A Great Savior for Terrible Sinners

In chapter 1 John confronted the false ideas that had crept into the church. In verses 5-10 he exposed the doctrines of the false teachers as untrue and contrary to the message of Christ. John transitions now to some encouraging words for believers. He wants to let us know that believers can stand righteous before God because of Christ. He says some deep and practical things in verses 1-2.

Notice what John says in verse 1. He says that he is writing “that ye sin not”. Well, John said in verses 8 and 10 of chapter 1 that that is impossible. Right? Indeed, he did. So what is John teaching us here then? He’s just doing what Jesus did. He is setting the standard at perfection (Matt. 5:48). Paul did the same thing as well but he explained it for us a little more in depth. In Philippians 3:12 he said “Not as though I had already attained either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which I am apprehended of Christ Jesus”. John is letting us know that God has given us everything we need to live a righteous life. We have no excuse not to aim for the standard of perfection that God has called us to (1 Peter 1:15-16).

Notice that John calls believers “little children”. He does that a lot in this book (2:12, 28; 3:7; 18; 4:4, 5:21). John is the one that gave us the phrase “born again” (John 3:3). I think John is teaching us that as believers we can overcome sin because we are new creatures. We are children of God. We are not who we were before Christ came into our lives. We can’t just say “we’re human” and excuse our sin. Because we are not “just human”. We are partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). It is true that we were born sinners and that we are enslaved to that sin (John 8:34). However, we are born again as slaves to righteousness. Paul said in Romans 6:17-18 “But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness”. We are no longer controlled by our sinful nature. We are possessed by the very righteousness of Christ as well as the Holy Spirit of God. God doesn’t want His children to sin and He has taken great measures to give us the ability to overcome any sin that appeals to our flesh.

Now let’s look at what John says next. I like John. He seems to be one of those guys that anticipates questions before they are asked. We know everybody is thinking “But we do sin. What do we do when that happens?” John says “And if any man sin…” He knows we are going to sin. It’s not a matter of “if” but “when”. John says that if we sin after we have become the children of God, we have an Advocate with the Father. His name is Jesus Christ and He is the Righteous One. You see God doesn’t just bring us the cross and say “Start over, but if you blow it this time I’m through with you!” That is the way some folks seem to think He is. But He is not that way. Jesus is not just our Savior for the sins we committed before we came to Him. He is our constant and continual Savior for even our future sins. Let’s consider the description that John gives Jesus in these verses.

*He calls Him our Advocate. The word is “Parakletos” in the Greek. It means “One who comes alongside.” In legal terms it describes a defender or counselor. John uses the same word to describe the role of the Holy Spirit in John 14:16. Here, however, the context suggests that John is using legal terminology. He is describing Jesus as the ultimate defense attorney. He comes to our defense to plead our case before the Judge of the universe. Let’s consider a few thoughts about that.

Jesus will only represent people that admit they are guilty. He’s not like the defense attorneys of our day that try and hide their client’s guilt. Jesus won’t take a case belonging to an “innocent” man. We need a defense when we stand before God. Christ is the only One who can help us. Until we come to Him admitting our guilt, we will represent ourselves and that will not be a good thing.

Jesus is a compassionate Counselor. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:14-15 that Jesus knows what it is like to be a human. He has been tempted like we have been tempted. When we come to Him for representation He does not look down His nose at us. He represents us with compassion.

Jesus legal services are free. You can’t buy them. They must be freely received.

Jesus has never lost a case. When Christ pleads our case before the Father, we will be pardoned. We will be forgiven. Here is no charge that can be laid against us. Paul said in Romans 8:33 “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.”

*He calls Him righteous. Jesus doesn’t get us off because He is some trickster or smooth talking deceiver. Jesus is completely righteous. He is without sin. In fact He is the only truly righteous Person that ever walked the face of the earth. It is only by grace that the righteous God of the universe would want to represent unrighteous men and women like me and you. Peter said in 1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust that He might bring us to God …” God never forsook His own righteous in order to make sinners righteous. John explains that in verse 2.

*He is the Propitiation for our sins. The word means “appeasement, satisfaction”. The concept of propitiation is one of the most important ones in the Christian faith. There are many verses we could look at to explain it, but we will only look at a few.

Romans 3:25 says “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just and the Justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus”.

Paul’s point is that wanted to justify sinful humanity. He wanted to save sinners. But He is holy. Therefore, He must punish sin. So in order to be consistent with His desire for justice and His desire to save sinners He punished Jesus for the sins of the world. That was God’s intention from eternity. In this amazing plan, sin is punished and sinners are forgiven. Only God could have put together such a beautiful plan.

Romans 5:10-11 says “For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement”.

The death of Christ satisfied the wrath of God. We are reconciled to God through the death of Jesus. Jesus was punished for us and now we have been brought to God.

1 Peter 1:18-20 says “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you”.

Jesus came as the perfect sacrifice. He was without sin. He willingly took upon Himself the punishment for our sins. That’s what propitiation means. God punished Jesus for our sins. And because Jesus was perfect, God was satisfied. His wrath has been turned away from those that believe in Christ.

John ends verse 2 by telling us about the scope of Jesus sacrifice. His sacrifice is sufficient for the whole world. It’s not just Jews that could be saved. It’s not just poor people or rich people. It’s not just people that lived in the first century. Anyone living in any age can have their sins removed. They can be cleansed. God is not a respecter of persons. What a wonderful Savior. The whole world could be saved if they would come to Christ. Sadly, most want. They will refuse to acknowledge their sin. They will refuse to be represented by the Lord Jesus Christ in court room of God. They will lose their case, lose their souls and lose any hope of appeal. John’s words are encouraging to believers but they are also a warning to those who refuse to commit their lives to Jesus.

Thoughts to Consider

1. The real question is “How concerned am I about my sin?”

2. It is our new nature that removes our excuses to sin.

3. The new brand of Christianity want to get us to stop talking about sin and righteousness so much. But that’s all the Bible really talks about at all.

4. There is only one Savior that can help us when we find ourselves in God’s courtroom.