1 John 2:1-6

One of the funniest things to witness in this world is peewee soccer. The whistle blows and all of these children run to the ball and commence to frantically kick one another’s shins. There’s crying and falling and screaming, and of course that one kid who’s just laying in the grass making grass angels, and the goalie is trying to get her mom’s attention when she should be paying attention to the 2 foot tall striker coming her way.

But eventually some of these kids learn the basics. They progress up the ladders of rec. leagues. They learn more advanced technique and strategy. They learn teamwork and running plays. They join the varsity team and learn even more. At some point, of course, she recognizes that she’s not going to be the next Ronaldo or Messi, but she keeps practicing and learning and working and maturing, and continues moving in that direction.

Sure she fails at times, blunders her way through collegiate tryouts, takes a really long time to learn some techniques, but she keeps pressing on. Why? She knows she’s not going to be a star. Why does she keep at it?

Because somewhere along the way, she fell in love with the sport. She keeps at it because she loves it. You may even catch her saying, “I can’t imagine my life without soccer.”

The life of the Christian is not all that different, and this is what John picks up in our text this morning. This is a passage about growth, pressing on, and falling in love. Let’s look at the first two verses.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

2 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. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

2 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. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3

John is the realist that we all need in our lives. Listen to the flow of this argument, because it is beautifully in touch with the reality of life.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Christ Our Advocate

2 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.

The gist of his argument is: you can’t say you don’t sin, but you shouldn’t sin, but if you do sin…it’s confusing, but that’s life isn’t it? Like, I always wondered what the dude thought after Jesus healed him and told him to “Sin no more.” Like, what do you say to that? “Oh, yeah, definitely Jesus. That was the last time time for sure.” But then, surely Jesus knew that the guy couldn’t fulfill that charge. So why say it?

We struggle with the tension between the severity of sin and the scandal of God’s grace. If we lean too far into the grace and forgiveness of God, do we actually permit sin? But if we lean too far into the severity of sin, do we deny the work of Jesus on the cross for our sins? We’ve probably experienced both of these in our lives before. The student who says to himself, “it’s okay if I cheat just this once, God will forgive me,” has certainly gone too far to one side, as has the church that shuns the teenager who finds out that she is pregnant.

So how should we think about sin and grace in the context of the Christian life?

Think about it like this. It is often the case that a student begins to act out or struggle in school when their home life is in turmoil. In contrast to that, students who’s home life and family situation is secure and stable tend to do better in school. There is something about having secure footing, a stable launching off point, that encourages us to grow.

I would never dream of climbing a cliffside in tennis shoes and a tank-top. Not in a million years. But if I had climbing shoes, a helmet, pants, and of course climbing rope and a person to belay, than yes, I’d try my hand at scaling a mountain side. Because I’ve got a secure and stable ground.

This is exactly what John is talking about in this passage. It is not good to sin. It is never a good thing. It is never anything but harmful to us and to those around us. Christians should strive to not sin. Jesus tells us to “sin no more.” Christians should strive to not sin, but when we do, we are not without hope. I’ve heard people say that it is hopeless to live a sinless life. While it is true that we have no hope to live a sinless life, it is not true to say that we have no hope. Because we have a secure footing and a stable ground, because we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. When we sin, we are not hopeless.

To be an advocate is to come alongside someone who needs help. It refers to the one who appears on another’s behalf. Our secure footing that we have as Christians is that Jesus, the Messiah, the righteous one, has come alongside us in our sin, and is appearing before the Father on our behalf.

Now, listen to that again. Jesus, the Messiah, the righteous one is appearing before the Father on our behalf. That isn’t a metaphor. That isn’t a figure of speech to describe God’s love for us. This is actually happening right now as we speak. Jesus, the Messiah, the righteous one is with the Father advocating for you. It’s sounds too good to be true. Too outlandish. Too far-fetched. And yet it’s plain as day. Jesus himself told his disciples that when he went to the Father he would send to them an advocate, the Holy Spirit. But he didn’t say he’d send them just any advocate. He said that he’d send another advocate, because Christ himself is the first.

