TERRA NOVA CHRISTIANA
DISPENSATIONAL TRUTH BY CLARENCE LARKIN
Page 109/110 by Clarence Larkin:
Yeshua as our ADVOCATE
In 1John 2:1 we read-"My little children, these things write J unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an ADVOCATE with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." From this we see that Jesus is the Advocate of the righteous only, for the Epistle is addressed to "My Little Children, " and to those who were entitled to call God FATHER. The sinner does not need an Advocate; he needs a SAVIOUR. What is the use of an Advocate when the trial is over, the jury has rendered its decision, the judge pronounced sentence and the day of execution set? What a condemned man needs then is not an Advocate, but a PARDON. The Bible distinctly states that, "he that believeth not IS CONDEMNED ALREADY, " and, "that the WRATH OF GOD ABIDETH ON HIM." John 3:18, John 3:36. What the sinner needs to do is not to ask Jesus to intercede for him, but to accept the, FINISHED WORK of Christ on the Cross in his behalf.
There are some who claim that Jesus is the Advocate for everyone, because the next verse says-"And He is the 'Propitiation' for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD." The word "Propitiation" does not mean that the Atonement of Christ saves the whole world, but that it makes possible the salvation of the whole world. There are three views of the Atonement.
1. Some hold that the Atonement was in the nature of a COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION. In a commercial transaction there must be a "buyer" and a "seller, " a "thing to be sold, " and a "price to be paid, " and if the thing sold was l 00 horses, the "buyer would want to be sure that he not only got the right number, but the right ONES. On this view of the Atonement Jesus paid with His blood only for a certain number, and they the ones He had chosen, the ELECT. The advocates of this view hold to the theory of a LIMITED ATONEMENT.
2. Others claim that as the Bible represents the Atonement as made for ALL men, therefore all men will be saved. These persons are consistently UNIVERSALISTS.
3. The third class holds the view that the nature of Christ's Atonement was not the mere payment of the debt of a few, the elect; neither does it save all men, but it was such an assumption of the penalty of the Law, that God can now honorably and justly forgive any man his sin who repents and accepts Christ as his Saviour. This latter view must be the correct view, for it is the only view that corresponds with the facts. For the Scriptures distinctly teach in such passages as-"WHOSOEVER cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37), that salvation is not limited to any special class; and the demand for repentance and faith shows that if men are to be saved, they are to be saved on certain conditions, and not merely because Jesus died on the Cross. Jesus then is the "Advocate" of only those who are saved.
If Jesus is our Advocate then, what is He our Advocate for? Not for SIN, for that was Atoned for on the Cross. He is our Advocate for the "sins" we commit since we became a Christian. "My Little Children, these things write I unto you, that ye SIN NOT. And if any man SIN, we have an Advocate." 1John 2:1. Our Advocate then is to intercede for us because we SIN, that is His business, that is why He remains constantly beside the Father. If a man break the law, or is accused of breaking it, the first thing he needs is a lawyer, or advocate, one who will plead his cause and see that he gets justice. So the believer when he sins needs an Advocate.
Many Christians are disheartened and discouraged because they sin and feel that it is a sign that they were never converted. But the Scriptures teach that they will sin.- The Apostle says-"If we say that we have NO SIN, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in US." 1John 1:8. We must learn to distinguish between our STANDING AND STATE.
Read the whole book of this excellent author with a deep insight and understanding of scriptures.
Read also 'The book of Daniel' by C. Larkin
Blessings
TNC
