Devotions: Why We Do

 

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.

1 John 2:1-2 New American Standard Bible 1995

 

The book of first John, written by the disciple who also wrote the gospel of John, wrote this book late in life to the church to encourage their faith and instruct them on how to live. Part of that included encouraging them to not sin. Sin is disobedience to God, anything that is contrary to His will, missing the mark of His standards. God cannot be in the presence of sin, which is why Jesus had to die for our sins so that we could receive His righteousness. Otherwise we would not be able to spend eternity in heaven with God. However, just being given a list of do’s and don’t’s really isn’t that helpful in resisting or preventing sin. We need a motive, a reason to live righteously. The more we know God, the closer we get to Him, the more we will want to be like Him and please Him. That is what Christianity is all about, the relationship. Rote religion and duty doesn’t save anyone. It is love for our Savior which saves and motivates us to live for Him. “These things” which John wrote so that we would not sin is an explanation of God and His holiness. The more we understand God’s holiness the more we will hate sin and not want to do it. That understanding helps us to live rightly. Unfortunately, we are still humans with a sin nature. We will continue the battle with sin as long as we remain on earth. Thankfully, that is not the end. God’s mercies are new every morning. When we sin, we can go to Jesus and repent (acknowledge that we have done wrong, ask forgiveness and turn away from that sin). Jesus stands before God the Father in our place, when we sin He shows God His payment for our sin so that He will not hold it against us. He can do this because He is our propitiation. That is my favorite word! It means that Jesus completely satiated God’s wrath against our sin so that it was completely exhausted through His sacrifice. Our debt was paid in full; our criminal record was completely expunged. He did this for all of mankind, all we have to do is believe and accept it. That is our motive for resisting sin: He died to save us from it. He died to pay the penalty caused by our sin. How could we say that we love Him if we continue to do what He died to save us from?

Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins? Have you accepted His sacrifice, surrendering your life to Him? Do you seek to resist sin and live a righteous life for the love of God?

 

 

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