Many of you may remember the trial of O.J. Simpson who was accused of killing his wife, (and most likely, 99.99% did. I mean, he later wrote a book called, “If I Did It.”) and how the trial and media coverage seemed to never end. There was the white bronco with the slow police chase, the year long trial, the overwhelming damning evidence against him, and somehow, despite everything that took place, he got away with (allegedly) murder.
If you followed the trial, then you know just how wild the entire thing was from start to finish. The prosecution had caught O.J. red-handed – literally. They had found his leather gloves covered in his wife’s blood, and this alone should have been enough to at least broker some sort of plea deal. But the problem was, the lawyers on the prosecution side got cocky with all the evidence that they had been stacking against Simpson. This was clearly a done deal! An open and shut, high profile case! But, as sometimes people with all the cards are wont to do, they overplayed their hand.
Simpson also had a cocky lawyer, Johnnie Cochran, who wasn’t about to let O.J. go down without a fight. The crucial slip up on the prosecutors part was when they presented the bloody leather glove in court, and asked Simpson to try it on. Anyone who has ever worn a pair of leather shoes or even gloves knows what happens when they get wet; they shrink. Johnnie Cochran, seizing on this opportunity, came up with a sort of singsong catchphrase in the hope of exonerating his client. He famously said, “If the glove doesn’t fit, then you must acquit.”
Simpson, a man up against the ropes, now stood with the bloody glove before him. The obvious problem was that the leather glove, soaked in blood, had now shrunk. The footage of the trial shows the face of an astonished Simpson become somewhat giddy as he tries the gloves on and they don’t fit. The former running back was no stranger to hail mary plays, and this was one for the heinous record books.
Well, the glove didn’t fit. And as Cochran said, they must now acquit, which they did. Simpson was declared not-guilty.
So what’s the point? Why even mention this? Because Satan, the chief prosecutor against us has made a fatal flaw in his accusations. All the evidence points to our guilt. Our sin is astronomical. We know it and Satan knows it. And Satan comes out with spreadsheets, diagrams, and pie-charts with all of our most grievous sins laid bare. But, he overplays his hand when he brings out the bloody glove. “Put it on,” he says. “Prove your guilt. Feel your shame in front of the court and in front of the Judge.”
And here, my friends, is his classic blunder and his fatal error. You see, those who are hidden in Christ, who have been washed by the Lamb, will find that the blood that is soaked into that glove, which covers it, is the very blood of Christ. The believer struggles to put the glove on, but it no longer fits. And if the glove doesn’t fit, then you must acquit.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ! And the Bible tells us that we have a lawyer on earth, the Holy Spirit, and our righteousness, which is Christ Himself, sits eternally-unshakable in Heaven! So when Satan comes with his evidence of all your guilt, the verdict from the throne is not guilty. The glove doesn’t fit! The price has been paid for, and double jeopardy now applies towards all future cases.
John Bunyan, in his classic book, “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” shows what this looks like in an exchange between Christian and Apollyon. Christian, who is the protagonist of this tale and the model for the Christian’s journey, is being berated by Apollyon over his past sins. Apollyon lays out his case against Christian, to which Christian replies:
“All that you say is true; in fact there is much more that you have left out. But the Prince who I serve and honor is very merciful and most willing to forgive; but besides this, these misdemeanors were committed in your territory where I was educated in them; and as a consequence I have grieved over them and repented of ever doing such things. Furthermore, I have received a full pardon regarding these crimes from my Prince.”
Basically, Christian is saying, “Satan, you don’t even know the half of it!” Christian’s sins, just like my sins and your sins, are too numerous to count! Satan is missing large pieces of damning evidence, and even then, the verdict still remains the same – Not guilty. No condemnation. The glove no longer fits. It has been covered in the blood of Christ.
Thus, when depression, anxiety, lies, doubt, illness, or any of the other countless trials of this life come, look from yourself, cease the naval gazing, and instead look to Christ. See your eternal righteousness, the One who “always lives to intercede for us” sitting at the right hand of God! When troubles overtake you and you feel close to the end of your rope, cling to Jesus and the assurance of your salvation. Rest in the freedom that Jesus purchased on the cross when He took the full blast of God’s wrath in our place. Rejoice that your name is written in the Lamb’s book with permanent ink.
This was a guest post from Heath Taws. Heath is the Family Ministries Director at First Pres. Panama City. Servant of Christ, Husband, and father of two. He once beat Galactus in a world eating contest.
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