Review
The Gnostics said they had no sin, blaming their sinful acts on their body. John was setting the record straight for his readers.
The bad new John tells us is that we do sin. The good news is that if we confess our sin God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1:9).
John begins chapter two by addressing his readers as "my little children."
Up to this point John has been coming down hard on those who were claiming to know God yet walking in darkness. He has been coming down hard on those who were claiming that they had no sin.
His warnings against sinless perfection were so strong that some of the Christians may have been tempted to sin just to prove that they were Christians and could claim the blood of Jesus and the grace of God.
So John begins chapter two with these words, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin."
Pastoral Love and Concern
Though the church at Ephesus was founded by Paul, John served as her first pastor. The fatherly concern and affection of a pastor shines through with the words, “My little children.” John wanted to refute the Gnostic heresy so that his "children" would not be led astray in sin.
He uses the word "children." It is the Greek word, teknia, literally meaning, "little born ones."
This verse reminds me of the many times I have as a father had to sit down with my children after a spanking or some discipline and share my reasons for disciplining them. I would say something like, "Daddy had to spank you in order that you would remember not to do that bad thing again."
This is the heart-attitude of John as he wrote the words, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin."
We have already learned that the word “sin” is hamartia (noun) hamartano (verb) and means "to miss the mark." Missing the mark is failing to meet God's holy standard for right living.
Sin is also a transgression of the law. The word “transgression” means "A violation of a law, command, or duty." It also means "to overstep a line, boundary or limits." The New Testament uses the word "trespass." When we violate God’s command we are trespassing or crossing over God’s line into disobedience.
Because God is perfect, His standard for His people is absolute perfection. He would not be God if He said, “these things I write to you, so that you may sin just as little as you can.”
God cannot condone sin in the least degree, and so He sets perfection before us as the goal. The Lord Jesus did this with the woman who was taken in the act of adultery; He said, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)
John didn't want his readers to willingly fall short of God's holy standard. He didn't want his readers to willingly cross over the line into disobedience.
If you are a true believer you will not want to sin. Having a desire not to sin is one of the proofs you are a believer.
I can remember before I trusted Christ, I would sin. Sometimes I even knew it was wrong. When I sinned I even felt guilty about it. Feeling guilty or even sorrow about sinning doesn't mean you’re a Christian; it just means you have a guilty conscience. Both believers and unbelievers have consciences. Romans 2:15 says your conscience has written in it the law of God unless it has been burned away by your constant sinning.
The difference came when I trusted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I knew the difference between right and wrong as before. I felt guilty when I did wrong as before. However, before I was saved I pursued sin; I loved to sin but now, after Jesus saved me, I despise sin and try to avoid it.
This is how you can discern whether someone is a Christian or not. Find out what their attitude is toward sin. When they sin does it bother them? When they sin are they grieved or is it just “business as usual?”
This is how you can examine your own heart to see whether you are in the faith. What is your attitude toward sin? When you sin does it bother you? Are you grieved? Are you quick to confess it to God and seek forgiveness? Are you willing to be reconciled with the person you sinned against?
Listen to what John writes concerning this:
(1 John 3:6 NIV) No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
(1 John 3:7 NIV) Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.
(1 John 3:8 NIV) He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
(1 John 3:9 NIV) No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.
(1 John 3:10 NIV) This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
Back in our text John writes, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin." And then he continues, "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
Believers are going to sin; we just don't do it habitually. It is not the habit pattern of our lives.
When believers sin, it is the exception, not the rule. When believers sin, it is abnormal; we have deviated from our normal course of conduct.
But believers do sin and God knows. Psalm 103:14 tells us that God knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
This is why back in chapter 1 verse 9 John tells Christians what to do in the event we sin:
(1 John 1:9 NIV) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
We've already learned that the word confess means "saying the same thing." When Christians confess, they do not just say, "I'm sorry." Christians agree with God about their sin. They admit they have sinned; they repeat back to God how they have sinned. We repent or turn away from our sin and receive our Heavenly Father's forgiveness.
In 1 John 1:9, John tells us what we should do when we sin. In chapter two, verse one, he tells us why we can do it.
(1 John 2:1 NKJV) My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
John says if anyone sins we have an "Advocate" (parakletos, Gk.) with the Father.
In addition to this verse, parakletos occurs only four times in the N.T., each time describing the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7).
Remember, the Holy Spirit is the One who comes along side us in our time of need in order to help and comfort us. The Holy Spirit is the One who comes along side us to help us on earth. Jesus is the One who helps us before the Father in heaven.
