sinners on the cross.

   3.  Can you imagine if O.J.  was convicted and sentenced to death Johnny Cochran or F.Lee Bailey volunteering to take his place?

E.  A defendant is reassured to know that his advocate is doing everything he can to win, even when guilty.

   This is the beauty of grace!
   Jesus knows we sin, that we are guilty, but as long as we continue to plead guilty, to acknowledge our sins.  He ever lives to make intercession for us.  What a blessing!

F.  In summary, go to Romans 8:31-34.

   1.  8:31 God is on our side, and He's the judge!

   2.  8:32 If He would give His Son, He would hold back nothing.

   3.  8:33-34 God, who is on our side, is the Judge.  His own Son is the defense, and with those two on our side, who could bring a charge. The Devil can howl all night long, but it will not change God's verdict.

Conclusion.

1.  Our system of justice is heavily weighted in favor of the defendant.  And for that reason many criminals go free.

2.  God's plan of justice is decisively on the side of those who humbly come to Him on His terms and acknowledge their guilt.

3.  He makes no mistakes, and no one who is unrepentant will go free.

4.  What will your answer be?  And what will your sentence be?