The Advocate
Sermon
The Advocate
Gospel Sermons For Sundays After Pentecost (First Third)
The Holy Spirit is called "your Advocate" in the New English Bible translation of John 15:26. Other translations may be helpful in understanding the meaning of the Holy Spirit. The King James Version uses the term "The Comforter." The Revised Standard Version and the New International Version use the term "The Counselor." The Phillips translation and the Barclay translation call the Holy Spirit "The Helper." I like the title "The Advocate" best of all. This term "The Adovcate" includes comforting, counseling, and helping.
The dictionary says that an advocate is "a powerful and influential person who defends or maintains a cause or proposal on our behalf." This definition implies that we have a very capable and strong lawyer working on our behalf with integrity. All human lawyers have their limits. Some are good, others bad. The proliferation of jokes about bad lawyers should not imply that there are no good ones left. It has been my privilege to know a number of good Christian lawyers in whom I could put complete confidence and trust. They have comforted, counseled, and helped in numerous ways over the years as friends and advisors. The best advocate of all, of course, is not human. The Advocate spoken of in our Bible text is God's Holy Spirit.
The text not only gives us a powerful name for the Holy Spirit. The text also tells us the functions of The Advocate. Here is a list of functions in the description for The Advocate given by Jesus as he addresses his followers: (1) to witness for me (John 15:26-27), (2) to confute (or convict) the world of wrong, right, and judgment (John 16:8), and (3) to guide you (John 16:13).
Witness For Me
Jesus said, "... When your Advocate has come ... he will bear witness to me. And you also are my witnesses" (John 15:26-27). Notice the personal way Jesus describes The Advocate: "... When your Advocate has come...." This personal reference applied to the apostles who first heard it. This personal reference also applies to us today.
Your Advocate will bear witness to Jesus. How? By leading you to saving faith in Jesus Christ and keeping that faith alive. Martin Luther drives this point home in The Small Catechism. After telling us in the explanation of the second article of the Creed that we must believe in Christ for salvation, Luther begins the explanation of the third article of the Creed like this:
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts and sanctified and kept me in true faith.
Your Advocate not only brings you to saving faith by witnessing to you; he also inspires you to witness to others. "You also are my witnesses," Jesus says. A witness is one who has been close to and intimate with God. When he speaks, he speaks out of firsthand knowledge and out of conviction. A Spirit-filled witness also speaks and acts with integrity.
Al Glotfeldty was a Christian witness, a man of integrity and one of the finest Christian lawyers I have known. Al was an advocate and witness in the best sense of the term. He advised me legally on personal and church matters. He counseled and coached me as a young pastor about dealing with difficult people. He served on the executive committee of the large 4,900 member church I served at the time. He was a mentor and witness to the faith.
One day I asked Al, "Why do you give so much of your time to the work of the church? Every free hour you give could be used with paying clients." He replied crisply and cleanly from his firsthand experience of God, "Money isn't everything." Then knowing that Al was a tither, I asked him, "Why do you give so much money to the church?" I will never forget his answer. "Pastor, it is all a matter of priorities. I give money to what I believe in." Al was one of God's witnesses who had knowledge, firsthand experience, conviction, and integrity.
Jesus said, "The Holy Spirit is your Advocate who will witness for me. And you too are witnesses." Jesus also said, "The Advocate will confute or convict the world of wrong, right, and judgment."
Convict The World Of Wrong, Right, And Judgment
Jesus said, "When he (The Advocate) comes, he will confute (convict) the world of wrong, right, and judgment" (John 16:8). Another translation reads: "He will expose the guilt of the world in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment."
Contrary to popular belief, guilt is a good thing, not a bad thing. Of course, a distinction must be made between real guilt and false guilt. False guilt feels like real guilt. False guilt means that we feel guilty, even when we have not done something wrong. False guilt comes from inferiority. There is plenty of false guilt around. But real guilt has gotten a bum rap in our day. When we feel true guilt because we have hurt God or some person we love, we can repent. Without true guilt, we do not repent. When we don't repent, we are not forgiven. True guilt because of our sin is a good thing.
The Advocate convicts us of true guilt regarding what is wrong. This suggests something which many in the modern world find hard to swallow, namely, that there are objective standards built into human nature and the world in which we operate. When we break the Commandments of God by lying or committing adultery, we are broken by them. When we do not acknowledge God as Absolute Truth, we suffer the consequences of idolatry. There are some things which are wrong. They are not just a matter of opinion. We ignore them to our own peril. There are also some things which are right.
