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As we begin this morning I want to ask the question; What is the goal of every Christian?
Heaven
Live like Jesus - 1 Peter 2:21
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
Love like Jesus John 13:35
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Of all the things that God has called us to do probably the most difficult and one that we don't think about enough is the call to be perfect.
In the sermon on the Mount Jesus while talking about loving your enemies says...
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Sometimes I think we as Christians forget that Christ has called us to strive for a life of perfection.
Now at the same time I am extremely thankful for the grace of God becasue without it I could not be saved because as we saw last week it is impossible to be perfect.
But unfortunately I think sometimes if we are not careful we can take for grantit the knowing of God’s grace and the knowing that he loves us enough to forgive us unconditionally, to the point that we forget that God has called us to be perfect.
John is going to remind us of this in our study of 1 John today. But before we get there let’s review what we have learned thus far.
Last week in our study of first John we walked through verses 5 -10 in order to help us answer the question do I still need Jesus. Of course the answer to that question is absolutely! Because this is such an important question John is going to give us more evidence to support our need of Jesus in our text for today.
Before we continue to look at the evidence as a way of reminder John in verse 5-10 seemed to be having a debate with the people who were trying to convince the brethren to not believe in who Jesus was.
And he did this by the use of the if clause. Or presenting a problem and then giving a solution to the problem. And if one is following John’s logic here after introducing another problem in verse 10 one would think that a solution would follow.
However, John seems to take a detour from his argument to emphasis to the faithful readers of his letter that he dearly loves them.
1 John 2:1 (ESV)
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.
In verse 1 of chapter 2 he calls them his little children. This is a common phrase that the preachers used in the early church to refer to their follows. It is a way for John to remind them of how much he loves them and that he wants them to understand what he is about to say to them.
John says in 1 John 2:1 that as Christians we must not sin. This is another way of saying what Jesus said in Matthew 5:48
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
By living a life of no sin is to live a life of perfection. Just like Jesus did.
Now you may notice that this statement by John could cause some confusion.
Throughout chapter 1 John has been telling his audience that living a sinless life is impossible.
You remember verse 8? 1 John 1:8
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Verse 8 of chapter one and verse one of chapter 2 seem to contradict themselves.
John first wrote that everyone does sin. Now he writes that he does not want us to sin. So which is it?
John makes it clear that he does not want his followers to sin, yet he also has made it clear that they will sin at times.
There is some debate as to why he wrote like this but I think that John may be worrying that some will take what he has said and what he is about to say concerning the grace of God as a license to sin.
It is quite possible that John doesn't want his followers to think that if forgiveness is freely offered than that opens the door for people to sin willfully.
In fact this is the same discussion that Paul had in Romans 6. 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?
We touched on this last week. This idea that many people believe that they can continue to sin or that they don’t need Jesus anymore after they are saved.
But I want to ask how do we help people see and understand that once we receive God’s grace it is our responsibility to strive to live a sinless life?
Or to put the question another way. How do we convince people that no matter how bad things get for you on this earth, living like Christ is the best life?
OK let’s continue on with verse 1 of chapter 2. After taken a small detour to talk directly to the little children or his brethren that he loved Paul is now going to get back to providing a solution to the problem like he did in previous verses. And he is actually going to give two solutions to the problem
Sin is the problem but what is the first solution that he gives.
The solution is Jesus has willingly become our advocate.
What is an advocate in this context? One who speaks in our defense.
John here says that Jesus is our advocate but who else is described as our advocate in scripture?
Four times John describes the Holy Spirit as our advocate or some translations like the ESV refers to him as our helper. (John 14:16; 26; 15:26; 16:7)
What does John mean when he says that Christ is our advocate?
Yes, it is as if Jesus is our Lawyer.
Picture a courtroom, and instead of a lawyer, you have someone you trust completely—like a parent or best friend—defending you against an unfair accusation. Jesus steps into that role for us, reminding God of His grace and forgiveness when we falter. Just as a good defense can change a verdict, His advocacy changes our hearts and the heart of God!
Because Jesus has ascended to be with the Father he is able to talk to God on our behalf.
Jesus as our advocate is someone who stands beside us in the heavenly court. He pleads your case. Jesus as our advocate orders for your acquittal.
Romans 8:34 shares this picture with us.
Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.
When we understand this word advocate in its legal form Jesus is our advocate and who better to be our advocate on the day of judgement than the son of the judge.
When we understand this word this verse can be understood this way.
1 John 2:1 (ESV)
...But if anyone does sin, we (Christians) have an advocate (one who stands by us on our behalf) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (His righteousness for our unrighteousness).
So the first solution to our sin problem is that Jesus is willing to be our advocate.
Verse two continue with the solution to say that he is the propitiation for our sins.
What in the world does that mean?
When is the last time you propitiated?
This may be a church word but it is a beautiful word that we all must understand.
The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement or satisfaction, specifically toward God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him.
