Bible readings. If you have your Bibles with
you, please open them up at John chapter 3 and
we're just looking at verse 16 to 18. That's
John chapter 3 verses 16 to 18. one and only
son that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life. For God did not send his
son into the world to condemn the world but in
order that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned but
whoever does not believe is condemned already
because he has not believed in the name of the
only son of God. And the second Bible reading
is from 1 John chapter 2 and we're just looking
at the first two verses That's 1 John chapter
2 verses 1 to 2 My little children I'm 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 He is the propitiation
for our sins and not for ours only but also for
the sins of the whole world And now it's Michael
to come up Morning again church It's great to
be together around the Word of God and before
we get into our text this morning Why don't we
ask God to help us in understanding? these words
of eternal life. Would you please pray with me?
Father God, we ask that as we come around these
inspired words that you have given to us, the
Church, to the world, that we wouldn't take for
granted what we're doing here this morning. That
you would be honored in this place. That you
would be that your son would be held high, that
your spirit would work freely among us through
the preaching of your word this morning. We ask
for this in Jesus' name and for your glory, Lord.
Amen. For the past few weeks, we've been working
our way through the first letter of John that
was written to the church in Ephesus. And as
we've seen, our apostle has been addressing some
false teaching that had found its way into the
church in regards to sin and how it relates to
the Christian life. If you think back over particularly
the last few verses, verses 6, 8 and 10, of the
previous chapter, chapter one, we've seen the
issue somewhat clarified and defined for us by
John's use of the phrase, if we say. Those little
if we say statements has been what John has responded
to thus far. For example, in the first claim
as we see there in verse 6, well that was something
to do with the false teachers and how they had
been saying that you don't need to care about
sin anymore because as they taught the Christian
soul had been united with God and so it didn't
matter what anyone did with their bodies anymore.
In the second claim as found there in verse 8,
well that was about addressing the issue that
once someone became a Christian they no longer
had a sin nature and thus could do as they pleased.
And the third claim as we see there in verse
10, well that was about addressing that as a
Christian you could actually stop sinning altogether
and become perfect on this side of kingdom come.
And so our apostle, he challenges the church
on what they were really in danger of falling
into by listening to these false teachers. He
addressed them to make it clear that as Christians,
we will struggle with sin on this side of kingdom
come. Because sin, it's an ongoing reality for
the Christian who still lives in the flesh. Now
over the past couple of weeks as we've looked
at John's teaching here, you may have started
thinking to yourself, like the original audience
was in danger of doing, that if sin is an ongoing
reality and if we're always going to be wrestling
and struggling and striving with it, then what's
the point of doing anything about it? Because
if we can't stop it, then what's the point in
fighting it? John had something to say about
that attitude to all of us this morning, because
he's in no way wanting to promote a lethargic
or even an empathetic attitude towards sin in
the church, but a culture of truth and holiness.
And so I want to show you just three things from
the text that we have before us this morning.
First, John tells us clearly why he's writing
to us the church. Second, he shows us the foundation
of our forgiveness and how we are to fight sin
every step of the way. And third, he shows us
the only hope that anybody has in this world
to have their sin fully forgiven. as they stand
before an Almighty God. And so if you have your
Bibles with you this morning, have a look with
me at just those first few words there in verse
one of chapter two. John says, my little children,
I'm writing these things to you so that, so that
you might not sin. Right, I think it's actually
pretty straightforward what our apostle is telling
us here. Everything that's come before, everything
that we've looked at so far in this series has
been about how real and true Christians live
in the light and the truth and the word of life,
which is the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what
John has been talking to us about so far. He's
pointed out that the true Christian is someone
who once walked in darkness, but because of the
message of the apostles, because of the acceptance
of the truth of their claims and teaching, the
true Christian now walks in the light and the
life of Jesus Christ. But as John has said, as
the Christian, as we walk, as we walk, as we
walk in the light, well, we will struggle and
strive and battle with sin every step of the
way. And so John clearly tells us here from the
get -go, the reason that I told you about the
reality of the Christian life, my little children,
which is a... is a way of John reminding us all
that we're part of a spiritual family and not
doing this on our own. The reason that I told
you about all of this isn't so that you would
be disheartened and give up and give in. No,
I told you the truth so that, so that you would
know the reality of the Christian life, so that
you may not sin. Now this is really interesting
church because on the one hand our apostle knows
that we can't live without sin trying to hinder
and harm us every step of the way. Yet on the
other hand he wants us to hate our sin and to
abandon it and kill it wherever and whenever
we can. So straight off the bat we see why John
has written to us the Church. It's to encourage
us in our fight against sin and our life of holiness.
