The Role of Jesus Christ in the Remedy for Sin
Notes
Transcript
Remedies in medicine
There is a clear tie between the first and second chapters and that tie is sin. Chapter 1 closes out by talking about the forgiveness that is available for those who confess those sins to Him. The second chapter continues to address the idea of sin but I want to look at two things at the beginning of this passage before we look into the main meaning of the passage.
John finally addresses, though in a vague way, those that he is writing to by calling them “my little children”. This could be interpreted at first as a bit of insult but we have to remember the amount of care that John has for these brothers and sisters he is writing to. I love this sort of language used in a letter because it is the same way that I feel each week when I step into the pulpit. It is vital that when we speak to one another regarding sin, that we do so out of affection and care as to inform for the good of our brother and glory of God. When John says “my” little children, he is taking ownership of their righteousness before God. It is because of the love that he has that he is writing to them.
The second thing that we see here is the purpose for the entire first chapter and book as a whole: that there would be an avoidance of sin. Now, this will lead, in a moment, to the main point of these two verses but I want to discuss the importance of understanding the middle ground here. On one hand, sin exists but to talk about it in a way that is wholly negative is both harmful as well as untrue to how scripture speaks about sin. Sin is inevitable. For a person to say they have no sin is a lie. However, because it is inevitable, it would be wildly irresponsible to sweep the entire topic under a rug.
With that in mind, we remember that John’s goal here is the holiness of those he is writing to. And here we arrive at the main point of this message: we have hope because Jesus is the remedy for sin! The first way is because
Jesus is our advocate
Jesus is our advocate
Jesus serves as a counselor. The greek word here is paraklētos and is the same word that is used to describe the Holy Spirit in John 14 and 15. This is anyone who aids or assists. Just as the Holy Spirit is a helper for Jesus, it is Jesus who is our helper as He sits at the right hand of God the Father.
I feel as though I’ve discussed this specific role of Jesus recently but it is still vital to our understanding both about Christ as well as about our own sin. Jesus pleads our case before the Father. Even a comparison between a lawyer arguing before a judge does not fully do the relationship we have with Jesus here justice because it is Jesus who bore the punishment for our sins by giving His life. He pleads for the very forgiveness that is promised because of confession of sin in chapter 1.
But we must ask the question, why is Jesus worthy of being our advocate? Just as an expert witness must establish their credibility on the stand in a court of law, what makes Jesus a worthy advocate to the Father.
He has an established relationship with the Father. His word can be trusted in terms of pleading for our innocence.
Because of His omniscience, He already knows the body of work that is our life. He knows every detail of every sin and still stands by our side as a helper.
Finally, and most importantly, Jesus is THE righteous one. It is because He is sinless that He can be our advocate with the Father and argue for innocence. In an odd sort of way, His holiness makes Him an expert on our sin. According to 2 Corinthians 5:21, it was God who made Jesus sin despite the fact that He never sinned that we might become the righteousness of God.
The second reason that we ought not be discouraged when we think about the role of Jesus in solving the problem of sin is directly related to this righteousness.
Jesus is our propitiation
Jesus is our propitiation
To say that Jesus is the propitiation for our sins is an interesting thing because to say that is to acknowledge rather than ignore our sin and our guilt. Yes, we are deserving of eternal punishment for how we have lived, yet it is Jesus who paid the price that we could have never paid. So, this is not a love that ignores sin, but rather acknowledges that it was committed AND that it has already been covered. Maybe an accurate comparison would be if someone owed a fine for a speeding ticket but the fine was already paid for. You and I owe our lives because of our sin. Jesus has paid off what we owe with His own life that He gave on the cross. Praise God!
Now the righteousness comes into play because the only worthy sacrifice for our sins was a perfect, spotless sacrifice. We come back to the righteousness that establishes Jesus first as the rightful advocate but also the perfect sacrifice.
Listen to the description of the passover offering in Numbers 28: On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, 19 but offer a food offering, a burnt offering to the Lord: two bulls from the herd, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old; see that they are without blemish; 20 also their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil; three tenths of an ephah shall you offer for a bull, and two tenths for a ram; 21 a tenth shall you offer for each of the seven lambs; 22 also one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you.
This news would have meant a great deal to the Jews during this day. No more sacrifices. No more searching for a lamb that was worthy of being apart of the burn offering. No, the lamb has been supplied for all time!
John understood this even before Jesus’ death on the cross. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” So now, not only are the Jews filled with great joy, but also the Gentile who understands that there is sin that needs to be atoned for.
Because He is the only truly righteous one, it then makes sense that He would be the perfect sacrifice that we are unworthy of.
So, when we talk about sin, we must always come back to the remedy that has been provided for us. He is one who stands on behalf of us and