Before we go to the Lord's table this morning, I'd like to ask you to turn in your Bibles to 1st John chapter 2. Today we want to begin chapter 2 of our study of this wonderful little epistle. 1st John chapter 2. During my second year at Bible College, I had the joy of taking a theology class that focused our attention on the doctrines of Christ and salvation. This morning in our new members class, it was a joy to be able to go through those doctrines once again. I remember that class vividly. It was the first time in my life as a Christian where I studied intensely what God's Word had to say about Christ, salvation, sin, redemption, and what it meant for sinners to be reconciled to God. That class gave me a much better understanding of what it meant for Christ to suffer, in what Jerry Bridges calls the full, unmitigated brunt of God's furious wrath against sin. I remember my professor, who was teaching the class for the very first time, he put Bible verse after Bible verse in front of us to show us specifically what the Bible taught about the person of Christ and his work on the cross, and the significance of what that cross work was done in accomplishing a perfect, full and sufficient atonement for lost sinners. To this day, as I think back on that class, it made an indelible imprint on my life. It was there that I can honestly tell you that I fell in love with the person and work of Christ more than I ever had before that. It was where I fell in love with the person of Christ as my Lord and my Savior. In fact, it was in that class that I discovered more of the depth of my own sinful depravity. And it was at that time, for the very first time in my life, that I first learned to love many of the precious hymns that we sing for the Christian faith. I grew up in a non-Christian home. I was not exposed to the hymns. And in that class, I was exposed to hymns like, And Can It Be, O Sacred Head Now Wounded, The Love of God, Amazing Grace, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, Blessed Assurance, The Old Rugged Cross. Come thou fount of every blessing, and when I survey the wondrous cross." I never knew that those songs were written. I never knew that there were writers, songwriters, who could articulate exactly what the scriptures taught and what it meant for me personally as a new believer in Christ. It was those songs, as well as many others, that had a very significant impact on my own Christian life. As my professor illustrated week after week the significance of the doctrines of Christ and salvation, he would take us to many of those hymns to show us how it affected people throughout church history. I remember that there was one particular hymn that stood out to me, and by way of introduction to the passage that we're going to begin to look at today, I want to share with you the words of that hymn this morning. The hymn is entitled, Jesus Thy Blood and Righteousness, and it speaks primarily of the atoning sacrifice of Christ's death for us. If you would, please listen carefully to all of the words to this hymn. I'm sure that you will understand why this is so profoundly descriptive. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress. Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, with joy shall I lift my head. Behold, shall I stand in thy great day, for who ought to my charge shall lay fully absolved through these I am from sin and fear, from guilt and shame. When from the dust of death I rise to claim my mention in the skies, even then this shall be all my plea. Jesus hath lived, hath died for me. Jesus, be endless praise to thee, whose boundless mercy hath for me, for me a full atonement made, an everlasting ransom paid. Oh, let the dead now hear thy voice, Now bid thy banished ones rejoice. Their beauty this, their glorious dress. And here it is, Jesus, thy blood and righteousness. Is that not the anthem to our Christian life? What a beautiful hymn. This morning I wanted you to hear the words of that hymn because as we move into chapter 2 of 1 John, I want us to stop, I want us to contemplate for a moment the significance of what Jesus has and continues to accomplish for us as we consider what is truly significant about our Christian life. As I mentioned last week, John is in the process of explaining how believers are to walk in the light as God Himself is in the light. Well, beginning at chapter 1, verse 5, and going all the way through to chapter 2, verse 2, right here, he lays the foundation for a genuine walk of faith which begins in the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last week, we talked about the importance of the practical aspects of our Christian faith, the practice of our profession of faith. This week and next, I want us to consider the provision that God has made, which is found only in Jesus Christ the righteous. Last week, we talked about our profession. This week, we want to talk about our provision. And so this morning, as we begin to look at chapter two, and it's just verses one and two, though we're not going to get through all of this this morning, I want us to remember three significant principles concerning the reality of our Christian faith. First of all, we must remember that it is our duty not to sin. Second, we must remember our defense against sin. And then finally, we must remember our deliverance from sin. Again, if it helps you like it does