The NIV interprets parakletos into the phrase, "one who speaks to the Father in our defense…" In other words, Jesus is our Attorney. He is our Defense Attorney.
John writes, “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Why would Jesus have to represent us before the Father when we sin? Wasn’t the sin issue dealt with at the Cross?
It is easy to walk away from this verse with a picture in our mind of Jesus asking the Father to forgive us with every time we sin. Is this what is going on here? No.
If you know your Bible you will know that salvation is eternally secure for the one who has trusted in Jesus Christ for it. (John 3:16; 5:24)
(John 5:24 NKJV) "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
(1 John 5:11 NKJV) And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
(1 John 5:12 NKJV) He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
(1 John 5:13 NKJV) These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
There is no reason to suppose that Christ must constantly ask God to keep a Christian from going to hell as a result of his sin. Eternal life is fully guaranteed to those who have trusted Jesus for it.
While Jesus isn't going to God in defense of our keeping salvation, there are other matters He needs to bring before the Judge of the Universe.
When we sin, we fail God and need to be restored. When we sin we put a "dent" not in our salvation but in our usefulness for the Father and Jesus goes before the Father so that He might enter us back into the Christian race and into service.
The term "Advocate" portrays Jesus as both an "attorney" and an "intercessor," one who represents the cause of believers in the presence of the Father.
We see the "advocacy" of Jesus in action as He predicted that Peter would sin.
(Luke 22:31 NKJV) And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
(Luke 22:32 NKJV) "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
We know from Scripture that Peter did sin as he denied he knew the Lord (Luke 22:61). After His resurrection, Jesus returned to Peter and restored him to service by calling Peter to feed His lambs and sheep. (John 21:15-19)
I thank God that He forgives me when I sin. But I also thank Him for restoring me when I sin.
You may have heard that there exists a registry to track sex-offenders. Many of these people have committed sex crimes and have done their time under the law. However, they may never be restored. Their names may always be on someone's list. You will always know where they live. You may never feel comfortable with them hanging around you or your family.
When someone commits adultery the Bible says that the offended party will never forget it. It says that this person would be willing to forgive a thief if he makes restitution but one who commits adultery will not be spared in the day of man's vengeance.
A murderer is either put to death or spends the rest of his life in jail for his crime. And if he makes parole, he may as well move to another country because of the stigma that will follow him for the rest of his life.
John is teaching us that when we sin, we need an Advocate because there are consequences when we sin; there are matters of restoration that need to be taken up.
The Bible would have us to know that while man might eject us from the game of life, God is willing to restore us to usefulness in His hand.
(Isa 1:18 NKJV) "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
(Isa 1:19 NKJV) If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;
In Isaiah 61:3 God says that He would "console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."
God says to His people Israel,
"If you repent and turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning, then the LORD will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. The LORD will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you." (Joel 2)
Restoration doesn’t necessarily mean the removal of the consequences of sin. If a girl gets pregnant out of wedlock she still has a baby to care for. Even abortion doesn’t get rid of the consequences. Many a woman who has had an abortion still has to deal with physical, emotion and spiritual scars from the procedure.
When it comes to ministry, sometimes one’s sin will exclude him from future service in that ministry role. The Bible calls this disqualification.
You see, our sin has the potential to knock us out of service. This was a constant fear in the mind of the Apostle Paul.
(1 Cor 9:24 NKJV) Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
(1 Cor 9:25 NKJV) And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
(1 Cor 9:26 NKJV) Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
(1 Cor 9:27 NKJV) But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Now Paul didn't fear a loss of salvation, but rather loss of his work and influence as a minister of Christ.
I know of a pastor who had two failed marriages. As a result, the members of his church would not go to him when they needed marriage counseling. Another pastor I know failed in his finances. His failure caused his church family to lose confidence in him as a leader.
Our sin has the potential to knock us out of service. If we turn from our sin in repentance, God can restore us to usefulness in His hand because we have an Advocate with the Father. It may not be in the area in which we had the fall, but God restores us!
Jesus is our Advocate. He is the One who comes to our defense. A commercial has an attorney saying, "If you have a phone, you have a lawyer." John is saying "If you have sins, you have an Advocate."
The Judge is our Father!
In our text John writes that Jesus as our Advocate/Attorney comes to our defense before "the Father."
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
At first glance, you may not see what John is communicating here. Notice, John doesn't say that we have an Advocate with the Judge (or God). He says we have an Advocate with the Father.
