07/12/2021
FORGIVENESS
READ 1 JOHN 2:1-6
At times we may feel as if we are the worst sinner on earth. We just seem to keep doing the same bad things over and over. We feel guilty! Can God just wink at our sins and pretend that everything is all right? How can he repeatedly forgive us for committing the same wrongs?
The apostle John said: “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world” (1 John 2:1-2).
God takes sin very seriously. As a righteous judge, he can’t just ignore sin and act as if it doesn’t matter. But he forgives us completely and repeatedly. The words used here are legal terms. Jesus is our advocate, our defense attorney in a court of law, who intercedes for us, the law-breakers. But he is not only the defense attorney; he is also “the sacrifice that atones for our sins.” This means that Jesus’ death has been accepted by the court as admissible payment for all of our sins. We are all guilty. The sentence is death! But our sentence has already been paid by Jesus. When we bring our sins to Jesus, he goes back to the judge, his Father, on our behalf, reminding him that our sentence has already been paid.