me, remember to focus on three key words as you contemplate the significance of these first two verses here in chapter two, our duty, our defense, and finally, our deliverance. Now, with your Bible open before you, please follow along as I read our text. And in order to set the context before us, I'm going to read once again, backing up to chapter 1, verse 5. And given that today is a celebration of the Lord's table, by way of clarification and expectation, we're not going to get through but just the first part of verse 1 this morning. Still, I want you to stay focused on what John says in these two very profound verses. Well, beginning at chapter 1, verse 5, John writes this. And this is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth. But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. What an amazing declaration. What a profound word. This is the inspired Word of God. Well, as we looked at the end of chapter 1 last week, I mentioned that John is concerned about the practical application of the gospel message. He begins in verses 5 through 7 by drawing out a distinct contrast between those who walk in the light, verse 5, and those who walk in darkness, verse 6. He goes on in verses 8 through 10 to focus on the self-deceiving contradiction of those who claim the Christian faith and yet deny the reality of their own personal sin. Not just sinful acts, but of the personal sinful nature itself. John reminds us that true saving faith not only involves a confession of sin, but it also involves a lifestyle that declares God's truth. Again, all of it with all our lives. Well, in very specific language here, John now declares, or he did declare, the light, the lies, and the lifestyle of those who belong to the Christian faith and those who do not. Well, now as we come to the first two verses of chapter two, he's going to now lay out the foundation for what it means to walk in that light. as an authentic believer in Jesus Christ. He makes an argument that genuine fellowship with God is based solely on one thing, and one thing only, the provision that Jesus Christ Himself paid for our sin. And in verse 1 of chapter 2, he continues this argument by giving us his second purpose for writing this particular epistle. He says to his recipients of this wonderful little letter, my children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. In other words, as a true believer in Jesus Christ, it is our duty, it is our joy not to continue in a lifestyle of sin. Why? Because it marks out those who do not know Christ and do not know the truth concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ. So we must remember our duty not to sin. Well, thinking back to chapter 1, verse 4, John is very concerned for his readers that they understand what this means. That they understand what it means to live the Christian faith. And his desire is that together their joy may be made complete. He was concerned that their lack of faith would overwhelm their joy concerning the significance of the gospel message. And so in addition to strengthening their joy, he's now concerned with how that joy is practically lived out in their Christian lives. And he doesn't want them to continue to live in a pattern of sinful behavior. In fact, he's so concerned about it personally that he actually switches from the collective we to the personal my in writing this section of John's epistle. If you notice, throughout chapter 1, John very purposely used the first person plural pronoun, we, in addressing his readers. He says in verse 1, what we have heard, what we've seen, what we have looked at. Then in verses 2 and 3, is what we have seen and heard and proclaimed to you. Verse 4, he says, these things we write. Verse 5, that we have heard. Verse 6, we say. Verse 7, if we walk, we have fellowship with one another. Verse 8, if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves. Verse 9, if we confess our sins. Verse 10, if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar. Well, now in chapter two, verse one, he switches to the first person singular. And he does this because he knows his readers personally and intimately. He writes to them as though he were writing to his own children. And here they are, his spiritual children. Notice that this is exactly what he calls them in verse one, my little children. John is so concerned about these believers that he actually uses a word to describe a newborn baby. You're my offspring, John says, and this is why I'm now writing to you. You are my children in the faith, and I'm writing these things to help you, to instruct you, to keep you safe. Again, it's as if he were writing to his very own biological children. In other words, these are the expressions of a father's heart toward his own beloved child. That is who you are to me, John says. More importantly, that is who you are to God. Well, this implies that there is this uneasiness and apprehension concerning their own spiritual warfare or spiritual welfare. And John says that it's my purpose in writing to you to help you in regards to your struggle against sin. That I warn you concerning those who would try to distort the truth about your sin or distort your truth about the gospel of Christ. And this is why we must declare the truth and confess our sin in order to prove the authenticity of our faith. The reality for every true believer is that God is