“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. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
John gets to the point, don't sin, but if you do, remember that Jesus was judged and punished for your sin. He implies that God will never judge you or punish you for sin because Jesus was your sufficient sin offering. It's a binding, legal transaction that God honors eternally.
Does that make you want to sin? I hope not. That would be unwise and dishonoring of the salvation Jesus died for you to receive.
There's more going on here than just a reminder that you're forgiven in Jesus. Looking at these passages in legal terms, in the setting of a courtroom, exposes a deeper meaning.
Heaven's Court Room
In the courtroom of Heaven, you stood guilty for your sin. The penalty of death was your sentence. You could not bear that penalty, so Jesus stepped into your place. He became your sin and bore the punishment you deserved so that you could have eternal life through Him. He didn’t just die for you, He died as you. In His selfless act of sacrifice, you were forgiven and offered the gift of righteousness.
Jesus served your sentence, which included overcoming sin, becoming a curse, passing through hades, and conquering death. He did this for all of us. He became and overcame everything that keeps humankind from uniting with God in spirit for eternity.
In Him, we are qualified to inherit God. Jesus satisfied all of God's wrath and judgment toward sin, once and for all.
Jesus satisfied the court of Heaven for you and now testifies in Heaven of your righteousness in Him.
The righteous judge has become your loving Father in Christ. John is writing to assure the one who commits a sin that Jesus has served out the penalty on their behalf (propitiation) and now declares you as righteous.
The Sin Issue
In addition to encouraging Christians to walk in love/light toward one another, John also addresses the sin issue. But he addresses sin from the perspective of a forgiven, righteous child of God.
He wants you to know that your salvation is sure in Jesus, but he does admonish against continuing in sin. The message is this, if you are not living "worthy of that salvation," it's not because you have lost your salvation. And it's most likely not because you were never born again in the first place. If you're not living worthy of that salvation, it's because you have forgotten you're already forgiven.
I shared this passage in my previous article, but it applies here as well.
2 Peter 1:5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither [e]barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. (forgiven) NKJV
It’s clear that John wants you to know you’re saved because of what Christ did.
1 John 2:12 I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. NKJV
John is preaching the Gospel. He's reminding the reader of their salvation in Christ, despite their sinful actions. He warns against sin, but not at the risk of loss of salvation. And he is not trying to cause the reader to question their salvation.
“If you were truly saved…”
This letter is often used by legalistic Christians to question the authenticity or people’s salvation.
It goes like this; “if Christ truly saved you, you would not desire to continue in sin. Therefore, if you continue in sin, maybe you're not saved.”
Have you ever been subjected to that kind of reasoning? It's external and legalistic, yet people fall for it because they feel bad for their sinful actions. You may have even condemned yourself with the same logic. You shouldn’t feel good when you sin, you just shouldn’t question your salvation over it. Sinlessness doesn’t equate to salvation, it’s by the blood of Jesus alone.
John wrote his letter so that you would know that you're saved.
1 John 5:13 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. NKJV
John clearly states his letter's intention, yet performance-centered religionists use this letter to scare the daylights out of people and make them question their salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus alone!! It's not by works. You don't earn it by works, and you can't lose it by works.
Yes, a Christian should yield to the transformative grace of God in their hearts and live worthy of Christ's salvation, but you're going to stumble, and that doesn't mean that you are not saved. Remember, the prevalent sin issue John is addressing is loving our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. It's not very loving to use the Bible to cause people to question the saving power of Christ's blood - just a thought.
Please watch the whole sermon for more on 1 John 2:1-10.
In next week's article, I discuss the concept of practicing sin or practicing righteousness.