John is declaring to Christians a wonderful truth; the Judge is our Father!
The story is told of two men, one the father and the other his son; the Father served as a judge, the son found himself in court because of a crime he committed. The case was tried, and the prisoner was found guilty. Would the judge, in consideration of their relationship, refrain to pass judgment? No, he must fulfill his duty; justice must be done; the law of the land obeyed.
He gave out the sentence--fourteen days hard labor, or a fine of 1000 dollars. The condemned man had nothing with which to pay, so the prison cell was before him.
But as soon as the judge had pronounced the sentence, he rose from the bench, threw aside his judges robes, and, stepping down to the floor, stood beside the prisoner, paid his fine for him, and then said: "Now Bill, you are coming home with me to supper."
It is the same with the sinner. We know that God cannot overlook sin. The Bible teaches that justice must be done, and the sentence pronounced.
But God Himself pays the debt with the giving of His Son Jesus at the Cross, and the sinner is set free!
John writes the encouraging truth, “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father…”
Jesus is our Advocate or Attorney and our Heavenly Father is the Judge! The Christian is intimately related to the Judge!
Another thing we can observe from verse one is that when the Christian sins, God remains his Father. John could have easily written, ““And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with God…” But the Holy Spirit chooses to move John to use the word Father.
This tells us that while sin may break fellowship between us and our Heavenly Father it doesn’t sever our relationship. As our Advocate, Jesus, by the Spirit, seeks to bring us to the place where we confess and forsake our sins and are restored to fellowship with the Father.
Listen to what John writes at the end of verse one:
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
John tells us some more about Jesus. He is our Advocate and He is also “Jesus Christ the righteous!”
Most experiences I have had with lawyers have not been pleasant. I remember getting into an accident and injuring my back. I called one of these television lawyers who sent me to “his” therapist.
When I got my settlement I found that I didn’t get as much as I was promised. It was then that I noticed that my insurance company didn’t pay the therapist because they were not properly licensed. I do not have to tell you that the lawyer made sure He got his money.
It was after this that I made up my mind to only deal with “Christian” attorneys. So when a few years ago someone in our community filed a complaint against our church, I called a Christian attorney for advice on what to do. He suggested that I come downtown to his office so we could talk.
A few weeks later our church received an itemized bill from this attorney for the 20 minutes I spent in his office and the ten minutes I spent with him on the telephone.” He never let me know that I was being charged for asking him a few questions.
As you can tell, I’m getting a little hot around the collar as I reminisce. So to let off some steam I want to tell a few lawyer jokes.
A surgeon, an architect and a lawyer are having a heated barroom discussion concerning which of their professions is actually the oldest profession.
The surgeon says: "Surgery IS the oldest profession. God took a rib from Adam to create Eve and you can't go back further than that."
The architect says: "Hold on! In fact, God was the first architect when he created the world out of chaos in 7 days, and you can't go back any further than THAT!"
The lawyer puffs his cigar and says: "Gentlemen, Gentlemen...who do you think created the CHAOS??!!"
As the lawyer woke up after surgery, he said" "Why are all the blinds drawn?"
The doctor answered: "There's a big fire across the street, and we didn't want you to think the operation was a failure."
Two lawyers walking through the woods spotted a vicious-looking bear. The first lawyer immediately opened his briefcase, pulled out a pair of sneakers and started putting them on. The second lawyer looked at him and said, "You're crazy! You'll never be able to outrun that bear!"
"I don't have to," the first lawyer replied. "I only have to outrun you."
Q: How was copper wire invented?
A: Two lawyers were arguing over a penny.
A doctor and a lawyer in two cars collided on a country road. The lawyer, seeing that the doctor was a little shaken up, helped him from the car and offered him a drink from his hip flask. The doctor accepted and handed the flask back to the lawyer, who closed it and put it away.
"Aren't you going to have a drink yourself?" asked the doctor.
"Sure; after the police leave," replied the lawyer.
Why do people write and tell jokes like these? People tell jokes like these because they, like so many others, have had bad experiences with lawyers.
In fact, this stereotype motivated a lawyer to write the following disclaimer to those who would visit his website:
A lot of people think of lawyers as stuffy, straight laced, crotchety old men in three-piece suits chasing ambulances. The age-old stereotype of the Blood-Sucking Lawyer is gone forever. Over the years the profession has changed dramatically, with a new breed of lawyers who serve their clients professionally, compassionately, and competently.