a light. That is a no-brainer. But those who profess to have fellowship with him, they likewise should be those who walk in the light and confess their sin. so that it may be exposed by the light. They are not those who deny their sin and say that they have no sin. John says, the reason I'm writing these things to you is so that you may not sin. That your life may not be characterized by a pattern of sinful living and a pattern of persistent disobedience to God's truth. The reality is everybody is going to sin. But a believer should not be characterized by a sinful pattern of disobedience as a way of life. This is why John says, I'm writing these things to you. When John writes so that you may not sin, he is not suggesting that his readers are living in a pattern of sin, but more so that he is encouraging and exhorting them to resolve themselves not to condone even one sinful act in their life. In other words, sin is so thoroughly uncharacteristic of the Christian life that a life which is marked by sin cannot even be called Christian. So John says, in essence, I'm writing these truths to you in order to encourage you to conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel and the kingdom of God. His argument is essentially this. As believers who walk in the light, we must remember that even though sin is a reality in our lives, a transformation has taken place. And as our life becomes more and more exposed to the light, sinful patterns will begin to be exposed. But those sinful patterns will begin to change. Our lifestyle begins to move from a pattern of unrighteousness to righteousness. And the whole of our life begins to change from the inside out. Well, the truth is, before we ever came to saving faith in Christ, clearly we were slaves to sin. By nature, we were all objects of God's wrath. We were all characterized by a sinful way of life. And that old nature dominated every decision and every intention of our heart. But when a person comes to saving faith in Christ, they are no longer a slave to sin, but rather they become slaves to righteousness. And this is exactly what God's Word teaches us about the Christian life. For example, in Romans chapter 6, verses 16 through 19, Paul lays out for us how that transformation has taken place. In fact, why don't you grab your Bibles and turn to Romans chapter 6. Romans 6, verses 16 through 19. In Romans chapters 6 and 7, Paul explains the believer's struggle with indwelling sin. But here in chapter 6, verses 16 through 19, he summarizes it this way. He says, that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to the one whom you obey, either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness. But thanks be to God, that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were given over, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." Now, let me ask you, are you confused about who is a Christian and who is not a Christian? There's a very clear delineation here in this text. Are we slaves to sin or are we slaves to righteousness? Paul says, if you have put your faith in Christ, if you have bowed the knee to His lordship in your life, submitted and received His unmerited grace and favor toward you through Christ, then you are a slave of righteousness and not a slave of sin. But notice what Paul goes on to say in verse 19. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to what? Sanctification, set-apartness, holiness. Why? Because this is who you are as a believer in Christ. If you are truly a child of God, you're no longer a slave to sin. You're no longer in bondage to sin. You are now slaves to righteousness, bought with a price with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. You can turn back to 1 John, chapter 2. Likewise, John says this is exactly the characteristic of your life. if you have come to saving faith in Him. It doesn't mean that you're no longer going to struggle with sin. Why? Because we all fall into temptation and sin, even though it's not now the pattern of our life. But this we must admit, and we must confess to God. that even though sin is no longer the pattern of my life, the battle against sin is still very much a struggle that will continue so long as I am incarcerated in the sinful flesh. In the words of the Apostle Paul, though you have been freed from sin, now we must present our members as slaves to righteousness. Why? Because this is who we are. This is who we were made to be in Christ Jesus. Our entire life has been wholly transformed because of what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us. In fact, according to 2 Corinthians 5.17 and Galatians 6.15, we are now a new creature in Christ, a new creation made by God. And if that isn't clear enough, listen to the benefits that God has blessed us with as the recipients of His great salvation in Christ. I should have had you turn over, but turn over to Ephesians 1. I want you to see this. This is a powerful, powerful sentence of Paul. And it really is a sentence. It is one sentence beginning in verse 3, going all the way down to verse 14. Even though we were once slaves to sin, God says, He rescued us from the authority of the darkness, transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption and the forgiveness of sin. And now, in Christ, you and I are blessed beyond what we could possibly think or imagine. And again, by way of application