Jesus said that The Advocate will convict the world of right or righteousness. Specifically, he was talking about his crucifixion which would free people from their sins if they only believed. This too is objective truth. This too is not a matter of opinion. Jesus said that The Advocate is the Spirit of Truth.
I am going to ask you to enter into a little spiritual exercise. Please close your eyes (always a dangerous thing to ask people to do). Now, point north. Don't peek. Just point where you think north is. Now open your eyes and see where others are pointing. Strange, isn't it, how people differ on where they think true north is to be found? I have a compass here which shows which way is true north. It is not just a matter of opinion. The Bible is our compass. Jesus is our compass. The words of Jesus convicting the world about wrong and right point us in the right direction.
Not only is it the job of the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, to convict people of sin and righteousness; it is also our job. It is our job as Christian witnesses to help people see the difference between sin and righteousness. In addition, the Holy Spirit convicts us of the coming judgment of God.
Divine judgment is coming. Many modern people try to avoid the thought of the coming judgment of God where there will be a separation. Most people today live as if there is no Judgment Day, as if they will never have to answer to God for how they have lived. The job description of the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, and for us as God's witnesses, includes convincing the hostile world of judgment. We will die. We will face God. We will face judgment. Some will come crashing into Judgment Day because they don't believe it is there.
A story is told about two ship captains who confronted each other on a stormy sea. Captain number one said: "You are in our path. Please move." Captain number two replied: "You move." The indignant first captain replied: "This is Captain Jones. I order you to move." The second responded: "This is Robert Smith. I order you to move." Now Captain Jones was really hot under the collar. "You don't understand. This is the battleship Missouri." Robert Smith responded: "You don't understand. This is the lighthouse and you are about to crash."
The Advocate witnesses for God and convicts the world of wrong, right, and judgment. The Advocate also guides us in the ways of God. To be Christian witnesses, we need God's guidance lest we do a good thing (witnessing) in the wrong way (self-righteously).
Guide You In Life
Jesus said, "... When he comes who is the Spirit of truth, he will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13). The often neglected doctrine of guidance comes into play in our text and in our lives. Jesus promised guidance to his followers. He has never broken a promise.
Jesus gives the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the Bible, God's special compass. He also guides our lives through the church and special Christian friends who help us make course corrections so that we do not crash. Three personal stories of Christian friends who were advocates and guides for me may help to drive this point home.
First, Glen Knapp was a lay leader in the first church I served in Lebanon, Indiana. I was "wet behind the ears," right out of seminary, ready to take on the world, but with very little experience and almost no wisdom about how to work with people. One day, Glen who was a devoted teacher by vocation, took me aside and said, "Pastor, I have been watching you closely. You make lots of mistakes, but I want you to know that I believe that you are going to be a great pastor and leader some day. You just need to listen more to the guidance of the Holy Spirit." Glen was one of God's advocates and guides in my ministry. When he died of cancer before he was fifty, I lost a true guide from God for my life, but God did not forsake me. He gave me other guides and advocates.
Second, Duane Johnson was a leader in the second church I served in Muncie, Indiana. One day Duane stopped by the church office and said, "How are you doing, Pastor?" "Not so well," I replied. "I have just written a long letter to a church member telling him that he is morally wrong in something he is doing. Here, read it and tell me honestly what you think. I think I am absolutely right about this matter." Slowly, carefully, Duane read the letter. Wisely, he said, "I have learned over the years that it is not wise to put negative things in print. It is better to say these things to people in person and give them a chance to respond. If you mail this letter, even if you are right, it will come back to haunt you." I will never forget that advice. To this day, if you get a letter from me, it will be positive, not negative. Glen was a guide and advocate from whose wisdom I learned an important principle.
Third, Royce Schafer was a lay leader in the third church I served. This was the same large church mentioned earlier in which Al Glotfeldty was an advisor. Royce was an advisor, friend, advocate, and guide. An executive with International Harvester, Royce had learned a time-tested principle to deal with both his supervisors and those he supervised. He used it often with me as we discussed some program, plan, or strategy. He would ask, "Pastor, are you sure you want to do it that way?" That would stop me in my tracks and make me think through the implications of what was being done and how to do it. If Royce had told me I was wrong, I would have resisted him. Instead, Royce raised a question which made me reexamine what I was planning to do. God gives us wise and astute advocates in life. These advocates guide us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let me close with another spiritual exercise. For this one, you can keep your eyes open. Think back on your life. Think of the people who have guided and directed you along the right paths of God. Take a minute and picture the faces of two or three of these advocates. Now thank God for them.
