Imagine being in a courtroom. The prosecution is hurling accusations at the defendant, and the accusations are true. All the evidence shows that they are definitely guilty, and deserving of punishment.

Yet there is a defence lawyer like no other. He speaks to the judge on behalf of the defendant and says, “Your honour, my client is indeed guilty. But I’ve already served his sentence for him.” So the judge bangs his gavel and says, “Case dismissed!”

This is not how earthly courtrooms and legal systems work, but it is effectively what the divine courtroom is like. We are the defendants who are guilty of sin (Romans 3:23), Satan is the accuser (Zechariah 3:1; Revelation 12:10), God the Father is the judge (Hebrews 12:23b), and the Lord Jesus Christ is advocating on our behalf (1 John 2:1). You and I deserve eternal punishment and separation from God because we have disobeyed His holy laws. Yet if we have trusted in Christ, He stands by our side as our Advocate. His sacrificial death and His blood shed on the cross satisfies the judge (1 Jn. 2:2), and no further sentence needs to be served. Satan continues to try and condemn us, but he is no match for our defender, the Lord Jesus (Romans 8:33,34).

Martin Luther said, “You [Christ] are my righteousness; I am Your sin. You took on You what was mine, yet set on me what was Yours. You became what You were not, that I might become what I was not.” Or in the words of the famous hymn by Charlotte Elliott, “Just as I am, without one plea, but that Thy blood was shed for me, and that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.”

If you are yet to experience the peace of your case before God having been dismissed, there is still hope for you. Simply plead “guilty” to sin, and put your faith in the best Advocate you will ever find:

Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He cannot lose, and He offers His services to us gladly and freely.