this morning, think about these blessings in light of every accusation that may come against you in your struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil on a daily basis. Notice what Paul writes, verse 3. God has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ. You might want to highlight, underline, bold circle that word every. Every spiritual blessing in Christ. Verse 4. You were chosen by God to be holy and blameless before Him. Verse 5, you were predestined to be adopted as His sons and His daughters. You are now a child of God and no longer a child of the devil. Verse 6, you are His beloved. To the praise of the glory of His grace, through Jesus Christ. Verse 7, you have been redeemed through His blood, and you have received the forgiveness of your sins. And now, verses 7 and 8, you're the recipients of God's riches, which again, He lavished on us in Christ Jesus. And still the blessings continue. Verse 9, you have received spiritual understanding to know His will for your life. Verse 11, you obtained an inheritance as part of God's master plan for your life. Verse 12, you've been given hope, and now you've been made to live to the praise of His glory. Verse 13, you have been saved through God's truth in Christ, and you are now permanently sealed with His Holy Spirit. And verse 14, your complete salvation is guaranteed to you as an inheritance from God to be received in His heaven for all eternity. All of this, Paul says to the praise of His glory, this is now what you have, who you are as God's precious child. And John says, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Now do you start to understand how important this is? I pray that you would not go back to that old sinful way of life. Why? Because that's no longer who you are now that you are in Christ Jesus. In other words, I don't want your old nature, which has been put to death with Christ, to be the defining characteristic of your life. However, if you do sin, there is one principle you must always remember. Not only that it is your duty not to sin, but remember our defense against sin. Turn back to 1 John. Remember our defense against sin. In other words, it's inevitable that you will sin, but not because of who you are in Christ. It'll be because you are still incarcerated in this sinful, fallen human flesh. And again, therefore, we are still susceptible to all human frailties, and we're susceptible to the seductive power of sin and of Satan. Well, if anyone does sin, John says, we have, and notice what he says in the second half of verse one, we have an advocate, an advocate, a defender with a father. That statement right there implies that every believer will at some point fall into the act of sinning. But as one commentator puts it, that act will be contrary to the tenor of his life. It will be as if sin is an offense to his true nature. And John says it will then be an offense because of who it is that we're ultimately offending. And that's God. That's why we need an advocate. That's why we need a defender. And his argument again is this. A true believer is a redeemed sinner who has been awakened to the corruptions of his own human heart. He'll be conscious of his own sin and his own weaknesses. He will be moved to remorse and repentance when he sins, and he'll be conscious of his own unworthiness in light of who God is and what Christ has accomplished for him. a believer whose sins will be struck with shame and guilt, which will lead to a genuine remorseful spirit, and he will desire for true repentance, and that true repentance will supersede any superficial sorrow. That repentance will then lead to a confession of sin before God, instead of hiding it, instead of suppressing it. and they will then acknowledge their own inability to cleanse their own conscience. In short, sin will drive the true believer to the place of brokenness and contriteness before God, and then they will recognize and remember that true forgiveness can be found only in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. Again, a believer sins not because he wants to, as a pattern of rebellion against a holy God, but because he struggles against it, because of the depravity that has been put upon them, the depravity that is in every wayward heart. He sins because of his own human frailty, and he is still susceptible to the world of flesh and the devil. But when he does sin, he also acknowledges and knows that because of Christ, he will no longer be held accountable for that sin. Why? Because that's the provision that God has provided us in Christ Jesus. Let's be clear. When a believer does sin, It's as if the adversary of his own soul comes along and whispers, you have no right before God. You may have been walking in the light, but now because of your sinful actions, all of your life has been brought into question. And the question is, how can God now forgive you that you have given into sin again? Well, if that sin has been hidden long enough and repeated often enough, then the believer begins to wonder if he or she has even come to saving faith at all. If that happens, this is when our assurance of faith is completely shaken. And the child of God begins to doubt the reality of who they are in Christ. They begin to slide down that slippery slope of self-condemnation. They proceed to condemn themselves. They begin to contemplate the terrible outcome