How many of us think the “age-old stereotype of the Blood-Sucking Lawyer is gone forever?” Not me!
Even in the Bible there is a conversation between Jesus and a lawyer. Listen to how it begins:
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 10:25 )
Now I am willing to concede that there are some good, honest attorneys and seriously speaking, if you know one, please forward his or her name to me after service.
However, in view of what we have experienced and know about attorneys, I appreciate what John has written about Jesus:
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Jesus is our Attorney but he is not like the attorneys of the world; John goes on to say that He is: “Jesus Christ the righteous!”
Righteous - The Lord God, is righteous in that he speaks and acts in accordance with the purity of his own holy nature. It is synonymous with the word “just.” Justice is rooted in the very nature of God (Isa 40:14). He evenhandedly rewards good, and he does not ignore the sins of any (Psalm 33:5; 37:6, 28; 97:2; 99:4). God does not take bribes (Deut 10:17) or pervert justice in any way (Gen 18:25; 2 Chron 19:7).
It is Jesus Christ the righteous! He is the Righteous One in the court and sight of the Judge. This is not so necessary in another advocate.
You don’t have to be a righteous person to be a good lawyer; you just need to be a good lawyer. But in 1 John chapter two, the clients are guilty; their innocence and legal righteousness cannot be pleaded; their sin must be confessed. It is the Advocate Jesus’ own righteousness that He must plead for the criminals.
The Bible says that Jesus has been righteous to the death, righteous for us and He has brought in everlasting righteousness. This Holy Advocate our Heavenly Father, the Judge will not deny. Upon His own righteousness Jesus pleads, that His clients’ sins may not be imputed to them.
As our "advocate," Christ is not a mere begging petitioner. This is how many lawyers win their cases---by their ability to make a judge or jury “feel” their client’s innocence.
But Jesus pleads for us on the ground of justice, or righteousness, as well as mercy. Though He can say nothing good of us, He can say much for us. It is His own righteousness, or obedience to the law, and endurance of its full penalty for us, on which He grounds His claim for our acquittal.
The sniper Mohammed’s attorney showed the jury videos of his client as a loving father to his children. But our defense before God doesn’t depend on what we have done but what Jesus had done!
The Father, by raising Him from the dead, and setting Him at His own right hand, has once for all accepted Christ's claim for us. Therefore the charges of Satan against God's children are vain. "The righteousness of Christ stands on our side; for God's righteousness is, in Jesus Christ, ours" [LUTHER].
This is what John is writing about in verse two: “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
Simply put, God, the Righteous Judge, has to judge our sin. Romans says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…” (Rom. 1:18 )
God has to judge sin because He is holy. The wages of sin is death. The soul that sins it will die.
What the death of Jesus on the Cross did was effectively placate or appease the wrath of God by satisfying the just demands of God's holy judgment against sin. Thus, Christ does not simply represent believers before God as our Advocate (v. 1), He also provides the grounds for their forgiveness -- He is both Advocate and atoning sacrifice.
Right now there is someone I know who is in jail and needs money for his attorney to begin the work needed to defend him. He’s got that lawyer who says, “If you need me, call me.” What his commercial doesn’t say is that you and I can call him all we want but if we don’t have the money, he ain’t doing anything.
What this lawyer ought to say is, “If you’ve got the money, call me; you’ve got a lawyer.”
It is not often that an advocate or lawyer pays for his client’s sins; yet that is what our Lord has done, and most remarkable of all, Jesus paid for them by the sacrifice of Himself.
John writes in verse two: “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
Is John saying that the whole world is automatically forgiven of sin by the death of Jesus?
No. What the Bible is teaching is that the atonement of Christ is available to all. Jesus’ death on the Cross made salvation freely available as a gift to all. But this does not guarantee that everyone's sin is automatically forgiven.
This Christmas many will buy gifts and place them under the Christmas tree. Christmas will come and go and there will undoubtedly be some gifts that have yet to be received by the person they were purchased for. I remember holding on to gifts for several months before the person I bought them for received them.
It is the same when in comes to salvation. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Salvation is a free gift. But it is not yours until you take it by faith. Christ's work applies only to those who believe in Him (cf. 4:15; John 5:24).
If you have sins, you have a Lawyer. If you need Him, call Him—you don’t even need a phone!
Jesus says, "Let's talk about it." (Isaiah 1:18)
(Isa 1:18 NKJV) "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
(Isa 1:19 NKJV) If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;
You won’t have to worry about getting a bill because the price has already been paid in full at the Cross.
