Your Advocate, the Holy Spirit

Your Advocate, the Holy Spirit

Easter 5 T John 16:16-22

INI

What comes to mind when you hear the word ‘advocate’? Perhaps you think of a friend or mentor that builds you up, who believes in you, and is in your corner. Or maybe you think of a lawyer who makes your case before the judge, speaking on your behalf and declaring your innocence.

Today, Jesus promises us an advocate – the Holy Spirit. But what does it mean that the Holy Spirit is our ‘advocate’?’ We hear this word and think of it in a positive sense – like that the Holy Spirit supports us, gives us the forgiveness of our sins so that we may face the Father blameless and innocent of any disobedience. In that sense, the Holy Spirit seems like a helper! This is the true and proper work of Holy Spirit in the Christian’s life.

But, is that the only work of the Holy Spirit? The only thing He helps us with in our lives of faith? Today, Jesus gives the fuller picture concerning the role of the Holy Spirit. In fact, in our Gospel text today, it almost sounds as if the work of the Holy Spirit is primarily in the negative. Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgement. He convicts us of our sin – that is, our own unworthiness to be in God’s presence. He convicts us of righteousness – that God has created us to be ordered rightly, and our sin causes us to become out of order. Lastly, He convicts of judgment – and that sinners are following their master, the devil – the deceiver and liar about God and His Word. And left unchanged, sinners will be judged alongside the deceiver for eternity.

This is all to say that the Holy Spirit makes clear our understanding and application of God’s Word. Yes, the Holy Spirit reveals the Gospel. But the Holy Spirit must FIRST reveal the law. Not once – but continually. The Law condemns us. Not one person can look at the Ten Commandments and believe they’ve fulfilled it. If they do, they’re a liar and have been deceived by the ruler of this world. Jesus not only reaffirmed the Law, but in the Sermon on the Mount, He revealed its full depth—showing that it is completely impossible to keep by human effort alone. He teaches:

“You’ve heard it say “you shall not commit adultery” but I tell you, if you look at a women with lustful intent, you have already committed adultery in your heart.”

“But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. […] ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? […] You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Jesus isn’t giving us a new law or commandment—He’s clarifying the true intent of the Law that was always there. And in doing so, He shows that the Law rightly condemns sinners to hell. Why? Because we haven’t loved God with our whole heart, and we often treat the people around us not as neighbors to serve, but as tools to use for our own benefit. We haven’t trusted that God’s Law is truly good—because if we had, we would’ve desired to keep it. We would’ve meditated on it day and night, as Psalm 1 says, by reading our small catechisms and meditating on the depths of their meanings, seeking to apply them in our daily lives. But we often don’t recognize and apply the godly wisdom built into the commandments for our daily lives. But instead, we look for loopholes. We excuse ourselves and our behaviors with the devil’s lie that he whispers into our ears: ‘You can’t be perfect, so why even try?’

And this is the beauty of the Holy Spirit’s work in revealing the Law. It’s accusations against us are scary. It’s uncomfortable. It’s terrifying to realize that God’s Law rightly condemns us with Satan. But this is exactly why Jesus loves you enough to tell you the truth: you can’t do it. You can’t be righteous by your own efforts. You can’t save yourself. You need Him. You need Jesus. You need His Holy precious blood which covers your sins and iniquities!

That’s the same realization Jesus constantly brought to light throughout His ministry. Time and again, people came to Him wanting simple answers—wanting to justify themselves, to prove they were already on the right track. But Jesus never watered down the Law. In fact, He did the opposite. He exposed how deep it runs. It’s not just about outward actions—it’s about the heart.

Think of the time when Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan to the lawyer who asked Jesus “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” As the conversation went on, Jesus clarified for the Lawyer that the Law must be perfectly kept to earn eternal life. And the whole of the Law is summarized in this: Love God, and love neighbor. That lawyer felt uncomfortable with that. He knew that if loving His neighbor meant loving His enemies, then he was cooked! So, he tried to weasel out from underneath God’s Law and asked, “And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus then told the lawyer the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan loved, helped, and healed his neighbor, who happened to be his worst enemy, a Jew. Concluding the parable, Jesus said “Now, go and do likewise.”

         Is that all Jesus has to say? Go and do likewise? And if you succeed, you inherit eternal life? If not, you’re condemned to hell along with the devil?

         Let me ask you – have you accomplished what Jesus demands for eternal life? Have you loved your enemies and done good to them? Have you heaped burning coals on their heads by showing them love and speaking charitably about them as the 8th commandment requires us? Have you helped your enemy protect and improve his possessions and income as the 7th commandment requires? Have you hurt anyone with your words or actions, instead of protecting them as the 5^th commandment requires?

         Only the Holy Spirit can open our eyes to what God’s Word really says. Only when He reveals the truth about our sinful nature—and we stop trying to excuse ourselves or soften the Law’s demands— only then can we finally admit what Scripture declares: “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). We have to stop wiggling out from under the weight of God’s Word and instead confess the truth: we’ve fallen short. Deeply short. The Spirit  must bring us to that honest place of guilt and need that we know and feel in our hearts, and not just confess by the words of our lips. Then, by His working, we’ll stop trying to justify ourselves, and instead cling to Christ who justifies us, and the Holy Spirit who sanctifies our living.

So, we thank God for sending the Holy Spirit to reveal our transgressions against His Law. For without it, we’d be drowning in our sin without even realizing it. But because He has revealed His Law, faith clings to Christ and His mercy. Why? Because there are no other options. There’s no one else that can save us from the predicament we’ve gotten ourselves into. Salvation belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him alone. For He has vanquished the old evil foe, cast Satan into hell for eternal torment. He has freed us from the chains of our sins, and made us alive to God for all eternity.

This is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit. That this might be revealed to YOU. So yes, the Holy Spirit is our advocate and helper. He helps us by pointing out our sins – that we aren’t as righteous as we think. And that if we’re to be spared from eternal judgment, we must flee to the cross where the eternal punishment of our sins is paid, where Christ took on our unrighteousness and given His perfect righteousness in return, where the one man Christ was judged in the place of many.

Yet, He’s also our advocate and helper by pointing us towards Christ always. Helping us to know, believe, and trust that Jesus’s sacrificial death and resurrection from the grave is sufficient for our salvation.

So give thanks today that you have an Advocate—not one who flatters you, but One who tells you the truth, points you to the cross, and gives you the Holy Blood of Jesus. By the Holy Spirit’s work, you belong to Christ, and that means you are forgiven, free, and forever His.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston