1 John 2:1 My dear children, I’m writing this to you so that you will not sin. Yet, if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ, who has God’s full approval. He speaks on our behalf when we come into the presence of the Father.
Sin—Spiritual Struggle: the truth is that we are sinful, but we should not sin. This is a tender exhortation: John addresses the believers “my little children.” They are very, very dear to him. He was their pastor, their spiritual father; and they were his spiritual children, the ones under his care. He loved them with the love of a strong and caring father. Therefore, he must exhort them. He must exhort them in the areas where they needed strength. Where was that? In sinning. Note exactly what John says:
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not” (v. 1).
These things refer to the things John has just said, to the fact that all have sinned and all do sin. Because of man’s nature, the very fact that he lives within a corruptible world, he cannot keep from sinning. But note the strong exhortation: “Sin not! I am writing these things to you, that you sin not.” The believer lives in a corruptible world, and he is housed in a body of flesh that is so easily aroused and attracted to eat more, take more, have more, be more, and receive more. But the believer is to struggle and fight against sin. He is not to give in to sin. He is to cast down imaginations and struggle to captivate every thought for Christ (2 Co. 10:5). He is to do all he can to become more and more like Christ and to be a stronger and stronger witness for righteousness in the world. He will never achieve perfection; he will never be sinless so long as he is in the flesh and in this corruptible world. But he is to struggle to be as good as he can. He is to be as righteous as possible and he is to gain ground; he is to grow in righteousness. The believer is to become more and more like Christ as long as he is on earth.
Thought 1. Believers must prove they are sincere when they come to Christ for forgiveness of sins. Christ has no patience with hypocrisy and no place for half-hearted commitment. He can look at our lives and tell whether we love Him or not, whether we are sincere or not. He can watch our struggle against sin and tell if we really want to follow Him or not. The genuine believer struggles against sin; he fights, wrestles, and wars against sin with every ounce of energy he has. He does all he can to please God and to receive God’s approval.
“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil” (Is. 1:16).
“Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse things come unto thee” (Jn. 5:14).
“She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (Jn. 8:11).
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof” (Ro. 6:12).
“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (1 Co. 15:34).
“If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles” (Jb. 11:14).
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Is. 55:7).
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Ep. 4:22).
“Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (He. 12:1).
“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Pe. 2:11).
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 Jn. 2:1).
I HOPE YOU FOUND THIS DEEP STUDY TO BE HELPFUL.
ALLOW THIS WORD FROM GOD TO BE A GUIDE UNTO YOUR LIFE.
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PASTOR ANDRA HIGGINBOTHAM