Conquering sin and world – warning against Antichrist. (chap.2)
God forgives our sin: (2:1-3)
John addresses the believers as my dear children in an affectionate way. Christians do sin, but this does not mean they must be saved all over again. Sin in the life of the believer breaks the fellowship but does not destroy the son- ship. A true Christian is always accepted even if he is not acceptable to others.
How does God provide for the sins of the saints? We are saved from the penalty of sin by His death (Rom. 5:6-9), and we are saved daily from the power of sin by His life (Rom. 5:10). When we go to heaven, we will be saved from the presence of sin. The word “advocate” means “one who pleads a case” and is the same Greek word as “Comforter” in (Jn. 14:16). The Holy Spirit represents Christ to us on earth, and the Son represents us to God in heaven. His wounds testify that He died for us, and therefore God can forgive when we confess our sins. Christians do not have to do penance, make sacrifices, or punish themselves when they have sinned. Every sin has already been taken care of at the cross. But this does not give us license to sin. The Christian who truly understands God’s provision for a life of holiness does not want to deliberately disobey God. Sometimes it is difficult to forgive those who wrong us. But no matter what great damage others have done to us, we must forgive them in Christ and commit their life to Christ.
We can have assurance: (2:3-12, 28-29):
We need to make sure that we are under the assurance of our Saviour. Jesus is our Lord and He guides in our day-to-day life.
- We must obey God: (2:3-6): We must do what Christ says and live as Christ wants. It is nothing but “to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ and to love one another”(1 Jn.3:23). True Christian faith results in loving behaviour, that is why John says that the way we act can give us assurance that we belong to Christ.
- We must love God and God’s people: (2:7-11): The commandment to love others is both Old and New Testament doctrine. It is old because that it comes from the Old Testament (Lev.19:18). It is new because Jesus interpreted it in a radically new way (Jn.13:34-35). In the Church love is not only expressed by showing, it is also expressed through self-sacrifice and servant hood. It is selfless giving reaching beyond friends to enemies and persecutors. Love is the key to walking in the light, we cannot grow spiritually while we hate others. Our growing relationship with God will result in growing relationship with others.
Whoever loves his brother lives in the light of Christ. There is nothing in him (in one who loves his brother) to make him stumble. Hatred is a kind of internal “stumbling block” which can lead to disastrous spiritual falls. But the calamities to which hatred leads are avoided by one who loves his brother.
This is not so, however, for one who hates his brother. Such a person walks around in the darkness and he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. A Christian who harbours hatred for a fellow Christian has lost all real sense of direction. Like a man wandering aimlessly in the dark, he faces potentially grave dangers.
- We must live holy lives for God: (2:28-29): Believers should have right behaviour. Many people have faith but their behaviour is very bad. Others have good behaviour, but they do not have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But a believer with true faith must develop good behaviour. Good deeds cannot produce faith, but they are a necessary faith that true faith is present (Jam.2:14-17). A believer must abide in Jesus. By abiding we get the confidence to face Him without shame when He comes. Verse (2:29) explicitly speak of New Birth. Everyone who does what is right has been born of Him.