Christ is My Advocate

In this part of the sermon: Pastor Martin introduces the sermon as the third in a series on 'ballast truths' for the soul, using the analogy of sailing ships. He reviews the first three truths: God's…

Old sailing ships used water-filled oak barrels for drinking water and then seawater for ballast. This illustrates how certain biblical truths sustain life and provide stability (ballast) for the soul in turbulent times.

Now, the ministry in the Word of God tonight is the third in a series of messages that I began on New Year's Eve. We were snowed out of our Lord's Day morning service on the 31st of January. But when we met in the evening, I used as an introduction an illustration from the old sailing ships and the fact that before they set out to sea, they would fill up oak barrels and put them in the belly of the ship. And those oak barrels would be filled with drinkable water and water suitable for the preparation of meals for a lengthy transatlantic voyage.

0:04 - 0:45 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand that the devil seeks to blind believers to all that Christ is to them, leading to instability.

The devil's work is to blind unbelievers to the glory of Christ, preventing them from seeing His radiance and beauty, which would otherwise draw them to faith and love.

they do so in a setting where there is a very horrific work of the devil that goes on in the minds of his hearers. Verse 3 of 2 Corinthians 4, And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in the midst of the devil, it is veiled in them that are perishing. In whom, now notice, in all who are perishing, the God of this world, that's a term for the devil, Satan, in whom, among all of those who are perishing, there is a present, powerful, insidious work of the devil. And what is it?

8:53 - 9:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Understand that the devil seeks to blind believers to all that Christ is to them, leading to instability.

A believer kept from understanding Christ's role is like a ship without ballast: unstable, easily blown off course by emotional disruptions or favorable providences, and generally unpleasant to be around.

I'm going to blind the unbeliever to the radiance that goes out from Christ, the very radiance of the God-man and the only Savior of sinners. And as the devil focuses his work in the unbeliever to blind them to that glory that is reflected in the face of Christ, so he seeks to blind the believer to all that Christ is to him and all that he is to Christ. For to the degree that the believer is kept from an understanding and a believing apprehension of what Christ is to him and what he is to Christ, to that extent he will be, like the ship, without ballast.

10:59 - 11:41 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Drawing on Paul's experience in Romans 7, Martin emphasizes that indwelling sin is the greatest source of vexation for true Christians. He asserts that a believer's sin is no less…

A personal anecdote about anxiety over a zit in youth is used to contrast superficial anxieties with the deeper, more vexing problems caused by indwelling sin for a true Christian.

It was the reality of his own remaining sin. And as you and I have set out on the sea of this new year, if, we are true Christians, that will be the occasion of our greatest vexation and anxiety and inward trauma. It will not be whether or not I wake up Monday morning and got a new zit on my cheek.

17:45 - 18:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Set your heart not to sin again, taking sin seriously as a true child of God.

The hypothetical scenario of Christians emptying all their possessions to be free from sin illustrates the deep yearning for holiness in a true believer's heart.

And if I could tell you tonight, and have biblical grounds, I have a secret that if you purchase it, you will never sin again in this life. I believe there are Christians here in this place who would empty out every last stock and bond and savings account and get rid of the title to every bit of real estate and property and say, name the price! That's what I want at any cost. That's the heart of a Christian.

25:45 - 26:11 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The first main text, 1 John 2:1-2, is expounded, defining Christ as our 'advocate' (counselor for the defense) and 'propitiation' (sacrifice that turns away God's wrath). Martin…

Using human-like language to describe God's actions, such as the Father looking at His Son and seeing the virtue of His work, helps explain how Christ's presence is His intercession.

But he's doing something else. By simply being there, as the resurrected and glorified Christ, 1 John 2 says, he is himself the sacrifice that turns away wrath. And if we may use anthropomorphic language, that is language that is analogous with respect to God to what we do, the Father looks at his Son and sees in his glorified Son all of the virtue of the work he accomplished on earth. The Father does not forget his cry, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

33:45 - 34:25 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second main text, Romans 8:31-34, is examined, focusing on Paul's challenge: 'Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?' Martin argues that Christ's death…

The use of the verb 'accuse' in Acts 19:38, describing formal legal complaints, clarifies the legal context of 'lay anything to the charge' in Romans 8:33.

If God is for us, who is against us? Now he says, who shall lay anything to our charge? And that language, lay to our charge, is legal language. The very verb is used in Acts 19, 38.

38:41 - 38:54 Read in full sermon

Driving home: His glorified humanity is the eternal pledge of the absolute efficacy of His accomplished work. He pleads, as older writers truly express the thought, by His presence on the Father's throne.

A quote from F.B. Westcott's commentary on Hebrews clarifies that Christ's intercession is His glorified humanity, the eternal pledge of His accomplished work, rather than a continuous pleading.

His presence at God's right hand in His capacity as the one who died for sinners and rose again is in itself an intercession. And then he has a helpful footnote. In some modern writing, great emphasis is placed on Christ's perpetual pleading in heaven. We should bear in mind F.B. Westcott's note

45:16 - 45:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Ensure that poetic imagery in hymns does not negate sound theology, especially regarding Christ's finished work.

Martin critiques specific lines from Charles Wesley's hymn 'Arise, My Soul, Arise' ('bleeding sacrifice,' 'bleeding wounds') for theological inaccuracy, suggesting 'finished sacrifice' and 'precious scars' instead, to emphasize Christ's completed work.

He is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. And because he is, he can save to the uttermost for all time and with all completeness, save with perpetuity and with absolute perfection. Now then, if this is so, then you with me will have a little controversy with a hymn we have often sung. And I don't want to be pedantic and nitpicking, but I want you to turn to hymn number 223 as we draw the message to a close.

54:10 - 54:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin critiques Charles Wesley's hymn 'Arise, My Soul, Arise' for its imagery of a 'bleeding sacrifice' in heaven, arguing it misrepresents Christ's finished work. He suggests…

A lengthy quotation from the hymn 'Before the Throne of God Above' is used to beautifully and accurately express the theological truths of Christ's advocacy, intercession, and finished work.

May I read the words of a hymn that I first came across a couple of months ago. And this states it beautifully. Hear the language of this marvelous hymn. Before the throne of God above I have a strong, a perfect plea.

57:28 - 57:45 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin critiques Charles Wesley's hymn 'Arise, My Soul, Arise' for its imagery of a 'bleeding sacrifice' in heaven, arguing it misrepresents Christ's finished work. He suggests…

A quotation from another hymn, 'A Man There Is,' emphasizes the reality of Christ's humanity, His wounds, and His continued empathy as the glorified God-man.

My life is hid with Christ on high. With Christ on high. With Christ my Savior and my God. A man there is a real man with wounds.

59:00 - 59:15 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin issues a direct evangelistic appeal to unbelievers, urging them to confront the reality of their sin and the coming judgment. He presents Jesus' invitation to 'Come, Take…

Martin shares his personal experience of carrying the burden of an accusing conscience for seventeen and a half years, illustrating the heavy burden of sin before finding rest in Christ.

And the thunderings of the day of judgment. Rattling around in the mind and in the heart. What an awesome burden. I carried it for seventeen and a half years.

63:21 - 63:31 Read in full sermon