#2 - GOOD FRIDAY - THE TWO GREATEST DANGERS YOU WILL FACE AS A CHRISTIAN

1 John 2:1-2 - “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. [2] He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

These two verses are extremely valuable for sound Christian thinking. John is dealing with an issue that still pounds in the minds of those who want to follow Jesus. These verses form the two sides of the one truth that must always be heard in stereo. There’s the warning - "I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin". And there’s the hope - "If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

That whole process sounds so simple. But in practice the church usually divides over which of those two truths she will defend.

a) There are those for whom the greatest fear is the church will somehow compromise her stand on basic principles of holiness.

"If you start preaching grace like it grows on trees people won't care about pleasing God. More worldliness will creep into the church. People will think they can follow Jesus and live as they please. Make sure people know 'these things are written to you so that you will not sin!’ Protect the standard at all costs! Without holiness no one will see the Lord!

And there’s nothing to argue with in that line of reasoning. It’s all precious, solid Biblical truth.

b) Then there are those who fear that people who just hear the warning will eventually become discouraged with their own sense of guilt and shame.

"Make sure people understand the gospel really gives a new beginning. Don't leave Christians crying over the spilled milk of their lives, because spilled milk stinks and stains. And there are multitudes of believers who never experience the freeing joy of the Lord. Church makes them feel lousy, brow-beaten, unclean, and hopeless. Make sure these broken sinners hear '....if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’”

This too is precious truth. And it is more than just academic theological hairsplitting. It directly affects how you hear the Word of God. It affects what happens in your heart when you go to church. It affects what kind of attitude grows in your heart when you encounter Christians who have things in their past of which you disapprove.

So these two Biblical perspectives matter so very much. We are dealing with the central issues in New Testament Christian experience. They cut to the core of how one understands salvation. Beyond a bare legal declaration of justification, what does the cross do to the experience of holiness, the pursuit of holiness, and the joyous assurance of sufficient grace?

Let's look at what John has to say:

1) THE ONLY EVIDENCE OF NEW BIRTH IS A WILL TO INSTANTLY STOP SINNING

1 John 2:1 - "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin....”

Notice the words “so that.” “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin....” Then John explains what the “that” is. It’s not just so you will know something. Its emphasis is on the negative side. It’s so you don’t do something. “I’m writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”

So not sinning is why John writes. He says that this is the purpose of all he is saying to these Christians. This is the relationship between Bible and life - between the doctrine and holiness - between knowledge and habit.

The end result of everything God does in my heart and mind is simple. It's to make me stop sinning. If that hasn't happened, everything is wasted and misspent. Whatever I've experienced, it's very different from saving faith and spiritual life if it doesn’t help me stop sinning. Look at what John says:

A) I AM RESPONSIBLE TO STOP SINNING

"I write this to you so that you may not sin"(2:1).

God does not stop sinning for you. This is not something that's done to me or for me. I have to stop sinning. The actions and habits of sin are not something God takes out of my life while I'm sleeping. It requires a steadfast will and mind to stop sinning. A careful thinking through of John’s words reveals grace for holiness is divinely provided. But it isn’t automatic. God doesn’t ignore your will. You shouldn’t either.

I wonder how many people are sitting in this service today all gummed up and depressed about the failure of their Christian walk simply because no one has ever loved them enough to dispel the error that you don't grow out of sin. You stop sinning. The Bible never teaches that if I just surrender myself to Jesus I will automatically stop sinning.

Ephesians 4:22 - "(You are) to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires....”

Colossians 3:5 - "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

Have you ever killed anything? I can remember the first time a group of us boys killed a rabbit behind the train station in Saskatoon. I can remember the first time I shot a crow on a farm in Delmany, Saskatchewan with a 22. Say whatever you want, it's no small thing to personally stomp the life out of a living being. Creatures don't die that easily. Killing them isn't for the timid. The life of anything dies painfully - including cherished, stubborn sin. Genuine holiness isn’t for the timid or lazy or cowardly.

B) WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SIN IS

Good Friday is a great time to do a brief review of some of the basics on the Biblical doctrine of sin:

i) Sin is anything that violates the clear commands of Scripture

It doesn't matter what the subject is, if the Bible says I must not do it, then I must not do it.

"You shall not steal", "You shall not commit adultery", "You shall not covet", "You shall not have any other gods before me.” You never mature to some level of spirituality where you're on a different, more advanced plain and no longer have to think about those commands.

ii) Sin is violating the still, small voice of conscience

Romans 14:23 - "....whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”

Those are interesting words. Paul describes a process that is the exact opposite of putting sin to death, and it happens inwardly and silently a million times in the church of Jesus Christ every day:

"You know, I really don't feel right about this, but, after all..." Or "I know this doesn’t feel right in my heart, but, after all, there's no verse in the Bible that says you can't do such and such." Or, “This can’t be all that bad because most of my peers, who are very good Christians in my books, are doing the same thing....”

All of the inward cautions are either rationalized or ignored. They are pushed past. Paul says something “proceeds” - “....whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” And I go ahead in doubt and suppressed guilt.

