“My dear children, I am
writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have
an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one
who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins –
and not only our sins but the sins of all the world” (1 John 1:1-2, NLT).
Apostle John here begins
with his familiar greeting, “My dear children.”
Now that you’re not a child anymore, I know, you probably don’t like to be
referred to as a child. If your name is Richard (as mine is), you may prefer to
be called Rich or Chard, rather than Richie, if that was your childhood name
(mine is Pan). Most of us want to be called names that show we are no longer
children. But John doesn’t mean to put us down but because he was quite old
when he wrote this letter and because of his special affection for us since we
are part of God’s family, he called us his children. We’re part of John’s
family and we – all true Christians – are God’s family as well. Brothers and
sisters in Christ.
I want to highlight this: “I am writing this to you so that you will not sin”
because it creates some confusion for some people and some have interpreted this
to mean that it is possible in this life not to sin. Wrong. But let’s put this
thought in perspective. Remember, in chapter 1, John said that the person who
claimed to be without sin was really not telling the truth; sin marks our lives
from beginning to end. We must not conclude that we might as well sin as much
as we want because God is always there to forgive us. This is an error. John
reminds us that such a lax or casual attitude toward sinning is not what God
wants for us. When I look at this verse in the original language (Greek), I found
that what John is actually saying is that we should stop – habitually sinning or the habit of sinning again and again. In other
words, we should stop making sin a habit.
But Apostle John knew that
as human beings we often fail. Even though we should aim to stop making sin a
habit, we know that when we do sin we have a way to deal with it. Jesus Christ
is like a bridge that will bring us back
to God. John here is talking in legal terms. Here Jesus is referred to as our “advocate” (Some versions translate as “intercessor”). In other words, Jesus, in this sense, becomes like a lawyer, “pleads our case
before the Father.” Even when we sin, Jesus does not lose interest
in us. He does not condemn us and walk away; instead, He keeps on serving as
our “intercessor” or “defense” before God (see Hebrews 7:25).
John also explains in a
little more detail what he is saying. Back in the Old Testament times, the
Jewish people had to offer special sacrifices to be forgiven and
restored to God. But with Jesus’ death (and resurrection) he became “the sacrifice that atones for our sins”. Through the
laying down of His life, we can be brought back into a relationship with God. And
it’s a gift – God’s grace – no strings attached. Only true Christians will
understand this, and they will not play around with God’s grace. All we have to
do is to repent, confess and accept it (see also John 3:16). So, Jesus brings
us into a full, joyful, and exciting life in which we know we are loved by God. No
other religions are as sure as the salvation and forgiveness of sin in Christ
alone.
Jesus is also the great “habit breaker” when it comes to the
habit of sinning again and again. Some of us may find that there are certain
sins that we keep committing again and again. But with the encouragement and
help of God, we can work to break these bad habits. Assurance seals in the
blood of Jesus. Amen.
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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