Our Defense

 

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER OF JOHN

OUR DEFENSE

1 John 2:1-2

2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

NIV

John had just said that if we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. John continues wanting us to understand that just because God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness His intent is not that we should sin so God will forgive us. Paul makes that clear as well when he made that statement, should we continue to sin so God’s grace can abound? God forbid! John wants us to understand that the truth sets us free, but not in the sense that we are free to continue to sin. We are not to set our sights on sin because we know the truth. John continues, but if anyone does sin. So then it is reasonable to think we are still going to sin, but it is more of a mistake, rather than an on purpose sin. Our goal in life is not to sin, but to live free of sin, still, we also know as being human we would be misinformed if we were told we can live completely free of all sin, all the time. That would make us perfect human beings in no need of a Savior. That is simply ludicrous. Of course, again, we do not make it our goal to see how much we can sin, or even to sin in the slightest little bit. But the truth is, we are going to make mistakes in our daily life which are considered sins. We may think something we shouldn’t or say something we shouldn’t, act in a manner that is not correct for a believer. We may become impatient, annoyed, crabby, moody, anxious, restless, fretful, uptight, or a whole host of emotions of feelings that show our distrust in the Lord, which is sin. However, John makes it clear that even though we do make the mistake, sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense. This one, is Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Two truths speak out to us. First, we are not righteous. Second, Jesus is the only Righteous One. Jesus is our righteousness. He stands before the Father and speaks for us. He stands between the Father and us, being the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Jesus is always there interceding for us, so that when we do make those mistakes, which are sin, we are not condemned to death, perish. But it is not just for us who are saved. Jesus is the atonement for every sinner in the world, even if they are unaware of it. Yet they can be aware, and when the Spirit makes them aware, which is one of his functions, they have to accept Jesus as the atonement for their sin. We are so ever grateful to the work of the Spirit in our lives, and that we responded and heard the voice of God in our spirit, repenting and believing in Jesus, trusting in his atonement for our sin. We are also ever grateful that he is forever our defense.