This shouldn't come as any surprise to us this
morning because if we think back to chapter one,
particularly verses three and four, John told
us that he was proclaiming the good news of the
gospel to us so that we might come into real
fellowship with God Almighty himself. And through
that fellowship experience a life of true joy
in relationship. with God and his people. Remember
that's how John opened this whole letter and
he did that because he wanted us to grasp something
essential when we truly understand the love and
the grace of God. When that reality really hits
home and sinks deep into our hearts, we begin
to see that a genuine relationship with Jesus
produces real and lasting joy. And when that
joy becomes real to us, we won't want to go back
into the sin and into the darkness in which we
were once enslaved. Picture this for a moment.
You're sitting next to a beautiful campfire on
a warm, a cold winter's night. The fire's warm,
it lights up the night sky and it keeps the darkness
at bay. You feel safe. You feel peaceful. You're
content. Then all of a sudden off in the distance
you hear fireworks. They explode, they're loud,
they're colourful and they're somewhat beautiful.
For a moment they seem more exciting than the
campfire that you're sat at. So you get up, you
leave the warmth and the safety of the light
and you run towards the entertainment. But by
the time you arrive, it's all gone. The sky is
dark again, there's no light, there's no warmth,
just pitch black, cold darkness. Brothers and
sisters, this is somewhat... of a picture as
to what John is showing us here. When we understand
the love and the grace of God as shown to us
through the Lord Jesus Christ, when we know the
joy of the Lord that's found in real and lasting
relationship with him, when we're walking in
the light and in the truth, then it really should
change our attitude towards sin. I mean, yes,
sin might seem more exciting and thrilling in
the moment, but how could we want to leave the
warmth of what we have for that darkness, that
entrapment once again? Well, John is straightforward
with us here this morning. He says if we understand
the reality of the Christian life, even the ongoing
sin that we will all face and what it's tempting
us to do to go back into the darkness, then we
will learn to hate it. You'll learn to ignore
the so -called fireworks that seem so very tempting
in the moment and want to grow in the grace and
the truth and in the joy of the Lord. It's the
first thing that we see here. We see why our
Apostle John has written to us the Church. It's
so we don't give up and give in to the sin that
wants to take us from the light. and to steal
our joy. The second thing that we see here is
John's encouragement for all Christians. You
see, John wants us to know that the Christian
has a source of strength and hope to overcome
the sin that so easily hinders us. And so how
do we live a godly life even while battling ongoing
sin on this side of eternity? Well, John tells
us here. John tells us, look to Jesus. Look to
Jesus, and as you do so, remember these three
things. Verse one, first, he is our advocate.
Now in context, this is actually a word that's
associated with the Greco -Roman law courts and
John uses this word because he wants us to picture
ourselves as standing before the judgment throne
of God and as we stand before him to be judged
for the things that we've done, John says, remember,
you have a representative, you have an advocate
in all of this. And he's not just any advocate,
he's Jesus Christ himself. He is the one who
represents you now and into all eternity. Now
there's something really interesting that I want
you to catch here church. Notice that yes, Jesus
is our advocate, but notice who he advocates
us before. John says it's before the Father.
