My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; I Jn 2:1 (NAS)  I have a definite opinion about lawyers, and have even been known to put my foot in my mouth when sharing this opinion in public.  I haven’t always held this view and suspect some of it stems from the exploitation of loopholes within our own legal system.  Perhaps some of my views developed soon after lawyers began to advertise about our absolute need for their services in every available media.  After all, as one law firm put it, “We work hard to get everything you are entitled to.” 

This is actually a very scary thought if we consider it very carefully.  Do you really want to receive what you are entitled to?  In a recent routine conversation about the role of lawyers as defenders of the guilty, it occurred to me that this is exactly what Jesus does for us!  He defends the guilty!  Can you see the parallel between a lawyer and Christ?  Each has accepted the role of advocating for one who is accused, defending them to the best of their ability.  The trust (or faith) of the accused is placed on their advocate. 

There are, however, two distinct differences.  The apostle Paul clearly tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23).  Not only are we guilty of sin, but because of our sin, we are guilty of the blood of the very one Who stands in our defense!  How amazing is that!?  The other difference is motivation.  Today’s advocate seeks compensation for his duties, sometimes amounts that are mind-boggling.  Jesus, does what He does, not for something in return, but because He loves us and it is the sole driving factor in His actions on our behalf.

Now we have a choice to make.  We can accept our deserved punishment or we can appeal to someone to advocate for us.  Which will you choose, Jesus or eternal punishment?

Copyright © 2007, Nolan P. Rutter