What greater and more secure a footing could you possibly want to launch into following Jesus with everything you have and are than the Son of God advocating for you personally before the Father?! And so we see the face of Jesus saying to the newly healed man, “Go and sin no more,” and it isn’t the cold face of a judge ready to strike the gavel at the next whiff of wrong doing, and so we move about in fear. No! We see in the face of Jesus as he says, “Go and sin no more,” the face of our advocate, sitting at the Father’s right hand, speaking on our behalf, and giving us the confidence to live for him and press on even when we fail.

So what exactly is Jesus saying to the Father? Like, he can’t be talking us up to the Father, right? It’s not like he’s trying to get the Father to ignore our bad qualities and focus on our good ones right? “I know she’s angry and stubborn and stingy, but Father, look at what wonderful pies she makes!” “I know he seems pretty rough, but he’s really sweet once you get to know him.” Jesus’ advocacy isn’t that we’re innocent, nor is he trying to persuade God that we’re mainly good. He is our propitiation, John says. He is our atoning sacrifice. On the cross he was our substitute, and so he advocates for us by acknowledging our guilt before the Father, and presenting his work on the cross as the grounds for our acquittal.

And the Father sees the work of Jesus presented on our behalf, and he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And amazingly, he’s speaking those words to us.

When sin defeats us

What greater and more secure a footing could you possibly want to launch into following Jesus with everything you have and are than that?

And it is with that in mind that John moves into the second part of his argument.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The advocacy of Jesus gives us the secure foundation to launch into following him with everything we have and are. We do not need to be afraid of failing in that pursuit. We can press on even in the face of defeat, and even knowing that we can’t follow him perfectly.

Because, the mark of the Christian is growing in the love for God.

“We know that we have come to know Jesus if we keep his commandments, because whoever keeps his word, in him the love of God is perfected.” When John says love of God, he means it like we say, love of country. When we keep Christ’s commandments, our love for God is perfected or completed.

Is it possible to love God perfectly or completely? No! Which is why we need and indeed have the covering of our sins by Jesus. But does this impossibility invalidate our pursuit of it? No! Because in the same way that the soccer player continues to play soccer and practice and strive to improve, all the while knowing they will never perfect or master it, but along the way they have come to love playing - so it is with our life in Christ. No we won’t ever master or perfect our obedience to Christ, but we continue to strive to take every thought captive for Christ, because we have come to love the one that we are following. Loving God is obeying God. Jesus said it himself, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

The m

The mark of the Christian is growing in love for God, and the proof of that growth is not in the heightened emotion of exciting worship, the swooning of the heart upon hearing a beautiful truth - though these may well be an expression of true love - but the proof of love for God is in the daily obedience to his word and commands. It is a simple and as revealing as that.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

The more that we walk in obedience to God, the more we love him, and the more we love him, the more our lives are transformed into the image of the God that we love.

Remember, this is all about growth. Do you want to grow in love for God? Then listen to his word, heed his voice, and pursue his will. And as you do this, you will stumble and fall, but you can get back up and press on, because of Jesus’ work on the cross and his work even now at the Father’s side.

Perhaps John Newton, the converted slave-trading sea captain who become a minister of the gospel, said it best when we said, “I am not what I ought to be; but I am not what I once was. And it is by the grace of God that I am what I am.”

The Christian grows in love for God through obedience to him in the ordinary routine of life. Knowing full well that they are not how they should be, and longing that they were. But resting in the grace that is in Jesus that they are firmly in the Father’s love.

Pray with me.

If that’s you, recognize that walking in the light is not only characterized by the absence of sin, but also the presence of love. Whoever abides in Jesus ought to walk in the same way that he walked. It wasn’t just that Jesus did not sin. He isn’t called the righteous one because he was without sin. He also displayed the fruits of the Spirit every single moment of his life. His life was characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control. So if you’re feeling stagnant in your faith, maybe it’s time to step out in love