Yes, there probably are other Christians doing this. And no, there probably isn't a verse in the Bible that specifically names the sin in detail. That's why God very tenderly put a living standard right inside your own skin. God has given each person a conscience to fill out all of the specifics that are only covered in principle in His Word.

iii) Sin is allowing my desires to overrule God's Word

Later on in this very letter John will give a name to those fallen desires. In 1 John 2:16 he calls them the “desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions....”

John pleads with his spiritual children like a wise, dying father, pressing the greatest wisdom he has to offer. Watch the desires you allow growing room in your mind.

This visible world presses all of us to silence the voice of the invisible, eternal God. Prune your desires carefully. Your heart won’t sustain all the desires calling for attention. It’s a sin, says John, to neuter the desire for God by failing to cull the cancerous craving of this world. Any desire that cancels out obedience to God is idolatry.

iv) Sin is knowing what is right but not doing it

James 4:17 - "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

This is the important contribution that James makes to the discussion of sin in the New Testament. James says I don't have to do anything bad to sin. I sin when I don't respond to the Word and the Spirit of God. I sin when I ignore conscience, when I'm lazy, when I procrastinate, when I'm indifferent and cold to what I know God is calling me to.

C) WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SIN DOES

i) Sin separates me from God

The first thing Adam and Eve did after they disobeyed God was hide. The closeness with God was gone. The person with a light view of sin can’t possibly know anything about God because the Bible actually says our God cannot "look upon sin."

ii) Continued sin is a denial of the power of the gospel

Here is a gospel that announces the coming of power and the beginning of a new creation. My continuing in sin is contrary to everything Jesus died to bring about. It denies the power of the cross before this watching world. People will never be drawn to Jesus if they see me continuing in the same sins that gum up their lives.

iii) Sin sucks the confidence and power out of prayer and faith

Most of the time Christians think of prayer as being one of the difficult spiritual disciplines to faithfully practice.

But this is only partly true. Many times, when I find it particularly hard to pray, it's as much a sin problem as it is a prayer problem. Sin makes you doubt your relationship with God. It makes approaching God an embarrassing, condemning experience.

A situation arises that you know needs prayer. You feel a desperate need for divine help. But you're forced into a corner because as you approach God you feel the weight of your own carelessness and rebellion in other areas of your Christian walk. How can you confidently seek God's help when you feel like a hypocrite?

For all of those reasons John pleads with his readers - "I'm writing all of this to you so that you will not sin!” Do you constantly start each day with that goal in your heart - that prayer on your lips? Do you set out each day, with the Holy Spirit’s help, with a plan to avoid sin at its source, or do you just wrap up each day filled with regret for sins committed? “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”

2) AFTER OFFERING HIS WORDS OF WARNING JOHN BALANCES HIS WORDS WITH GOD'S GRACIOUS OFFER OF HOPE AND ENCOURAGEMENT

1 John 2:1-2 - “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. [2] He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

John writes these words as an old man - probably well into his nineties. He knows he will soon be leaving this world. There will be no more opportunity to speak to or teach these people whom he loves so much. "My dear children"(2:1). You can sense the closeness he feels in his heart. What’s the most important thing he can leave with his dear spiritual children?

He cuts to the core issues in these two verses - "Your greatest danger isn't the persecution you are facing. Your greatest concern needn't be your safety or your prosperity. The greatest danger you face is falling into sin. You can actually think it doesn't matter whether or not you are holy and pure. There is compromise all around. I'm writing all of this to you so that long after I'm gone you won't sin!"

And it's as though, as he writes those very words, he realizes another great danger faces these people:

"If you do sin...never let it stop you in your Christian walk. We have an advocate before the Father! He's always there on your behalf. You never stand on your own righteousness. Don’t even think that you do. You have more going for you than you think!"

It's as though John knows that there are times when all you can see is your own unworthiness before God. There are times when the enemy tells you your life has been nothing but a string of failures and sins. There are seasons when you start to wonder if you're ever going to be the kind of person you know you ought to be.

There are also times when friends and fellow believers can hold on to your guilt and rub it in your face. But John is concerned that these people know that there is One who is on their side.

What view do you hold when you come to God with your sin? I have no trouble thinking of Jesus as that "friend who sticks closer than a brother" most of the time. After all, He came and died. He's gone to prepare a place for me in heaven. He is coming again to take me to be with Him. Most of the time I have no trouble relying on what the Lord Jesus has done for me.

But there are other times. There are times when I feel the weight of some specific sin and go to God in a spirit of confession and remorse and repentance. How quickly the thought comes to my mind, "Would you forgive what you have done just because you offer some little apology in prayer?" And apologies against a holy God feel so small and useless. I know how small I can be when people wrong me. I know how unforgiving I can be. What good can my little prayer for forgiveness do?

Listen, never forget what John is trying to get across in this little verse. I don't know how wonderful my little prayer is when I sin. I don't know what kind of a mighty man of faith and victory I am when I whimper out some plea for grace. But I am slowly learning I must never allow the Devil to convince me that this is even close to the real point.

I try to remember John’s words. My little plea for grace isn't all that's going on when I ask for forgiveness. Jesus intercedes right before the face of the Father. He enjoys perfect harmony with the Father. He has never sinned in any way. He is in a perfect position to plead my case and intercede. It’s not my innocence or my deserving prayer. That's not what stands behind my forgiveness and restoration.

When Satan condemns, point him away from yourself toward Jesus. Ask him to show you anything wrong with Him and His saving work.