Morning & Evening: Evening Devo, Oct. 4th

Saturday, October 4, 2025

"If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

Evening Thought

"If any man sin, we have an advocate." Yes, though we sin, we have him still. John does not say, "If any man sin he has forfeited his advocate," but "we have an advocate," sinners though we are. All the sin that a believer ever did, or can be allowed to commit, cannot destroy his interest in the Lord Jesus Christ, as his advocate. The name here given to our Lord is suggestive. "Jesus." Ah! then he is an advocate such as we need, for Jesus is the name of one whose business and delight it is to save. "They shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." His sweetest name implies his success. Next, it is "Jesus Christ"-Christos, the anointed. This shows his authority to plead. The Christ has a right to plead, for he is the Father's own appointed advocate and elected priest. If he were of our choosing he might fail, but if God hath laid help upon one that is mighty, we may safely lay our trouble where God has laid his help. He is Christ, and therefore authorized; he is Christ, and therefore qualified, for the anointing has fully fitted him for his work. He can plead so as to move the heart of God and prevail. What words of tenderness, what sentences of persuasion will the anointed use when he stands up to plead for me! One more letter of his name remains, "Jesus Christ the righteous." This is not only his character BUT his plea. It is his character, and if the Righteous One be my advocate, then my cause is good, or he would not have espoused it. It is his plea, for he meets the charge of unrighteousness against me by the plea that he is righteous. He declares himself my substitute and puts his obedience to my account. My soul, thou hast a friend well fitted to be thine advocate, he cannot but succeed; leave thyself entirely in his hands.

Have thoughts on this devotional? Leave a comment

Illustration

Illustration of 1 John 2:1 — "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

Other Devotionals from Heartlight for Saturday, October 4, 2025

A daily devotional featuring wise counsel found in Scripture.
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.""
A devotional to help reclaim Jesus as the daily Lord of our lives.
"Dear Committed Follower, As Paul came to the end of his very challenging letter to the Corinthians, the letter you call 2 Corinthians, he had several..."
A daily devotional featuring a Bible verse, thought and prayer.
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
A daily passage of Scripture emphasizing praise to our God.
"God made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens. When he speaks in the..."

About This Devotional

'Morning and Evening' is the classic daily devotional from Charles H. Spurgeon.

Written by Charles H. Spurgeon.