My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. – 1 John 2:1-2

President Calvin Coolidge was a man of few words. His abstinence from unnecessary words was famously illustrated when he returned from church on Sunday. The president was asked what the pastor preached on. Coolidge answered, “Sin.” What did he say about it?” was the follow-up. Coolidge replied, “He was against it.” 

1 John 2:1-2 makes it clear the apostle John was against sin. The possibility of misunderstanding was real. In 1 John 1:5-10, John rebukes those who ignore, deny, or minimize the reality of sin. 1 John 1:8 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:10 says, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Christians are redeemed sinners. We possess a sinful nature and commit sinful acts. But 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The versification of our Bibles does not serve us well here. 1 John 2:1-2 begins a new chapter. It is the conclusion of the argument of chapter 1. John’s statements about the reality of sin and the availability of forgiveness are open to misunderstanding.

You can conclude that sin is inevitable. One can think it is futile to resist sin and unnecessary to try. Or you can conclude sin is insignificant. John’s statements can be misread as a license to sin. If all I must do is confess, and God will forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness, what’s the big deal?This is not the Christian message. Romans 6:1 asks, “Are to continue in sin that grace may abound?”Romans 6:2 says, “By no means!” John would agree with Paul. 

1 John 2:1-2 is a disclaimer of sorts in which John clarifies his message on sin in the life of the believer. God hates sin but loves sinners. What should Christians know about sin? 

The Perfect Standard 

In 1 John 1:5-10, John directly addresses his theological opponents. John now turns his attention to his readers, “My little children.” It is a term of endearment, not a reference to age. In Matthew 23:9, Jesus taught his disciples to call no man “father.” Yet the apostles had a paternal sense of affection and responsibility for the early church. 

3 John 4 says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” To walk in the truth, we must know the perfect standard God has called us to in Christ. 

The Problem of Sin. In 1973, Dr. Karl Menninger of the Menninger Clinic published “Whatever Became of Sin?” As Menninger treated people with various mental and emotional problems, he noted a disturbing trend. People did not take responsibility for their actions. There was little sense of guilt and shame. Things have only grown worse. We have lost our sense of the sinfulness of sin – even in the church. We need a renewed sense of the sinfulness of sin. 

We have found new ways to define and describe the human problem. If the diagnosis is wrong, the remedy is useless. The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. We have a sin problem. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The blood and righteousness of Christ open a new and living way to God. But salvation by grace is not a license to sin. 1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” 

Salvation is more than rescue from the guiltand penalty of our past sins. It is a call to new life in Christ. The flesh resists this new life. But we must strive for holiness. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” The Christian life is a life of contrition, confession, and consecration. 

The Purpose of Salvation. The religious leaders brought a woman to Jesus caught in the act of adultery. They used her to trap Jesus. The Mosaic Law commanded adulterers to be stoned. But the occupying forces for Rome exercise the authority of capital punishment. Jesus commanded those without sin to cast a stone at her. Then he began to write on the ground. John 8:10-11 reads: “Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’” 

She deserved the death penalty. Jesus gave her scandalous grace. Grace is free; but not cheap. Jesus also commanded her to go and sin no more. This is the purpose of salvation. Verse 1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” Salvation is more than “fire insurance” to keep you from going to hell. It is more than having the hope of heaven when you die. God did not save us from sin so we might continue in sin. 

Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” It is the will of God to have the Spirit of God use the word of God to make the children of God look like the Son of God. 1 John 3:2 says, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

The Process of Sanctification. Believers are saved in three time tenses. 

• We have been saved from the penalty of sin. 
• We are being saved from the power of sin. 
• We will be saved from the power of sin. 

The Christian life is the process of becoming what you already are. The process is called sanctification. We are declared righteous by faith in Christ. Positional righteousness should lead to practical righteousness. The primary means of sanctification is the word of God. 1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” 

This statement applies specifically to this section. It ultimately applies to all scripture. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” When John Wesley left home, his mother, Susannah, wrote in the flyleaf of his Bible: “Sin will keep you from this book, or this book will keep you from sin.” 

