1 John 2 Devotional

An Advocate When We Fail

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”1 John 2:1 (BSB)

John writes so that his readers will not sin, but he knows they will. If anyone does sin, he says, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One (2:1). Jesus is no bystander. He is himself the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours (2:2). John's little children are told, as plainly as possible, that their sins are forgiven through his name (2:12).

Out of that security comes the rest of the chapter. Those who know God keep his word and walk as Jesus walked (2:5-6). Love for a brother shows that a person is in the light (2:10). Loving the world, with its cravings and pride, is out of place for people whose future is with God, because the world is passing away (2:15-17). And when false teachers deny the Son, John's answer is to remain in what they heard from the beginning (2:24). Obedience here is not an anxious attempt to stay forgiven. It is life lived by those who already have an advocate.

To think about: When you fail, do you tend to hide from God or to remember that Jesus speaks for you before the Father?