Bible League: Living His Word 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.— 1 John 2:1 ESV The Apostle John wrote his letter so that his readers "may not sin." That is, he wrote his letter to the readers of his day, and to us by extension, in order to encourage us not to sin. Although God sent Jesus Christ to earth in order to provide a remedy for sin, John still wants us to avoid sin. The remedy was not given by God as a license or an excuse to sin. Consequently, we should strive, with the help of God, to avoid it. As children of God, we should seek to be like our Father in heaven who is "light" and in whom "is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). Nevertheless, John is fully aware of the fact that this high ideal will not be fully achieved by us in this age. That's why he says, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). And that's why he also tells us how to make use of the remedy for sin: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). When we confess our sins, "the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). In our verse for today, John also tells us that when we sin we have an advocate with the Father: "Jesus Christ the righteous." What does Jesus advocate on our behalf? Although His advocacy is similar to that which a lawyer provides for clients in a court, in that He seeks our good before a judge, there is a difference. Unlike a defense attorney, He does not try to prove that we are innocent of the charges brought against us; He acknowledges that our confessions of guilt are necessary. Instead, He advocates that because our confessions are sincere, we should be pardoned and treated as innocent, not because of any virtue on our part, but because He paid the penalty for sin by suffering and dying on the cross. Praise be to God that Jesus Christ, the righteous one, is advocating on our behalf in heaven! Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingProverbs 23, 24 Proverbs 23 -- When you sit to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before you; NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Proverbs 24 -- Don't be envious of evil men; neither desire to be with them: NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 2 Corinthians 5 2 Corinthians 5 -- Walk by Faith, and Not Sight; Christ's Love Compels us to Ministry NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.Insight Some sins seem bigger than others because their obvious consequences are much more serious. Murder, for example, seems to us to be worse than hatred, and adultery seems worse than lust. But this does not mean that because we do lesser sins we deserve eternal life. All sin makes us sinners, and all sin cuts us off from our holy God. All sin, therefore, leads to death (because it disqualifies us from living with God), regardless of how great or small it seems. Challenge Don't minimize “little” sins or overrate “big” sins. They all separate us from God, but they all can be forgiven. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Luke 15:2 This man receiveth sinners.Observe the condescension of this fact. This Man, who towers above all other men, holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners--this Man receiveth sinners. This Man, who is no other than the eternal God, before whom angels veil their faces--this Man receiveth sinners. It needs an angel's tongue to describe such a mighty stoop of love. That any of us should be willing to seek after the lost is nothing wonderful--they are of our own race; but that he, the offended God, against whom the transgression has been committed, should take upon himself the form of a servant, and bear the sin of many, and should then be willing to receive the vilest of the vile, this is marvellous. "This Man receiveth sinners;" not, however, that they may remain sinners, but he receives them that he may pardon their sins, justify their persons, cleanse their hearts by his purifying word, preserve their souls by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, and enable them to serve him, to show forth his praise, and to have communion with him. Into his heart's love he receives sinners, takes them from the dunghill, and wears them as jewels in his crown; plucks them as brands from the burning, and preserves them as costly monuments of his mercy. None are so precious in Jesus' sight as the sinners for whom he died. When Jesus receives sinners, he has not some out-of-doors reception place, no casual ward where he charitably entertains them as men do passing beggars, but he opens the golden gates of his royal heart, and receives the sinner right into himself--yea, he admits the humble penitent into personal union and makes him a member of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. There was never such a reception as this! This fact is still most sure this evening, he is still receiving sinners: would to God sinners would receive him. Daily Light on the Daily Path Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.1 Peter 3:4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 1 Peter 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. John 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, Luke 20:36 for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. Romans 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Romans 5:9-11 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. • For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. • And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; Mark 9:50 "Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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