Another way to think of this word is as an atoning sacrifice. Jesus not only provided a sacrifice for us but he became that sacrifice.
If we understand propitiation this way we must first have a good understanding of the Old testament meaning of an atoning sacrifice. Somebody explain to us what the day of atonement was all about.
In the OT when God was preparing them to enter the promised land he gave them specific instructions about how to deal with articular sins. He told them to bring sacrificial offerings before the priest so that they might make atonement through them for their sins. In doing this, they would be forgiven, and life would go on as if there had been no wrong committed. The word for atonement is translated mercy seat in the Old Testament, referring to the lid of the ark of the covenant where God’s presence resided. So on the day of atonement, the sacrifices were made by the high priest, and the people’s sins were forgiven.
The atonement in the OT always involved some sacrifice on the part of the people. The marvel of the atonement in the NT is that God, in His longing to bring us into a oneness with Him, sent Jesus into the world as a human being to experience all of the temptations and hurts that we experience, He did not give in to in, but was punished for our sins,so that we could be one with the Lord through the blood He poured out on the cross.
Jesus the righteous one, is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
But as we see from the end of verse 2 its not just for our sins but for the sins of the whole world.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
As we saw earlier John interrupted his train of thought to remind his listeners of how much he loved them by referring to them as his little children.
As parents with kids. I’m sure all of us would do anything so that our kids could be saved. Even if it meant giving of our lives. You see we may wish that we could atone for those that we deeply love (whether its our kids or someone else), but we do not even have the ability to pay the price for our own sins. Only through the sacrifice jesus made when He died for us on the cross can our sins be forgiven.
Therefore our mission, must be to take advantage of His work on our behalf and to be his witness to everyone, especially to those that we love, proclaiming that the same opportunity is available to them if they will turn to the Savior o the world.
OK John says that the solution to our sin problem is Jesus 1 John 1:7 his lood cleanses us from our sins but not only that He is our advocate and our atoneing sacrifice.
John continues in verse and kind of lays out a condition to the solutions. 1 John 2:3-6
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
Basically what John says here goes back to our question from last week. Do I still need Jesus. John says that you cannot have Jesus as Savior without him being your Lord.
In other words you cannot have Jesus as Savior, someone who takes your sins away without him being Lord of your life.
John also says that for you to know that you are in a right relationship with God will be seen by the way you live your life.
John makes it very clear in these verses that if we want to have our sins removed than we must live the same way Jesus lived.
That is why he tells us to strive to live a sinless life.
You may have heard this quote before but I find it helpful here.
As humans we cannot be sinless but surely we can sin less.
If we are walking the same way in which Jesus walked than it will make us sin less.
Rather than continuing on in chapter two I want end our class this morning with a question that I have been thinking about as I have been reading through John’s letter. The question is as Christians do we spend to much time focused on the past when we should spend more time focused on the present and the future.
What I mean by that is when I share the gospel with someone unless I am able to have an unending study with the one that I am studying with I spend the majority of our time together talking about what Jesus did for us. Now don’t misunderstand me because what He did for us is at the heart of the gospel.Its why multiple times in 1 John, we are told about the great things that he did for us in the past. For example, in 1 John 2:2 as we read is morning Jesus is the propitiation for our sins; and not four ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 3:16 talks about another important things that Jesus did for us in the past.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
In 1 John 3:5 we learn that “He appeared in order to take away sins”.
You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
In 1 John 3:8 we learn that he appeared to destroy the works of the devil.
Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
In 1 John 4:9 God sent his only begotten son into this world so that we might live through Him
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
One more example of important things that Jesus did for us in the past from John’s letter is 1 John 4:14. Jesus was sent to be the Savior of the world.
And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
As important as the things that Jesus has done for us in the past, I believe that it is just as important to remember and teach others about the present blessings that our Savior offers.
There are many blessings that we could talk about. Of course a big one is being added to his church everything that comes with that. But here in 1 John in the passages that we have already discussed there are a couple that stand out.
Someithing that Jesus is currently doing for his followers is cleansing them from sin. 1 John 1:7. The death of Christ serves as a propitiation for our sins not only when we become Christians, but also when we sin as Christians. As a result, we are cleansed of our sins and forgiven.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
2. He is presently acting as our advocate. Our mediator with the father. 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.
It is as if we are being tried in the heavenly court of justice, with Jesus standing beside us and speaking on our behalf to the Father. He might say something like this: “Father, I know this follower of mine has sinned. I also know, since I was human, how difficult it is to keep from sinning. He is sorry for his sin. Please forgive him. I offered Myself to pay the penalty for his sin.” When Jesus is our lawyer, we can be sure that He wil win the case and we will be forgiven.
As we talk about our salvation with others we need to make sure that we clearly comunicate that we were saved when we became christains but not only that we are also being saved by being forgiven when we sin as Christians ans we will be saved on the day of judgement because Christ is our advocate.
