Christ Our Advocate

This may comfort us in the consideration of all our sins: for sin past, and for corruption present, and sin that we may commit in the time to come. For anything that is past, if we confess our sins to God, he will forgive them. ‘The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sins’ (1 John 1:7). We have one that stands between God and us as a surety; and he will give us his Spirit to subdue our corruptions, and at length make us like himself, a glorious spouse (Eph. 5:27). If we were perfect men, we would not need a mediator. Instead, we have one to make our peace; if we sin, we have an advocate (1  John 2:1). When Christ taught us to pray, 'Forgive us our trespasses,' he supposed we should run daily into sins (Matt. 6:12). We have an advocate in heaven every day to stand between God and us, to undertake that at length we should cease to offend him; and for the present, we are those he shed his precious blood for; and he appears for us by virtue of his death, which is a marvellous comfort. If all things were made up between God and us, would there be need of an intercessor? But God knows well enough we run into daily sins, by reason of a spring of corruption in us. Therefore, we may daily go to God in the name of our advocate, and desire God for Christ's sake to pardon us. There is not a Christian but will be in himself apprehensive because there is a spring of corruption in him. We must live by faith in this branch of Christ—his mediation—and make use of it continually. And if we sin every day, go to God in the name of Christ, and desire him to pardon us. When we be in heaven, we will need a mediator no longer, for we will be perfectly holy. We cannot think of these things too much. They are the life of religion and of comforts; and it may teach us to make a true use of Christ in all our conditions.

Devotional Readings taken from Puritan Richard Sibbes 'Refreshment for the Soul.'
A Heavenly Conference, pp. 78-79
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