1 John 2:1-2
“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.”
One of the greatest benefits of reading the Bible is that the Word of God will keep us from sin. The famous evangelist, D.L. Moody said, “Sin will keep you from this book and this book will keep you from sin.” The Psalmist wrote, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). The Apostle explains one of the purposes of this letter is that we might not sin. In addition to the Word of God building us up spiritually, as we read through 1John, we will discover valuable insights that will help us to sin less.
“And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
The problem remains, as long as we are in these bodies, we will still struggle with sin. We wake up determined to love God and be a godly witness, yet before too long, we have become upset at the children, distracted from the Lord or we have stumbled back into a sin of the past. Instead of being riddled with guilt, or overcome with fear that we will never outgrow our sin, we need to realize Jesus is our advocate; He sits at the right hand of God and intercedes on our behalf. John explains that His intercession is accepted because,
“He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
The word ‘propitiation’ refers to the fact that Jesus gave Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice. Being without sin, He took our place on the cross; receiving the punishment for our sin. His blood works as a cleansing agent, removing the penalty and the guilt of sin. There ever remains a flow of mercy for our failures and sin. It is time we learn to accept the forgiveness offered to us and get back to pressing forward in our walk with the Lord. Solomon wrote,
Proverbs 24:16 “For a righteous man may fall seven times, And rise again”
For my cleansing this I see—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
For my pardon this my plea—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Nothing can my sin erase
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. (Robert Lowry)
Pastor Jim
Balaam is an enigma. While he is clearly a false prophet who does great harm to the people of God, he is also responsible for some of the greatest Old Testament sermonettes. Here, he is taking a second look at the camp of Israel, attempting to find a way for Balak, king of Moab, to overthrow Israel. Instead, he learns how God sees His people.
Sin is a plague that has infected every man. As Paul explained to the Romans, it was by one man (Adam) that sin entered the world, but that sin spread to all men because all have sinned (Romans 5:12). David, looking out at the world, and looking in at his own heart, declared, there were none righteous, not even one (Psalm 53:3). Most of us are familiar with the story of the woman who was caught in an adulterous relationship and brought before Jesus. After hearing the charges brought against her by her accusers, Jesus responded by inviting those in the crowd who were without sin, to throw the first stone. One by one her accusers dropped the rocks and departed, for they were all sinners (John 8:3-4). The truth that we have all sinned, makes Solomon’s question all the more striking. Is it possible for anyone to proclaim that their heart is clean, and they are pure of all sin? Scripture boldly declares that it is.
Jim Gallagher 