On Wednesday evenings I lead the youth group meeting at WBC right now. It's a fairly casual time for Bethany and I with the students, but we do spend a few minutes in Bible study each time we meet.
I've been leading this gathering for a couple of years and we've done several different studies, but I always seem to come back to a basic Bible study structure with the students. We take a book of the Bible, typically a shorter one from the NT, and work through it passage by passage. However, I don't just stand up and teach or preach it like I do in the main service on Sundays. Instead, I always begin by asking the students to make observations on the text we are studying that week. I ask questions like; what key words do you see? What repeated words are there? What stands out to you? Can you divide the passage up into parts?
My ultimate goal with this format is to teach the students how to study God's Word for themselves. When we last met two weeks ago one of the students absolutely nailed a key observation in 1 John 1:5-10 and it led us right into discussion about the main message of that text. It was beautiful to watch.
This Wednesday evening, we plan to study 1 John 2:1-6. Anytime I've taught on assurance of salvation I go to this text. To understand 1 John 2:1-6 let's zoom out and see why this letter was written. The Apostle John, the author of this short letter, lays out the purpose in 1 John 5:13. "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life."
John didn't write this letter to try and tear down our faith or to unsettle our confidence that we are saved. In reality he wrote in order to give us assurance that we have eternal life. And yet, this little letter can be concerning at times. Multiple "tests" are scattered throughout it that challenge our claim to faith when our lives don't live up to a pretty high standard. For example, listen to this from John 1:5-6. "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. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."
How many times this week have you claimed to have fellowship with God and yet chosen to walk in darkness? We actively choose to sin and passively omit the pursuit of holiness, and yet, John doesn't want us to wallow in guilt and defeat. In 1:9 he encourages us to confess our sins and find forgiveness. This forgiveness isn't a mirage. God bestows it because He is faithful and just. Justice demands that sin be forgiven. How can this be?
The answer comes in 2:1-2. This text lays out how our sins can be forgiven while God also maintains His justice and faithfulness. It boils down to two words, advocate and propitiation. Both get to the heart of the sacrificial death of Jesus, and both are vital for you and I to remember this week.
What is an advocate? Typically, an advocate argues a legal case on behalf of someone else. In this situation, you have sinned and feel the guilt and shame of sin. In that moment you must remember that you have an advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous. It makes all the difference in the world that Jesus is righteous. He went to the cross without sin and took your sin on Himself so that you could receive His righteous status. Christ's righteousness applies to you as you are connected to Him through faith. This faith rests on His work as our propitiation.
You probably haven't used the word propitiation this week, but it matters immensely for your walk of faith. Here's a clear definition of this word from J.I. Packer.
"The basic description of the saving death of Christ in the Bible is as a propitiation, that is, as that which quenched God's wrath against us by obliterating our sins from his sight. God's wrath is his righteousness reacting against unrighteousness; it shows itself in retributive justice. But Jesus Christ has shielded us from the nightmare prospect of retributive justice by becoming our representative substitute, on obedience to his Father's will, and receiving the wages of our sin in our place." - J.I. Packer
God's wrath over your sin has been satisfied and removed. You are no longer guilty in His eyes, and instead, are clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
These basic gospel truths need rehearsing because you will sin. You will step off the path and miss the mark. But that doesn't change your righteous status before God because of your advocate. Look to Him by faith and rest in His work.