How Jesus Removes Your Guilt for Good

Jesus' return to heaven after His death and resurrection is probably the most overlooked event in His life and ministry in the church today. Growing up, I always heard that Jesus was building me a mansion. That was 'Old Time Religion.' I later learned from John's gospel that it was better for Jesus to go so that the Holy Spirit could come and be our comforter. But what that actually meant, I couldn't tell you. I had my ideas, but later I realized they didn't capture how important this event was.

The apostle John uses the word paraclete to describe the Holy Spirit's work. At first, it seems the Holy Spirit does this exclusively, until we read in 1 John 2:1 that Jesus Himself is also a paraclete. Translators have had difficulty with this word, rendering it as "helper," "comforter," and "advocate." That's because it's so rich in meaning. 

Charles Hodge, an esteemed seminary professor in the 19th century, explained that the closest English word for paraclete is helper, but helper is far too general to capture the idea of paraclete. How is Jesus helping us? Hodge writes, "As, however, the guilty, the ignorant, the friendless, when arraigned before a tribunal of justice, need above all things an advocate; one who will undertake their cause; present a plea in their behalf; and use all his influence to secure their acquittal; it is in this sense especially that Christ is set forth as our παράκλητος (paraclete). He is our advocate."

The closest idea to the word we have today is a defence attorney. Imagine you are the accused, sitting before the judge. If you have a defence attorney, the judge doesn't see you; it sees the attorney. If the attorney is articulate, has a strong argument, or is convincing, you are too. If the attorney gives a poor presentation and has no argument, so do you. The judge sees you as you are represented by your attorney.

The other part of the analogy is that the attorney doesn't stand before the judge begging him to turn a blind eye to the law. He isn't begging for mercy. He's demanding justice. He's saying, "Because of my indestructible case in favor of my client, uphold justice!"

Is Jesus that for us today? The writer of Hebrews says, “Yes!” “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:24). As the true High Priest, Jesus is our advocate before the Father and our defence attorney before the judgment seat of God.

The question then becomes how our attorney, Jesus Christ, can demand justice on our behalf before the Judge of heaven and earth. Does He have a case? Yes, He has an indestructible case: His own blood. The writer of Hebrews tells us that when we come to Jesus, we come to “the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24). What was the blood of Abel speaking? It was demanding justice for Cain's act of murder. In the same way, Jesus now demands justice before God on our behalf, with His own blood serving as the perfect payment for our sin. 

How This Changes Everything Today

In our Western Christianity, we far too easily think that our good works and obedience cause God to treat us better. Our religious efforts share many of the same characteristics as other religions. Like them, we fear grace. We can’t really wrap our heads around the fact that God shows favor to those who don’t deserve it. We’re also fearful because of guilt. We know deep within that we’ve transgressed God’s law, and even as Christians, we don’t quite know how to completely get rid of it. And we have all sorts of cliché sayings that focus on God’s love and forgiveness to suppress these feelings of guilt. But the guilt keeps producing the same anxiety.

Then we hear that Jesus is our intercessor, pleading our case before the Father. We imagine a scene in heaven’s courtroom where Jesus comes before God and says, “You know [insert your name here]. They promised not to keep doing that sin, but guess what, they’ve done it again. But please don’t treat them harshly. You know My relationship with You and how We share this love. For the sake of Our relationship, let this slide just this time.” And so we’re thankful that God forgives us, but we’re left wondering how long it will last before it won’t work. Cue the guilt and anxiety.

But what is actually happening in that conversation?

Jesus comes before the Father and says, “[Insert your name here] is a sinner, that is true. But because they are in me, the perfect payment for sin I made on the cross covers all their sin. They will never have to pay for it. Uphold Your justice, and do not require them to pay for their sin.”

Do you see how that changes everything? And how that deals with your guilt forever?

The judgment seat of God has now become a throne of grace, where we can boldly go to receive mercy. God no longer sees us, now that we are hidden in Christ. He sees Jesus on our behalf and grants us the full and free acceptance that Jesus deserves.