"JESUS, OUR ADVOCATE"

>>>Not going through every verse

>>>There is a danger of behavior modification instead of heart transformation.

>>>What should be a Christian’s relationship to sin? (Recent lesson from me)

>>>What happens to Jesus after someone is saved?

>>>John wants believers to know their new relationship w/sin and Christ’s role as Savior.

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>>>Last week was about fellowship-walking toward the light of God and being sanctified

>>>Christians are to walk toward God and away from sin.

1 JOHN 2:1 “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

>>>One of the reasons John writes to this church is so they don’t sin.

>>>Notice the word “if”

*What is the difference between “if” and “when”?

“When”-expectation; “if”-possibility/condition

>>>John writes this w/the expectation of them not sinning.

*“John regards sin in the believer’s life, not as habitual, but as extraordinary, as infrequent.”

Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 13 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 109.

*ROMANS 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

*1 PETER 1:15-16 “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

>>>If sin is not longer our master, why should we sin?

*We are always expecting to fall (i.e. we will mess up-that’s ok! We can keep trying!)

>>>We have been declared righteous-sin no longer identity.

>>>What if we lived our Christian lives w/o expecting to sin?

>>>In the case of sin, Jesus is our advocate w/the Father.

>>>“advocate” is “intercessor”-Jesus pleading on our behalf.

THE PROVISION OF THE ADVOCATE

>>>Why is there a need for an advocate?

>>>God hates sin.

>>>Jesus as the advocate makes Him our intercessor-our priest.

HEBREWS 7:23-25 “The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

-Jesus is the eternal priest interceding for believers

-This is a constant state of saving believers.

>>>We have Jesus representing him in Heaven to the Father-we are His!

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1 JOHN 2:2 “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

>>> “Propitiation” is a sin offering.

*In OT, sin offerings by priest provided for forgiveness.

>>>Jesus is the means of forgiveness.

>>>Jesus is the only way to peace with God.

*JOHN 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

*HEBREWS 7:26-27 “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.”

*HEBREWS 9:12 “he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”

>>>His sacrifice atones for the sins a believer commits.

>>>For Jesus to be the believer’s advocate, He had to be the sacrifice.

THE BENEFIT OF THE ADVOCATE

>>>Jesus is the way we have fellowship w/God-the benefit.

>>>He is the eternal sacrifice that secures our eternal life.

*When we receive Christ, His blood covers us.

>>>Jesus intercedes having already covered our sins.

*Our sin no longer condemns us before God.

*“He sinned, but He’s mine. My blood covers Him.”

>>>But this 1 John 2:2 also says this way is available to the world-anyone can come to Christ through His provision!

>>>Sinners must come through repentance.

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1 JOHN 2:3 “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.”

>>>John wants every believer to know that they know Christ.

>>>This idea of “know” is of relational knowledge- confidence in knowing Christ relationally

>>>John says that those in relationship/God will walk in His commandments.

*10 Commandments

THE ASSURANCE OF THE ADVOCATE

>>>Christ did not save us for us to continue in sin.

>>>How do we know Christ is our advocate? We are striving to follow Him-desire.

>>>IF we fail, we don’t lose salvation.

*Jesus is the “lawyer” Who pleads our cause to God/enables us to continue obeying Him.

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THE ROLE OF JESUS IN OUR LIVES SHOULD REMIND US OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH SIN-FREE FROM IT!

>>>If Jesus really is our sin offering and advocate, we should be confident in our freedom from sin.

*Not free to do whatever we want-we don’t have to sin.

*Also not paranoid

*Confident in our freedom from sin in Christ with Him fighting for us.

*This motivates us to pursue holiness.

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SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

1.) What are some things that resonated with you coming out of the message?

2.) Main Point: The role of Jesus in our lives should remind us of our relationship with sin-free from it!

-What does it mean to be free from sin/live without expecting to sin?

-How should Jesus being our advocate affect our lives?

-How should Jesus being our propitiation (sin offering) affect our lives?

3.) When considering 1 John 2:1-3, do you experience more freedom in your Christian walk or more bondage? How so?

4.) How can our relationship with sin assure us of our salvation? (Think about everything that was said.)

5.) If salvation is not based on works, how is keeping the commandments of Jesus a sign of salvation?

6.) How do you know you are saved?