One more thing. What they have done for you, pass on to someone else this week. That is your assignment as God's witnesses. Remember, the Holy Spirit, your Advocate, will guide you.
The dictionary says that an advocate is "a powerful and influential person who defends or maintains a cause or proposal on our behalf." This definition implies that we have a very capable and strong lawyer working on our behalf with integrity. All human lawyers have their limits. Some are good, others bad. The proliferation of jokes about bad lawyers should not imply that there are no good ones left. It has been my privilege to know a number of good Christian lawyers in whom I could put complete confidence and trust. They have comforted, counseled, and helped in numerous ways over the years as friends and advisors. The best advocate of all, of course, is not human. The Advocate spoken of in our Bible text is God's Holy Spirit.
The text not only gives us a powerful name for the Holy Spirit. The text also tells us the functions of The Advocate. Here is a list of functions in the description for The Advocate given by Jesus as he addresses his followers: (1) to witness for me (John 15:26-27), (2) to confute (or convict) the world of wrong, right, and judgment (John 16:8), and (3) to guide you (John 16:13).
Witness For Me
Jesus said, "... When your Advocate has come ... he will bear witness to me. And you also are my witnesses" (John 15:26-27). Notice the personal way Jesus describes The Advocate: "... When your Advocate has come...." This personal reference applied to the apostles who first heard it. This personal reference also applies to us today.
Your Advocate will bear witness to Jesus. How? By leading you to saving faith in Jesus Christ and keeping that faith alive. Martin Luther drives this point home in The Small Catechism. After telling us in the explanation of the second article of the Creed that we must believe in Christ for salvation, Luther begins the explanation of the third article of the Creed like this:
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts and sanctified and kept me in true faith.
Your Advocate not only brings you to saving faith by witnessing to you; he also inspires you to witness to others. "You also are my witnesses," Jesus says. A witness is one who has been close to and intimate with God. When he speaks, he speaks out of firsthand knowledge and out of conviction. A Spirit-filled witness also speaks and acts with integrity.
Al Glotfeldty was a Christian witness, a man of integrity and one of the finest Christian lawyers I have known. Al was an advocate and witness in the best sense of the term. He advised me legally on personal and church matters. He counseled and coached me as a young pastor about dealing with difficult people. He served on the executive committee of the large 4,900 member church I served at the time. He was a mentor and witness to the faith.
One day I asked Al, "Why do you give so much of your time to the work of the church? Every free hour you give could be used with paying clients." He replied crisply and cleanly from his firsthand experience of God, "Money isn't everything." Then knowing that Al was a tither, I asked him, "Why do you give so much money to the church?" I will never forget his answer. "Pastor, it is all a matter of priorities. I give money to what I believe in." Al was one of God's witnesses who had knowledge, firsthand experience, conviction, and integrity.
Jesus said, "The Holy Spirit is your Advocate who will witness for me. And you too are witnesses." Jesus also said, "The Advocate will confute or convict the world of wrong, right, and judgment."
Convict The World Of Wrong, Right, And Judgment
Jesus said, "When he (The Advocate) comes, he will confute (convict) the world of wrong, right, and judgment" (John 16:8). Another translation reads: "He will expose the guilt of the world in regard to sin, righteousness, and judgment."
Contrary to popular belief, guilt is a good thing, not a bad thing. Of course, a distinction must be made between real guilt and false guilt. False guilt feels like real guilt. False guilt means that we feel guilty, even when we have not done something wrong. False guilt comes from inferiority. There is plenty of false guilt around. But real guilt has gotten a bum rap in our day. When we feel true guilt because we have hurt God or some person we love, we can repent. Without true guilt, we do not repent. When we don't repent, we are not forgiven. True guilt because of our sin is a good thing.
The Advocate convicts us of true guilt regarding what is wrong. This suggests something which many in the modern world find hard to swallow, namely, that there are objective standards built into human nature and the world in which we operate. When we break the Commandments of God by lying or committing adultery, we are broken by them. When we do not acknowledge God as Absolute Truth, we suffer the consequences of idolatry. There are some things which are wrong. They are not just a matter of opinion. We ignore them to our own peril. There are also some things which are right.
Jesus said that The Advocate will convict the world of right or righteousness. Specifically, he was talking about his crucifixion which would free people from their sins if they only believed. This too is objective truth. This too is not a matter of opinion. Jesus said that The Advocate is the Spirit of Truth.