It's before the Father, and I say this is interesting
because I think we're meant to feel the weight
of something in John's words here. You see, every
single Christian on the face of the planet knows
that as we walk in the light and the truth of
the Word of God, we see things in regards to
our own sin and failures. and that we deserve
punishment for the things that we've continually
given into as we struggle and strive and battle
sin. I mean, if we're honest with ourselves,
brothers and sisters, we know that we're not
perfect, no far from it. And we know that when
we slip and when we slide and when we forget
and when we cast off, we're guilty. And if we're
really honest with ourselves, We know that there's
nothing in and of ourselves that we can put forward
before the judge of the living and the dead to
justify ourselves with. I mean if we were to
be judged on our own merit we would be judged
guilty and condemned for all eternity. We know
that and that can weigh desperately heavy on
a tender conscience. But John says here, my dear
children, remember that at this very moment,
we have an advocate before our Heavenly Father.
And because of Jesus, your Heavenly Father loves
you more than you could possibly ever hope to
imagine. That's why he sent his son in the first
place. He chose you before the foundation of
the world and solved the problem of your sin
by the blood of his precious son on the cross.
And that very Jesus, that very one who gave his
life on your behalf, now stands before the Father
and pleads our case. He is. our advocate. It's
like standing in a courtroom knowing, knowing
beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're guilty.
Every failure in thought, word and deed is laid
bare for you to see and you know what the verdict's
gonna be. It's guilty and you know that judgment
is deserved but then Jesus steps forward. No
one denies the guilty charge mind you but he
simply says I have paid the price. And our Heavenly
Father, He looks at you. He looks at me, not
with wrath, but through the righteousness of
His precious, beloved Son. And as the gavel comes
down, it doesn't come down in condemnation, but
in grace. We are declared before Heaven's court,
forgiven, free. not guilty. That's the imagery
that John wants us to see in this word advocate.
Now there's something that we must not see here.
We're not meant to take away from this part of
scripture and that's that God the Father is somehow
versing God the Son in this scene. This isn't
about Jesus meek and mild versus an angry judge
intent on crushing us under his mighty gavel.
That's not the imagery we're meant to understand.
And that's because Jesus stands as our advocate
because our Heavenly Father He wanted to acquit
his people of their lawless deeds in the first
place. It's as we read before, for God so loved
the world that he gave, he gave his one and only
son that whoever believes in him will not perish
but have everlasting life. See Jesus stands before
our Heavenly Father and pleads mercy on us in
the first place because of the eternal plan of
the triune God on behalf of His chosen people.
This was the plan that they had from eternity
past to deal with the sin of His chosen people.
God wanted to send the Son, and get this, the
Son actually wanted to come, says the writer
to the Hebrews says, it was for the joy that
was set before him that he endured the cross.
And Jesus is now able to stand before the father
on behalf of us, because as we see here in the
rest of verse one, he is the righteous one. Jesus
is able to be our advocate, brothers and sisters,
because second, he is the righteous one. Now
this is really important that we get what our
apostle is telling us here. Because it's on the
merit of Jesus Christ and him alone that we are
able to be set free from the penalty that our
sin, our lawlessness, our law breaking, our wickedness
deserves. You see, as we saw last week, God is
righteous and just, which means that he doesn't
just wipe our sins. under the carpet whenever
we say sorry, no justice has to be served on
our sin and wickedness and lawless deeds that
we have really and personally committed against
him. And so the fact that John says that Jesus
is righteous, that he stands before the judge
of all the earth, Well, I would put it to you
this morning that he's actually saying a couple
of things. First, he's saying that Jesus in no
way broke the law of God. Why is that important?
Well, it's important because as Jesus stands
there, as our advocate, he stands there as someone
who has no sin in and of himself because he fulfilled
the law. as he came to live on this planet 2
,000 years ago in the person of Jesus. Now that's
incredibly important because he wouldn't be able
to stand and plead on our behalf, plead his life
on our behalf if he was a sinner himself. Now
Jesus had to live the life we couldn't. He had
to be the person that we could never possibly
hope to be so as to stand in our place and plead
his perfect life for our broken and sinful one.
