My children, I write this to you so you won’t sin. When anyone does sin, we have someone to help
us with the Father: The righteous Christ Jesus. He’s the fine paid for our sins—and not just ours alone, but for the whole world too.—John,
One short little memory verse, but a lot to unpack from it.
There are a lot of Christians—fake Christians, usually—who adopt the attitude, “We can’t keep from sinning. We’re fallen creatures. We’re poisoned by original sin. God knows this, and doesn’t ask the impossible from us. So we needn’t try to stop sinning.” And clearly these folks haven’t read (or are trying to dodge) John’s first letter: One of the reasons he wrote it, was so his readers wouldn’t sin.
But if they (i.e. we) do sin, we have Jesus.
No, really: Don’t sin.
Problem is, people leap straight for the grace. Which is there, and glorious, and nothing to sneer at.
Imagine an older brother who has a lot of money, whom I (presumably) have a close relationship. He tells me, “Hey, I can’t approve of how fast you drive. You’re gonna hit something. Drive the speed limit, wouldya? For me.” And if I love him I’ll try: I might slip up from time to time, but whenever I’m consciously aware of it, I’ll make the effort. For him.
You can see where this fairly obvious analogy is going. If I truly love my brother, I won’t take advantage of his unlimited forgiveness and financial resources, break the speed laws, and rack up speeding ticket after speeding ticket, knowing he’ll pay for every one of them. To do so would make me an huge douchebag.
Sad to say, this is precisely the sort of relationship many of us have with Jesus. He does want us to stop sinning, even though it’s our nature. He expects us to walk in the light, which he is. Where ordinarily this light, brighter than the sun, would burn our very atoms apart, he’s adjusted it so it only burns away sin. He means for this to be our usual environment. We can live in this light—when we choose to.
But we don’t choose to. We’ve invented a thousand cop-outs and misinterpretations of the scriptures which allow us to live in the dark. We cling to a contractual understanding of God: We said the sinner’s prayer, so he’s gotta let us into the Kingdom, because he said he would. But a personal relationship with him? We crap all over that, and choose sin. God’s a sucker, and his grace obligates him to cover it. And so we claim we see, yet Jesus calls us blind.
We treat Jesus’s safety net as if it’s a trampoline.
Jesus, our defense attorney.
John’s word parákliton/“someone to help” refers to someone like a lawyer, who advises or stands in for us. The courtroom-type language is deliberate.
Lawyers in the first century had about the same reputation they do now. They were seen as con artists who were paid to do and say anything for their clients. Truth didn’t matter. Fairness didn’t matter. They’d manipulate the laws and judges, and get their clients undeserved freedom and privilege.
And in fact, Jesus does get us undeserved freedom and privilege: There’s no possible way we merit it. We’ve sinned. Grace is inherently unfair: We don’t deserve a thing, considering how much we violate God’s established order. We deserve hell. But Jesus gets us grace. He takes our side of the courtroom, rather than stand for the prosecution. The Father has biased his courtroom in our favor. (No wonder the devil got frustrated and decided to rebel.)
But unlike the con men of his day and ours, Jesus is a righteous attorney. He doesn’t get us off on any technicality. He doesn’t commit evil in our defense. In fact, he pleads guilty. No, really. He accepts the guilty verdict… and then pays our fine himself. Restitution made. Case dismissed. We’re free to go.
The ilasmós/“fine paid” is usually translated “propitiation.” (Good luck finding anyone other than a theologian who knows what that means. Lucky for you, I’m a theologian. It means “fine paid.” You’re welcome.) No, he doesn’t erase our sins, like some Christians claim. He doesn’t forget them, toss them into the Abyss, and post a “No fishing” sign over them. He pays them. There were consequences. He died on our behalf. His payment isn’t to be taken lightly.
He paid for the whole world’s sins?
Calvinists teach Jesus only paid for Christians’ sins. John wrote otherwise: “Not just ours alone, but the whole world too.” Yes, Jesus has forgiven non-Christians too.
Does that mean they get to enter the Kingdom with us? Not if they don’t want to. John wasn’t trying to teach universalism, the idea everyone in the universe goes to heaven. Not everyone will. But everyone’s been paid for: If they want a relationship with God, if they want into the Kingdom, God’s not short on grace.
Which is something I often need to remember, ’cause I am short on grace sometimes. I rant about fake Christians a lot. I get frustrated with how lackadaisical they are about sin. (I get frustrated with my own rotten attitude about it as well.) But I know better than to say God’s not gonna save them. God’s grace is far wider than mine. If they want a relationship with God, Jesus has cleared their way too. Just as he has with me. Grace is awesome.
And now that we’ve been forgiven, and set free: Stop sinning!
Meditate on John’s words. Here they are in a few other versions.
Original. Teknía mu, táfta gráfo ymín ína mi amártite, kai eán tis amárti, parákliton ékhomen pros ton Patéra: Yisún Khristón, díkaion. Kai aftós ilasmós éstin perí ton amartión imón; ou perí ton imetéron de mónon, allá kai perí ólu tu kósmu.
King James. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
New Living Translation. My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
Amplified Bible. My little children, I write you these things so that you may not violate God’s law and sin. But if anyone should sin, we have an Advocate (One Who will intercede for us) with the Father—[it is] Jesus Christ [the all] righteous [upright, just, Who conforms to the Father’s will in every purpose, thought, and action]. And He [that same Jesus Himself] is the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours alone but also for [the sins of] the whole world.
The Message. I write this, dear children, to guide you out of sin. But if anyone does sin, we have a Priest-Friend in the presence of the Father: Jesus Christ, righteous Jesus. When he served as a sacrifice for our sins, he solved the sin problem for good—not only ours, but the whole world’s.
New English Translation. (My little children, I am 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 One, and he himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world.