The Barrister

It's Sunday, time again for an upbeat post to encourage worship. It's what I try to do. So today I'm going to post one of my favorite thoughts in Scripture. Unfortunately, because of the sometimes arbitrary method in which the passages are divided up in chapter and verse, I fear this one can get lost at the chapter break, so I'm not going to break it:

^1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. ^1:6 If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ^1:7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. ^1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ^1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ^1:10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. ^2:1 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. ^2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 1:5-2:2).

The passage is pretty well known, especially in parts. I mean, most of us know "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" -- that whole thing. Good stuff, really. But if you read the entire passage, it might get a little disturbing.

The passage warns about believing a lie about myself. If I say "I walk in light" and actually walk in darkness, there is a problem. There is a problem of truth. It is entirely possible, apparently, to say and even believe that I have fellowship with Christ when I don't at all. How to tell the difference? The difference is detected in what I do. This test is repeated over and over. "Walk in darkness". "Say we have no sin". "Say we have not sinned". That's the issue, isn't it? He writes, in fact, that the very reason for writing is "so that you may not sin." And that's the problem. We do. So now what? Is all lost? Are we deceiving ourselves? Is the truth not in us? Are we making Him a liar? These are tough questions.

And the passage offers two answers that are simple and stunning. First, in the midst of the demand for the "sin test" we read, "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." How glorious! Agree with God about my sin and He forgives it! I am, of course, leaving out an all-important phrase. Not only does He forgive the sin about which I agree, but He will also "cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Wow! Not only the stuff I admit to, agree with, recognize, but the stuff I missed!

Okay, good! Marvelous stuff! But John did say that the goal is to stop us from sinning. So ... when exactly is that going to happen? I mean, isn't that the actual expectation in this life? Apparently not. This is the other delightful answer to the problem. "If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." First, understand that the concept of "advocate" isn't simply "someone on your side". It is more like a defense lawyer, an intercessor, someone who pleads your case. How good is this defense lawyer? Well, He's ... righteous. Not only that, but the One we have to plead our case before God, the Judge, is the One who is the only possible answer to sin -- "the propitiation for our sins". He is the one who atoned for our sins, the expiator, the one that paid the price for our sin so that God could set aside the charges -- "paid in full". So, imagine that courtroom scene:

Satan (the Accuser): "Your Honor, I bring the charge of (some particular sin)."

God (the Judge): "How do you plead?"

Christ (the Advocate): "Your Honor, my client pleads guilty, but the penalty has been paid ... by Me."

God: "Case dismissed. Next?"

Oh, yes, that is truly wondrous. That is truly praiseworthy. That is genuinely awesome -- a sense of reverence with just a touch of dread stuck in. (It is not possible for me to contemplate this level of forgiveness and payment without being struck with the debt I owed that was paid on my behalf, and that can shake me.) The whole concept of walking in the light under the admission ticket of confession and with the ultimate defense lawyer -- the one who actually paid my fines -- beside me is really something about which to worship. And the fellowship it provides among those of us who share this condition is one of the primary concepts of "church". Go and enjoy that fellowship and worship.