1jo 02v01 And If
Any Man Sin
"AND IF ANY MAN
SIN"
I John 2:1
You know that I do not want you
to sin. Strive after holiness. Ever seek to walk in obedience to God with a
sincere heart. Make perfection your goal. Never be satisfied with anything less
than perfection in yourself. But, I am fully aware of the fact that you will
sin. You and I are exactly alike in this matter. Though we are chosen of God,
washed in the blood of Christ, born of the Spirit, and sanctified by grace, we
are sinners still. None of God's people will question that fact (I John 1:8,
10). Sin is what we think. Sin is what we speak. And sin is what we do. And the
reason all that we think, speak, and do is sin is this: sin is what we are.
"We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags" (Isa. 62:6). With David every true believer says to God, "I
acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee
only have I sinned, and done great evil in thy sight" (Ps. 51:3-4). We
have found it to be true that "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and
the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other: so
that ye cannot do the things ye would" (Gal.
Yes, you will sin. So long as you are in this world,
you are going to go on struggling with sin. The straggle will not get easier,
but only more difficult in the future. But when you do sin, child of God, do
not despair. Your sin will not separate you from your Savior. When you do sin,
"We have an advocate with the Father." And you may be assured that
our advocate, who pleads with God for the non-imputation of sin to us, will
prevail, because he is Jesus, the Christ, the Righteous One, "and he is
the propitiation for our sins", the justice satisfying sacrifice for our
sins, "and not for ours only". Jesus Christ is the propitiation for
the sins of God's elect throughout the whole world.