1 John 2:1-2 Our Advocate July 9, 2017am www.newhopefwbc.com 1285 Ne w Hope R oad Joelton, TN 37080 6 1 5. 7 4 6. 6 4 0 3 READ 1 John 1:8-2:2 KIDS: What two words define propitiation? Covering and Satisfaction In a December 2016 article of USA Today, the publication unveiled 2016 s most ridiculous law suits. I will not go into detail and list the top ten list because most of them need a lot of explanation in order for us to understand their absurdity, but I wanted to read the a few lines in that article: Starbucks is the subject of this year's most bizarre lawsuits after the company twice was accused of shorting its customers coffee. In one case against the coffee maker, multiple plaintiffs claimed their lattes had a quarter inch of steamed milk instead of coffee. In another action, a woman said the company puts too much ice in its iced coffees. While Starbucks topped the list, the rest of the lawsuits don't disappoint. Corey M. Minter Page 1 of 9
The runner-up featured a person who claimed a lip balm manufacturer violated a California packaging and labeling law because its tubes didn't allow a person to get to the lip balm at the bottom. In Georgia, a woman was awarded $161,000 after she was found only slightly liable for walking into a ladder while looking at her cell phone. The incident caused an indentation in the woman's head. She also suffered from headaches and a mild concussion. We would probably all agree with the writer s conclusion at the end of the article that stated all of these lawsuits are a cringe-worthy reminder that America's legal system is being abused. Sadly, the rights of a democratic people such as the ability to have grievances mediated in a court of law is taken advantage of often. For that reason (and many more), a lot of people find little hope in the justice system. Lawyers are seen as sharks, jurists as sheep, judges as aloof. Today, however, we will be taken into the courtroom where justice is dispensed daily actually, every minute. Before we go there, let s spend a few minutes in the Word. 1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. As we have talked about multiple times already in our study through 1 John, John the Beloved Apostle is the last of the Apostles. Every other one has been martyred for their faith, but John remains. He is around 80-85 years old, and he is respected in the church because of his age, but more so because, he actually walked and talked with Christ. We call many Corey M. Minter Page 2 of 9
of these early Christian heroes Church fathers, and John holds that position literally. My little children is a phrase that John uses throughout the small book of 1 John 7 times. It is not a ridicule. He is not criticizing the faith of those who are coming behind him. Instead, he is affectionate and encouraging. He treats every Christian as if they were in his family. Think of that for a second because we miss this idea in a society where it is acceptable and even celebrated to be a Christian. The first-century Christians had to give up a lot. There are much bigger things, but just think about their day of worship. Jewish society had always practiced their day of worship on the Sabbath (Saturday), but with Christ s resurrection on the first day of the week, most early Christians made the shift to worshiping on Sunday by John s later years. That may not seem like much to us in 2017 a minor schedule change at worst, but to them, it was the nail in the coffin. Christians were disowned and disavowed from their families. The only family they then had was their family of faith. That is why we have all of these beautiful familial metaphors in the church. We call each other brother and sister as a title, but for them, that really was the case. So, John, taking on the role as the eldest in the church, writes to Christians as lovingly as if they were his own children. He has invested a lot in them over the years, and he writes to them almost as if he were their spiritual grandfather, wanting only their good and God s glory. As lovingly as he writes, however, John asks of Christians a pretty tall order: Corey M. Minter Page 3 of 9
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. Do not sin. Three words that are so hard to swallow for the Christian. In all actuality, I believe that any true Christian does not want to sin, yet we still do often. Let s start by defining what sin is. Sin in its most base form is disobedience to God. He details those things which cause a separation between us and Him all throughout Scripture. While Christ fulfilled the ceremonial law (sacrifices, dietary restrictions, festivals, etc.), the moral code of law prescribed through what we call the 10 commandments is the basis of defining what sin is. 1. No other gods 2. Do not take God s name in vain 3. Observe the Sabbath Day of rest 4. No graven images 5. Honor your father and mother 6. Do not murder 7. Do not commit adultery 8. Do not steal 9. Do not lie 10. Do not covet That list of ten is both simple and complex at the same time. Add to that what Christ taught on earth, and we find that not sinning is nearly impossible. He affirmed that we are not only to obey the letter of the law, but we are to also obey the spirit of the law. Matthew 5 reveals Jesus Corey M. Minter Page 4 of 9