A second reason that it's important that we understand
that Jesus is the righteous one is because he
took the penalty of what we deserve upon himself.
That, my dear ones, is what the cross is all
about. You see, you and I deserve the wrath of
God for our sin. We deserve hell. That's the
sentence. Yet because our Lord took the wrath
of God on our behalf, the great exchange, as
the Reformers call it, our place for His, His
perfect sinless life, was accepted as the absolute
and final sacrifice for our sin. Putting this
all together church, because of whatever you've
done, when God opens your ears to the gospel,
when he gives you the faith to trust in all that
Christ has done on your behalf. when all your
sin has been washed away and the Holy Spirit
comes to reside in you and you now call from
the depth of your hearts on God your Father.
That is a freedom. That's a privilege of not
just knowing things about God, but by being intimately
known by God. We are His and We belong to him.
What amazing grace. And that's what astounded
Paul with these Galatians. Because after all
they'd experienced, after all they'd been through,
after all that they suffered, as the King James
puts it, they were now willing and ready to turn
back to what they had been rescued from. In fact,
you might remember that's how Paul started his
whole letter to the Galatians, chapter one, verse
six. I'm astonished that you're so quickly deserting
the one who called you to live in the grace of
Christ and are turning to a different gospel.
Now this imagery church of being on a journey
and turning back from the way forward where we
get this imagery of backsliding and deserting
God isn't unique to Paul. It's actually a picture
that we see all throughout scripture. Think about
our Lord's sermon on the mount and how he described
the Christian life like a journey to his disciples
saying broad is the road that leads to destruction,
narrow the road that leads to life. And we're
warned in Scripture over and over again that
there are many things that are out to get us
to turn from the road that we are to continue
on. Like enemies that are out to tempt. Our own
faithlessness and Satan and the demonic realm,
just to name a few. That's why the Bible warns
that we must know the Word of God. That it must
be a lamp unto our feet. God said to Joshua that
we're not to turn to the left or the right. As
turning back to slavery like Israel wanted to
do has dire consequences for those that do so.
And that's exactly what Paul is worried about
with his brothers and sisters here. They come
to know God. They were walking with him but now
because of these false teachers and their doctrine
they were turning to something else than Jesus
alone and as a result deserting the one who called
them to live in the grace of Christ. What was
this something else? Well Paul gets specific
here in verse 10. He says, you're observing special
days, months, seasons and years. Now, straight
off the bat, you might be a bit like, what? That's
their problem? Out of all their cultic practices
with all their blood sacrifices and all that
temple prostitution, Paul is in fear of their
very souls because of calendar appointments.
Church, this is where we have to slow down. This
is where we have to really think about the text
that is before us this morning because this backsliding
is subtle and deadly serious. Paul says it here
in verse 11, I fear for you that somehow I've
wasted my efforts on you. Now we know in context
the Galatians had been infiltrated by the Judaizers.
They wanted these people to embrace Jesus but
come under all the Mosaic customs at the same
time for their assurance. Thus these days and
seasons that Paul has in mind here, they have
to do with the Jewish calendar. But what undergirds
this whole thing What makes it all so dangerous
was a desire on the Galatians part to again be
under the yoke of something that they had actually
been rescued from. And that was a pattern in
the created order, if you will, that they could
again point to and say, look. I followed this
set course. I've kept this day. I've done this
thing. Now God will really be pleased with me.
Now he really will accept me. We might say silly
ancient people, but really Paul is touching on
something here that can tempt every single one
of us in this room this morning. And that's the
temptation to use religion. as a way to look
for our justification. You see, the Galatians
were starting to look to something other, something
more than the final and finished work of Jesus
Christ so that they might feel more acceptable
to God and be more pleasing to him, so that,
like they thought with their own gods, he would
have to bless them. To say that another way,
they were turning back to these very things that
they were rescued from in regards to their pagan
practices, though with a different mask this
time. That's what Paul's identifying for us here.
