Text: I John 2:1-2 1. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Introduction: In this life we do not seemingly have a lot in common with one another. We all seem to have our differences about various things. We are different in appearance, attitude, appetite, and aptitude. The list of differences could go on and on, but what about things in common? Do we have anything in common with each other? John says that we do. As children of God there are some things that we share in common, and it is those things that we would like to bring out in this message.
I. We share a common Infirmity – This commonality speaks to us regarding our Sin. (V.1)
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin…”
John was not telling us that we are sinless creatures when he said, “sin not”, he was telling us to strive to “sin not”. We know this because he goes on to say, “if any man sin”. John knew all about the battle that went on inside the believer. He knew intimately about the spiritual warfare between the old and new nature of the believer. Even the best of Christians commit sin. The apostle Paul was no stranger to this truth, just read Romans 7:15-25 and you will learn of his struggle with the sinful nature that he possessed.
Sin is an infirmity that has smitten us all from the best of people to the worst of people.
Consider the following about this infirmity that we all share:
A. The Haunting of this infirmity.
Sin haunts us every day. We are constantly reminded of our sinful nature by our actions, thoughts, and intents. In case you have forgotten what you are, just give your-self some time. You will eventually remind your-self by your next ill spoken word, wicked thought, or malicious action.
Oh yes child of God, sin haunts us every day of our life, because we are by our very nature sinners.
B. The Humbling of this infirmity.
Our sinful nature should be very humbling indeed. We should never look down upon, or point a finger of contempt at anyone else. After all there are only two classes of people in this world; saved sinners and lost sinners. If it were not for the marvelous grace of God we would do far worse than those that we point a finger at.
II. We share a common Intercessor – This commonality speaks to us regarding our Support. (V.1)
“…And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:”
Our adversary the devil is constantly making accusations against the people of God day and night. Who are we to defend ourselves? Everything that he has to say concerning our sinful nature is true. We stand in need of someone who can represent us before God and be successful, and that someone is “Jesus Christ the righteous”.
Consider the following concerning our trial before God:
A. There is the constant Reminder of our accuser.
~ Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Satan is constantly reminding God of our sin day and night. I can just here what he is saying now, “God, they are nothing more than vile wretched sinners, and according to the law they must die. You said your self that the wages of sin is death, so make your word good and put them to death”.
B. There is the constant Rebuttal of our advocate.
After Satan has finished his argument, God says, “Is there anyone here in their defense”, and up steps our advocate. Our advocate says, “Your honor, everything that he has spoken is true. They are nothing more than sinners, and he is right the penalty for such a crime is death. I am not here to argue that they did not commit the crime. I am here to offer up evidence that the penalty has been already carried out. If I may I would like to present four exhibits to prove my case. Please note exhibit (A) my nail-scarred hands, exhibit (B) my spear-scarred side, (C) my nail-scarred feet, and if that is not enough I offer exhibit (D) my very own blood. You see your honor the penalty for their crime has already been carried out because I offered my self in their place.
After the arguments have been made, as always the great judge of heaven and earth declares that the charges against them are to be dismissed.
III. We share a common Indebtedness – This commonality speaks to us regarding our Savior. (V.2)
“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”
How indebted we all are as God’s children. Have you ever thought of what it meant to God to initiate the plan of redemption.
Consider two thoughts concerning the high price of our redemption:
A. The Person of our redemption.
We are indebted to a person, and that person is the darling Son of God Almighty. It is Jesus who bore our guilt, and redeemed us from the clutches of sin’s grasp. It is Jesus who has bridged the gap between fallen man and holy God. Without him we would still be lost and on our way to hell, but because of him we have been made part of the family of God. We have been accepted in the beloved.
B. The Price of our redemption.
It was not enough for Jesus to leave the splendor of heaven and come down to a sin-ravaged world. He had to come and die on the cross in order to redeem us. Have you thought lately of the high price of your redemption? Help us to understand it, and help us to take it in. What it meant to thee the holy one to bear away our sin.
~ I Peter 1:18-19 18. 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;
19. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
Conclusion: We may have many differences in this life, but when it comes down to the things that really matter we have more in common than we realize. May God help us to forget our petty differences and unite on the things that we have in common as believers