saying that when we lust, we have disobeyed the spirit of the law. We have committed adultery in our hearts. The same with murder. If we hate, it is as if we have already murdered them. So sin is not just a list of wrongs, but it is also a heart issue that reveals who is on the throne of our hearts. Susanna Wesley, mother of the John and Charles Wesley the great preacher and hymnodist, explained it perfectly in a letter to her sons when they asked her to detail what she believed sin to be: Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of the body over the mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may seem in itself. If what she writes is true, more importantly if what Jesus said is true (and truly He alone can comment on the law which He wrote), then I think we can all agree that when John says These things I write to you, so that you may not sin, we all moan because we know that we sin. We talked about the severity of sin last week, but why do we not find sin as severe as Christ does? William Struthers explains the slow fade of sin -It begins with denial... that s not me -Then it moves to Minimization... it really doesn t affect me it s not that bad -Then on to Normalization... everybody does it -Then Rationalization... you know, it makes sense -And even Justification... I think it s the right thing to do -Finally, Celebration... hey, this is the life 1 1 William M. Struthers, Wired for Intimacy (InterVarsity Press, 2009), p. 50 Corey M. Minter Page 5 of 9
I do not know what stage of explaining away your sin you are on, but I can guarantee you that if you do not believe about sin what God says about sin, it will not be long until you are celebrating your lifestyle of high treason against the Almighty. Aren t you glad that we have only read the first part of verse 1? It has beaten us down for sure. 1 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 if anyone sins IF?!? It may be helpful to note that while this is technically the correct translation in English, the third class condition of the original language assumes, If anyone sins, and it will happen 2 In fact, some translations go ahead and translate with that in mind And when anyone sins The best way to outline 1 John 2:1-2 is (1) Do not sin. (2) When you do, do not despair. We have an Advocate with the Father We have always, under all circumstances an advocate. If I can take the risk of explaining it in modern day terms even further, We have a lawyer on retainer Thousands of lawyer jokes could have been thrown throughout a sermon like this. I 2 John MacArthur, 1-3 John (Moody Publishers, 2007), p. 45 Corey M. Minter Page 6 of 9
recently saw a comic strip that had a defendant and a lawyer in their first personal interview. The line beneath the drawing had the lawyer asking one question, How much justice can you afford. Lawyers are expensive, but with Christ, the bill has already been paid. But it goes deeper than that This is not just a lawyer client relationship. The lawyer rarely has a personal relationship with accused. In fact, if he does, he is encouraged to recuse himself. In John s day, the idea of an advocate was not just a hired law hand, but a member of the family (usually the oldest and most respected) whose goal was to keep up the family name. We have a Mediator with the Father We have One Who will plead our case before the Father We have One Who comes along side us to the Father paraklhtoß It is the same word that Jesus uses of the Holy Spirit in John 14:16 when He said that He would leave, but that He would send a Helper/Comforter/Paraklete. The difference between Christ and the Holy Spirit is that the Spirit is here, in the Christian, comforting, helping, coming alongside Christ is doing all that for us before the Father in Heaven You know those lawyer commercials? The horrible, screeching sound of tires followed by a loud crash. A bulldog faced lawyer gets on screen, Corey M. Minter Page 7 of 9
yelling that he would go fight for you. In Virginia, the lawyer was always Lowell Stanley. Growing up, it seems like he had a different law associate every month. Stanley and Sons (I guess there was a family problem when it turned to) Stanley and Stanley (followed by more family problems when it turned to) Stanley and Houchens and then just The Stanley Law Firm. If you were to ask Virginians who Lowell Stanley was, most probably would not know, but if you asked who Lowell The Hammer Stanley was, everyone would moan over his annoying commercials (call 459-CASH) Here we are introduced to Jesus s lawyer nickname of sorts, Jesus Christ, the Righteous. He is not sleazy or underhanded. He will not work the system. He is not going to lie for you or get you off the hook based upon some litigative loophole. In fact, He will painfully agree with all of the charges brought against you by that old accuser Satan. It will almost seem like He is not doing His job, nodding His head and agreeing with the accusation of every crime (sin) that you have ever committed. Satan, the windbag lawyer, who loves to tattle and use all kinds of courtroom drama to get a guilty verdict handed down goes on for hours, yelling pointing his finger at you, and there is no objection. Satan is not held in contempt, because all that he has said is true and therefore admissible in the court of God. Jesus agrees. But then, when it is Christ s turn 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Corey M. Minter Page 8 of 9
Propitiation is one of those hard words to define, because it is a theological term without much of a relationship outside of Scripture. The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) uses the word propitiation to describe the process of the Day of Atonement in which the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies one day of the year and sprinkle blood of a spotless lamb on the Ark of the Covenant. The blood on the Mercy Seat would cover the sins of Israel for another year. God would stave off punishment of the nation s sins for another year. He was satisfied with the sacrifice of the lamb. That is propitiation. He is both a covering and a satisfaction of our debt/punishment, as if the Lawyer Who pled our case also took our punishment. God did not render a Not Guilty verdict to you. The gavel echoed in the courtroom as He exclaimed Guilty! But you were not bound and carted away. Christ was. You were not executed. Jesus was. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Universalism? Everyone gets a free pass? No. Christ s death is efficient to pay for the sins of those who believe; and sufficient to pay for the sins of the whole world. 3 3 John Phillips, Exploring The Epistles of John (Kregel, 2003), p.43 Corey M. Minter Page 9 of 9