Monday 1st April 2019 Morning Prayer Devotion
Scripture Reading:- 1 John 1:1-10
Topic:- Jesus Our Advocate [1]
Text:- 1 John 2:1
By Kenneth E. Hagin
If we sin, do we lose our salvation? If we are truly saved, will we ever sin? And if we do sin, what should we do to get rid of the guilt and the grief that hangs heavy in our heart?
The word “advocate” means Lawyer or one who pleads our cause or case. Jesus acts as our Lawyer, pleading our case before the Father. When we are tempted, if we sin, we can claim the promise of First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
After verse 10, the Apostle John went on to say, “My little children . . .” (1 John 2:1). Man put the divisions between these chapters; John did not write in chapter and verse like this. Therefore, reading the four verses of our text in sequence, we can see that John was not writing to sinners; he was writing to Christians.
First John 1:9 is often quoted to sinners, telling them to confess their sins. God didn’t tell them to. It would be impossible for a sinner to confess every wrong he had ever done, because his whole life is wrong! No, this verse was written to Christians.
John writes, “My little children [because they were saved under his ministry and were his spiritual 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.”
This brings us to a very sensitive subject in the Church world. When you teach about God’s grace and forgiveness, someone always believes you are giving people a license to sin. I always say, however, that people do enough sinning without a license!
It is quite obvious that God does not want us to sin: “. . . these things write I unto you, that ye SIN NOT” (1 John 2:1). It is quite obvious that if we walked completely in the Word and in love, we wouldn’t sin. But it is also obvious that none of us has achieved this yet.
Considering the other side of the issue, when people continually want to sin and choose to sin, I doubt that they ever were Christians to begin with. Why? When people live any way they want and do anything they want—cheat, lie, steal, and so forth—I doubt that a true Christian conversion ever took place.
Some have said to me, “It doesn’t make any difference what I do. Christ is my advocate.” One man said, “I might steal something next week. I’m not planning to do it, but if I do, Jesus already has forgiven me for it.” I doubt seriously if a man like that is even saved.
Prayer Points:-
1. Oh Lord God, I thank You for being my advocate and died for me, in the name of Jesus Christ.
2. Oh Lord God, delivered me from sinning and deliver sin from me henceforth by fire, in the name of Jesus Christ.
3. I command, sin shall not have dominion over me again, never henceforth, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Happy New Month!
