October 9, 2016

1 John 2:1,2 NKJV - "My little children, these things I write 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 the whole world."

What happens when a believer sins?  What will happen if a believer dies with unconfessed sin?

These two questions have bothered many believers over the years and I can only hope that my explanation of our Daily Verses will help any troubled saint.

First, though John wrote his letter to encourage Christians not to sin, he understood the reality that believers will sin.  What should they do?  Back to 1 John 1:9.  As soon as they realized they did what was wrong they should come humbly, but confidently to their Savior and confess their sin.  He is "faithful and just" to forgive them.  The believer should thank the Lord for His forgiveness but should also repent, desiring not to repeat that sin again.

Now, when a believer sins they should recognize that the "accuser of the brethren," the devil, will certainly  accuse them before God!  When that happens our Savior will stand up in the believer's place and defend them!  His argument will be that "He is the propitiation" for their sins.  Big question: "What does 'propitiation' mean?  Answer:  Jesus Christ completely satisfied God's just demands for judgment on sin."  In other words, Jesus paid the penalty for the sinner and His blood washed away the sins of every believer.  They need not fear that any sin was omitted from Christ's work on the cross.

Second, and the answer to the question regarding unconfessed sin, is that even the sin of not confessing all your sins was covered by Christ!  Every sin was dealt with by the Lord when He hung on the cross! 

Now please note what John also said, "...not for our sins only, buy also for the whole world."  This means that Jesus died for everyone because He loved everyone!  John 3:16 helps understand 1 John 2:2.  He loved the world and died for the world.  That doesn't mean that everyone will be saved.  They still need to believe what Christ did and receive Him as their Savior, John 1:12 and Revelation 3:20.  And that's where Christians have the responsibility to tell the world about Christ and give individuals the opportunity to come to the Savior who was the propitiation for their sins!