The Righteous Advocate 

Verse 1 says, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Here is the bad news and good news about sin in the believer’s life. 

Our Ongoing Battle. Verse 1 begins with the perfect standard: “that you may not sin.” Then it acknowledges the unfortunate reality: “But if anyone does sin.” Feel the tension between idealism and realism. Christians should strive to live without sin. But we do not believe in perfectionism, which claims we can live in sinless perfection. 

1 John 1:10 says, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” No one lives above sin. All of us are susceptible to iniquity, temptation, and sinfulness. Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

John says, “But if anyone does sin.” “Anyone” is the scope of our spiritual warfare against sin. It is a call to humility. It does not matter how long you have been saved, how spiritually mature you are, or your office in the church. Anyone can sin. Galatians 6:1 says, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”Every Christian has a sin problem. But we fight this spiritual enemy with the help of a divine ally. 

Our Guaranteed Victory. Verse 1 says, “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteousness.”

• John addresses the reality of sin universally: “If anyone does sin.”
• John addresses the remedy for sin personally: “We have an advocate.”  

When is he our advocate? Before we are tempted? When we sin? After we confess? Yes! He is our present, permanent, and perpetual assurance: “We have an advocate.” The term means one who comes alongside. It is for the Holy Spirit as our “Helper” in John 14:16. Warren Wiersbe wrote: “The Holy Spirit represents Christ to us on earth, and the Son represents us to God in heaven.” 

The Holy Spirit represents Christ to us on earth, and the Son represents us to God in heaven. – Warren W. Wiersbe

An “advocate” speaks on behalf of another. It is a defense attorney who argues for the accused. Hebrews 7:25 says, “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.” When we sin, he is still our Father. Our advocate is face-to-face with the Father. Who is this advocate? “Jesus Christ the righteous.” 

• His person is Jesus. 
• His office is Christ. 
• His character is righteous. 

The Atoning Sacrifice 

On what basis does Christ advocate for us? Verse 2 answers: “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” The Person of Christ is the foundation of the Work of Christ. But the righteous life of Christ is no help to us without the atoning death of Christ. There are three ways the finished work of Christ advocates for us. 

The Satisfaction of Christ. Verse 2 says, “He is the propitiation for our sin.” Biblical preaching should be simple but not simplistic. Big words demand careful attention. “Propitiation” is one of them. It is a synonym for salvation. Propitiation is the satisfaction of wrath by the offering of a sacrifice. It is a God-centered perspective of the cross.

• We often talk about what Christ did for us on the cross. 
• We need to talk about what Christ did for God on the cross. 

Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Divine wrath is not human wrath. It is righteous wrath against sin. Isaiah 64:6 says, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” But Christ is the propitiation for our sins. 

John R.W. Stott wrote: “Propitiation is the appeasement of the wrath of God, by the love of God, through the gift of God.” The blood of Jesus satisfies the wrath of God against us. Psalm 85:10 says, “Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.” That kiss happened at the cross. 

The Substitution of Christ. The blood of Jesus satisfied God’s demands for justice on our behalf. Verse 21 says, “He is the propitiation for our sins.” The cross was satisfaction for God and substitution for us. 

Karl Barth was asked the most important word in the New Testament. He answered, “Huper” – a Greek preposition that means in the place of or on behalf of. When Barth called huper the most important word, he meant the important truth is Jesus took our place and bore the punishment of God for our sins at the cross. 1 John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”  

• The sinless one died for the sinful ones. 
• The righteous died for the unrighteous. 
• The godly one died for the guilty ones.        

Isaiah 53:5-6 says, “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

The Sufficiency of Christ. The death of Christ satisfied God’s righteous demands. He took our place and paid our penalty. But verse 2 adds, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”John is not teaching Universalism. He does not claim everyone in the world will go to heaven. He claims that the finished work of Christ is sufficient for all.

• Christ’s blood is efficient for those who believe. 
• Christ’s blood is sufficient for the whole world. 

John 20:19-20 says, “Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.” The people were so offended by what Pilate wrote that they missed the magnitude of how he wrote it. It was written so the world will know Jesus of Nazareth is the King of the Jews! John 1:29 says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”