If Anyone Sins
1 You are my dear children, and I write these things to you so that you won’t sin. But if anyone does sin, we continually have a forgiving Redeemer who is face-to-face with the Father: Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2 TPT)
John keeps reminding us of why he wrote his Gospel and why he’s writing this letter to us. He told us that he was writing his eyewitness account of the Jesus stories so we would believe (and continue to believe) that Jesus is the Messiah, Savior of the world, and that through believing in him we have eternal life. Now he adds another reason for writing. “I write these things to you so that you won’t sin!”
That’s so good, friends! These words, inspired by the Holy Spirit, written by John, and read by us with our hearts open to the faith-imparting work of the Holy Spirit, will help us believe into new life in Christ and will help us not to sin!
But John knows himself, he knows us, and he knows that sooner or later we’ll sin. If you’re like me, it’ll be sooner rather than later, and it’ll be more than once! So if we’re going to sin, it’s so good to know that we have a forgiving Redeemer who is once for all time the atoning sacrifice for our sins (and the sins of the whole world)!
If anyone (that’s you and me) does sin, there’s hope! I felt a little splash of joy as I read this phrase: “We continually have a forgiving Redeemer.” But actually I read it first as: “We have a continually-forgiving Redeemer!” I like reading it both ways!
God loved the world so much that he sent his Son, to be the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. If God loved us so much when we were still at odds with right and righteousness, how much more will our Father and the Son continue to forgive now that we are by Grace through Faith his beloved children?! 8 But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly! 9…And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God. (Romans 5:8-9 TPT)
Prayer:
Father, Thank you for loving us while we were still lost and ungodly! Thank you for sending your Son to be our Savior! Thank you for the face-to-face dialog between our continually-loving Father and our continually-forgiving Savior that brings us continual hope of eternal life and continual transformation as we repent and receive your grace!