I am going to ask you to enter into a little spiritual exercise. Please close your eyes (always a dangerous thing to ask people to do). Now, point north. Don't peek. Just point where you think north is. Now open your eyes and see where others are pointing. Strange, isn't it, how people differ on where they think true north is to be found? I have a compass here which shows which way is true north. It is not just a matter of opinion. The Bible is our compass. Jesus is our compass. The words of Jesus convicting the world about wrong and right point us in the right direction.
Not only is it the job of the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, to convict people of sin and righteousness; it is also our job. It is our job as Christian witnesses to help people see the difference between sin and righteousness. In addition, the Holy Spirit convicts us of the coming judgment of God.
Divine judgment is coming. Many modern people try to avoid the thought of the coming judgment of God where there will be a separation. Most people today live as if there is no Judgment Day, as if they will never have to answer to God for how they have lived. The job description of the Holy Spirit, our Advocate, and for us as God's witnesses, includes convincing the hostile world of judgment. We will die. We will face God. We will face judgment. Some will come crashing into Judgment Day because they don't believe it is there.
A story is told about two ship captains who confronted each other on a stormy sea. Captain number one said: "You are in our path. Please move." Captain number two replied: "You move." The indignant first captain replied: "This is Captain Jones. I order you to move." The second responded: "This is Robert Smith. I order you to move." Now Captain Jones was really hot under the collar. "You don't understand. This is the battleship Missouri." Robert Smith responded: "You don't understand. This is the lighthouse and you are about to crash."
The Advocate witnesses for God and convicts the world of wrong, right, and judgment. The Advocate also guides us in the ways of God. To be Christian witnesses, we need God's guidance lest we do a good thing (witnessing) in the wrong way (self-righteously).
Guide You In Life
Jesus said, "... When he comes who is the Spirit of truth, he will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13). The often neglected doctrine of guidance comes into play in our text and in our lives. Jesus promised guidance to his followers. He has never broken a promise.
Jesus gives the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the Bible, God's special compass. He also guides our lives through the church and special Christian friends who help us make course corrections so that we do not crash. Three personal stories of Christian friends who were advocates and guides for me may help to drive this point home.
First, Glen Knapp was a lay leader in the first church I served in Lebanon, Indiana. I was "wet behind the ears," right out of seminary, ready to take on the world, but with very little experience and almost no wisdom about how to work with people. One day, Glen who was a devoted teacher by vocation, took me aside and said, "Pastor, I have been watching you closely. You make lots of mistakes, but I want you to know that I believe that you are going to be a great pastor and leader some day. You just need to listen more to the guidance of the Holy Spirit." Glen was one of God's advocates and guides in my ministry. When he died of cancer before he was fifty, I lost a true guide from God for my life, but God did not forsake me. He gave me other guides and advocates.
Second, Duane Johnson was a leader in the second church I served in Muncie, Indiana. One day Duane stopped by the church office and said, "How are you doing, Pastor?" "Not so well," I replied. "I have just written a long letter to a church member telling him that he is morally wrong in something he is doing. Here, read it and tell me honestly what you think. I think I am absolutely right about this matter." Slowly, carefully, Duane read the letter. Wisely, he said, "I have learned over the years that it is not wise to put negative things in print. It is better to say these things to people in person and give them a chance to respond. If you mail this letter, even if you are right, it will come back to haunt you." I will never forget that advice. To this day, if you get a letter from me, it will be positive, not negative. Glen was a guide and advocate from whose wisdom I learned an important principle.
Third, Royce Schafer was a lay leader in the third church I served. This was the same large church mentioned earlier in which Al Glotfeldty was an advisor. Royce was an advisor, friend, advocate, and guide. An executive with International Harvester, Royce had learned a time-tested principle to deal with both his supervisors and those he supervised. He used it often with me as we discussed some program, plan, or strategy. He would ask, "Pastor, are you sure you want to do it that way?" That would stop me in my tracks and make me think through the implications of what was being done and how to do it. If Royce had told me I was wrong, I would have resisted him. Instead, Royce raised a question which made me reexamine what I was planning to do. God gives us wise and astute advocates in life. These advocates guide us through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let me close with another spiritual exercise. For this one, you can keep your eyes open. Think back on your life. Think of the people who have guided and directed you along the right paths of God. Take a minute and picture the faces of two or three of these advocates. Now thank God for them.
One more thing. What they have done for you, pass on to someone else this week. That is your assignment as God's witnesses. Remember, the Holy Spirit, your Advocate, will guide you.