These people had been rescued from a life of
being enslaved to observing certain times and
seasons for favour and luck. only to return themselves
to similar practices just with a different face
to it. And I say that we're all in danger of
this because each and every single one of us
in this room is tempted to succumb to something
other than looking to Christ alone for our assurance.
It's what Paul calls back -siding. I have to
admit, it's so much easier to think of back -siding
in regards to our friends who may have once been
so dedicated at church, at Bible studies, at
church camps, but then turned back to their old,
slavish masters and then seemed to just disappear
overnight. But is it possible Is it possible,
brothers and sisters, that while we think of
those people and identify only that as backsliding,
that we ourselves have been doing a very similar
thing, but with just a different mask to it?
Like using our dedication to church, our commitment
to Bible studies, our self -discipline with being
nice to strangers, our serving in various ministries
as something to hold up to God and say, see,
I am good and worthy. I deserve God's salvation.
Well, in a way, that's exactly what Paul is addressing
here. That mindset, that's what he calls backsliding.
He's saying to the Galatians, in fact, all of
us that look to something other than Christ alone
for assurance. If you're looking to certain religious
practices as a means to show God how good you
can be so that he has to accept and keep you,
you're going back. You're coming off the straight
and narrow. You're sliding back into slavery
with that mindset. You're turning back just with
a different mask to it. Church, when any of us
point to something other than Christ, in order
to feel like God will have to accept and bless
and keep you. No matter how religious it might
seem, no matter how pious it might be, well,
in looking to that thing, while holding to that
thing, you're actually putting yourself in slavery
all over again. That's at the heart of the matter.
Backsiding is, in this context, it's looking
to something other or more than Jesus for justification.
And as we've seen this morning, it is so much
more subtle and insidious than we often realise.
The prodigal son can go both ways in that case.
We can backslide into religion as well as away
from it. And Paul calls it for what it is. Next
he addresses the tragedy of backsliding there
in verses 12 through to 16. He says, Become like
me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong.
As you know, it was because of an illness that
I first preached the gospel to you. And even
though my illness was a trial to you, you didn't
treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you
welcomed me as if I was an angel of God, as if
I were Christ himself. Where then is your blessing
of me now? I can testify that if you could have
done so, you would have torn out your eyes and
given them to me. Have I now become your enemy
by telling you the truth? We are meant to feel
how personal Paul is getting here. We are meant
to feel the heart of the pastor pleading with
the congregations there. He remembers these people
with such fondness in regards to the first time
he met them and he thinks of them as family.
He was sick, but they loved him. They accepted
him despite him being a burden to them. That's
what Paul reflects on here. God led him to them.
He was ill and even though he was a trial to
them, they did all they could to help. And more
than that, they accepted what he had to tell
them, like a message from God himself. Notice
that verse 14, you welcome me as if I were an
angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.
Something interesting to reflect on here about
the context. weakness and sickness was a sign
that the gods weren't happy with a person. And
so Paul is saying that these people somehow they
saw through all of that cultural paganism and
they accepted and loved him for coming to them.
They love this man for bringing the gospel to
them and they did everything to make sure that
their brother was taken care of. It's a beautiful
picture of what a missionary or a pastor might
have with the people that he's brought the gospel
to. They're his children in that sense. But now
he wonders in verse 15. Now he wonders where
then is your blessing of me now. To put that
another way, Paul is pleading, he said you accepted,
you loved me because of what I came to tell you.
There's a love, a bond that's God given because
you knew that I was sent with the message that
open your eyes to set you free. But now, but
now have I become your enemy by telling you the
truth. That is the heart breaking, wrenching
question there in verse 16. This is a heartbroken
man. And that's what's meant to happen to the
hearts of God's people when we see our brothers
and sisters slipping back and falling away. It
should break our hearts. Because among other
tragic things, it ruptures the bonds of that
wonderful Christian fellowship that's been a
gift of God. Think again of those precious people
that you once fellowshiped with, that you had
that deep intimacy with, that great Christian
friendship, but then for whatever reason, something
other captured their heart.