Conquering Sins

1 John 2:1-6

1 John 2:1–6 NKJV

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

A) My Little Children

By calling us his children, indicates there is a parent in the picture somewhere along the lines… A Father. (This solidifies our salvation with the Lord is complete in Him).

Macdonald:

The little children refers to all the family of God. God’s perfect standard is then set forth in the words these things I write to you, that you may not sin. Because God is perfect, His standard for His people is absolute perfection. He would not be God if He said; “These things I write to you so that you sin just as little as you can.” God cannot condone sin in the least degree, and so He sets perfection before us as a goal. The Lord Jesus did this with the woman who was caught in the act of adultery; He said, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.” At the same time the Lord knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust and so He has graciously made provision for us in the event of failure. This is expressed in the words “if anyone sins we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

All of which John has written in the previous chapter and the chapter to come, is to that we may not sin. We are about to see he is not saying we are never to sin, but sin less. (Practice as seen in 1 John 1:6).

B) We have an Advocate

Romans 8:34

1 Timothy 2:5 NKJV

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

Hebrews 7:25

Hebrews 9:24

John 14:12–31 NKJV

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

“Because christ is human as well as divine, He can sympathize with our human frailties- Norman Geisler.

He (Jesus) is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because he always lives to intercede for them (Heb 7:24-25; Galatians 5:22, Ephesians 5:18.

C) He is the propitiation for our sins

Definition: atonement, especially that of Jesus Christ.

The New King James Version

[Rom. 3:25]; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 4:10

Not only is He our advocate and propitiation, he is also the perfect pattern for our daily lives (Jesus Christ the righteous) .

Not only us but for the whole world: John 1:29

D) Knowledge

John 14:21-23

E) Abiding in Him

Matt. 11:29; John 13:15; 15:10; 1 Pet. 2:21

Galatians 2:20

God has made provisions for us in these ways to conquer sin.

“Oh what tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive! That life that is real cannot be built on things that are deceptive. Before we can walk in the light, we must know ourselves, accept ourselves, and yield ourselves to God. It is foolish to try to deceive others, because God already knows what we really are!” -Sir Walter Scott

John makes it clear that life that is real has no love for sin.

A congregation was singing a closing hymn the familiar song “For you I am praying.” The speaker turned to a man on the platform and asked quietly, “For whom are you praying?” The man was stunned. “Why, I guess I’m not praying for anybody. Why do you ask?” “Well, I just heard you say ‘For you I am praying’, and I thought you meant it” the preacher replied. “Oh no said the man, I'm just singing”.

Weirsbe calls this pious talk! A religion of words! To paraphrase James 1:22, we should be doers of the word as well as talkers of the word. We must walk the talk. It is not enough to know the language; we must also live the life. If we say- then we out to also do.

Big Idea:

“So that you may not sin and ultimately abide in Him”.

KJV