of their sinful behavior. And they begin to feel trapped. And they begin to wallow in the misery of their own sin. Left long enough, they come to the place of wondering if they can ever be restored to that sweet fellowship that they once had with God, from which they have now fallen because of sin. Well, I must tell you this morning that if you are in that place right now, or on your way there, the second half of verse 1 should bring you profound comfort, profound reassurance of your faith. John knows all too personally the realities of his own sinful depravity. He recognizes man's corrupt condition before God. And that's why he acknowledges our need for a perfect advocate, a perfect advocate. And here again is where John reminds us of our defense against sin. If anyone fails to recognize who they are in Christ, if anyone fails to keep their sinful propensities in check, if anyone falls back into the pattern of sin, John says you need to remember this. Remember that it is our duty not to sin, but remember your defense against sin. Because remember, your salvation was never something that you could accomplish for yourself. And that then brings us to the second principle, which is then given to us in the second half of verse one. Again, remember our defense against sin. At the end of verse one, John makes this amazing statement. He says, but and if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father. Who is that advocate? And I love the way he describes it here. Jesus Christ, the righteous. We may look at our lives as unrighteous, but we see through Christ righteousness. But let me tell you, this is one of the most profound and significant statements in all of Scripture. It is so profound that I do not want us to gloss over this. So we're going to leave this for next week to look at. I hate to leave you on a cliffhanger, but it's going to get better next week. We're going to look at the end of verse 1 and all of verse 2 together. And so we'll finish it up then. Suffice it to say, as believers who continue to struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil, we need to be reminded who we are in Christ. Do we not? Most importantly, though, we need to remember who Jesus Christ is. The author and the perfecter of our faith, as we read this morning. Especially since now He is in heaven, defending us, interceding for us. We need to remember that the divine provision for restoration and continued fellowship centers in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. And as our advocate, Jesus represents before the Father all of his perfection in our stead. Not only did He offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, but He also takes our prayers and transmits and transforms them and passes them on to the throne of God, where He adds to our feeble, unworthy prayers an incense, the incense of His own blessed, glorious, perfect person. That is why He is the perfect advocate for us. And that's how He represents us now. Next week we're going to look at the blessed, glorious, perfect person who serves as our divine representative before the Father. And I want to address in detail what it means for Him to be our great advocate. Who is Jesus now that He is in heaven, defending us before the Father? Why is it significant that He is with the Father? And what does it mean for Him to be the righteous advocate? All of these phrases, all of these words have a profound impact on who we are in Christ and what our relationship now is before the Father. And they are directly related to how His ministry of propitiation relates to our sins as it relates to the entire world. Lots to cover. But for now, we want to remember who we are in Christ. We want to remember who Jesus Christ is. And we want to do that by taking a moment and remembering the Lord at His table. As I close in prayer, I'd like to ask the men to come forward and be ready to serve the elements as they do Join me in giving thanks and praise to God for what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us. Let's pray. Father, as we come before you this morning once again, as we bow our heads in humble submission, we recognize that we are unworthy in and of ourselves to ever stand before you, to come before you, and to plead our case before you. That is why we need Jesus. This is why we need His atoning work. This is why we need His perfections for our imperfections. This is why we need Him as sufficient, because we are so insufficient. Lord, we thank you and praise you for the glorious truth that you have freed us from the bondage of sin. You have made us slaves to righteousness. And now we can walk in a newness of life that we never had access to before. Why? Because of Christ. Because of Jesus. The author and perfecter of our faith. The sufficient sacrifice. The atoning Lamb of God who takes away all our sin. Lord, as we turn our attention to the Lord's table, to your table this morning, we are reminded that this is the sacrifice that saved us. This is the sacrifice that gave us the assurance of promised eternal life. This is the sacrifice that enables us to enter gloriously into your kingdom. to give you praise and honor for all that you have done. So now, as we partake of these elements this morning, we do pray, Father, that you would help us be reminded of this, to remember all that you have done for us. For we thank you in his name, amen.