Provisions for Believers from the Cross Part 2

by P/T

What about Forgiveness and Cleansing from Sin

Because Christ has freed us from the tyrannical rule of Satan and enslavement to our sin nature, we have sufficient spiritual resources to keep from constantly sinning. That is if we choose to use them, it is not automatic. We no longer have to sin, for, as the apostle John put it, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin" (1 John 2:1).

However, in the previous chapter he had said concerning the sin nature, "If we say that we have no sin, (sin nature) we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1:8), and concerning personal sin, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (1:10). But the provisions our Lord has made for us, His children, are more than adequate to meet our every need.

As much as John wished his readers would not commit sin (2:1), he knew those who deny the reality of the sin nature and its presence (1:8) are likely to be self-deceived and choose to sin (1:10).  So he assured them, "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (2:1). Since this "if" introduces a third class statement it says to us look, you may or may not sin but if you do know that we have an advocate before the Father.

Four times John used the word "Advocate" (paraklhtos, "one called alongside") to refer to the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). Here in this context it is Christ Himself who is our Advocate with God the Father against any charges of the devil, that "accuser of the brethren" (Rev. 12:10) might bring against us.

In Rabbinic literature paraklhtosj meant "a friend of the accused person, called to speak to his character, or otherwise enlist sympathy in his favor."  In 1 John 2:1 Christ, our paraklhtos, is our "counsel for the defense." In this verse John called the Son of God "Jesus Christ the righteous," and in 2:2 he added that "He Himself is the propitiation for our sins?"

The One who has satisfied the righteous demands of the holy God (as our propitiation) is presently at the right hand of the Father pleading our case. No one could be more qualified to serve us as believers in this capacity, for "He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens" (Heb. 7:25-26).

Paul, too, wrote of the ministry of Jesus as our Intercessor: "It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us" (Rom. 8:34). However, why must Christ engage in continuing intercessory work since He exclaimed on the cross, "It is finished"?

Is His work not really complete, after all?

Yes, His judicial substitutionary work on the cross is finished. The fact of our salvation is complete. The crucifixion made a complete provision for redemption, propitiation, and reconciliation. That is our Salvation!

And that Christ's completed work on the cross provides the basis for His continual intercessory work on behalf of believers. The finished work of Christ enables Him to carry on as our Advocate and Intercessor in heaven, where God the Father "seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places," (Eph. 1:20).

As our High Priest He "is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (Heb. 8:1; see also 1:3; 10:12).  Jesus’ present work relates to the believers’ sanctification, which includes, among other things, forgiveness of sins and cleansing. Things necessary for continued fellowship.

This work of Christ with respect to forgiveness and cleansing raises other questions: Didn’t the atoning work of Christ cover the payment for all our sins?  And doesn’t that include past, present, and future sins? If all our sins are forgiven at the moment of salvation, why do believers need an Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous One, to plead their case before the Father’s throne when they sin?

Through the centuries people have given confusing and often contradictory answers to these questions. Some of the early church fathers believed that water baptism washed away sins.  So, they reasoned this way, "If baptism washes away sins, what will happen to a believer who commits sins after baptism?" Not knowing what would remit those post-baptism sins, some early Christians delayed baptism as long as possible, thereby supposedly decreasing their chances of being lost."

Out of this grew the Roman Catholic teaching that some sins are mortal (serious) and others are venial (of lesser consequence). It is easy to see how people could begin to question whether a Christian could lose his salvation. It is vital, therefore, to understand that God has provided for what may be called "initial judicial forgiveness" and also for "repetitive judicial forgiveness."

The first provision—initial judicial forgiveness—is given when a person believes in Christ as his or her Savior. This forgiveness of sins is available because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He has "offered one sacrifice for sins forever" (Heb. 10:12) and that one offering "has perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (10:14).

The second provision—repetitive judicial forgiveness—is given through Jesus Christ’s continuing work as our Advocate. Each time a believer commits sin, Christ the Advocate pleads their case, even when they are not repentant or have not realized their sin.  This repetitive judicial work as their Advocate occurs even before believers confess the sins they commit in their Christian living. One theologian observed, "Obviously, in God’s courtroom, where all statements by our advocate are absolutely righteous, He does not deny our sins, make excuses for us, plea bargain in our behalf, or try to have the case dismissed on the basis of technicalities.

Instead of attempting to obtain a believer’s release from the penalty of his sin by denying his guilt or by presenting supposedly mitigating circumstances, every time a believer sins, Jesus identifies that believer as His own and says, ‘I paid for that sin on the cross, too.’  To that defense there can be no other response but the one made possible by the cross. The Father answers, ‘That’s right. We will mark it paid in full. He is still judicially (positionally) perfect?"

God forgives a believer’s sin on the basis of Jesus’ work as our Advocate (1 John 2:1); this forgiveness is unconditional and is the basis for our strong belief in eternal security.

But a question still remains. What about the confession John wrote about in 1 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"?

This forgiveness refers to what may be called "conditional fellowship." God, who is light (1:5), wants to have fellowship with us, His children, but He cannot do that if we are walking in darkness (1:6).

So God in grace has provided a way whereby we can take care of the sin that interrupts the fellowship that disrupts our on going relationship in God’s family.

This forgiveness is conditioned on a believer confessing his or her sin, so it differs from the initial judicial forgiveness a person receives at the moment of salvation and from the repetitive judicial forgiveness of sins committed thereafter.

God has provided for continual cleansing from the sin nature: "If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [present tense] us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 :7—8). In these verses the singular word "sin" refers to the sin nature within the believer. God’s promise of continual cleansing from sin is a reminder of our continual need. John’s use of the present-tense "cleanses" does not allow for any notion that we can do away with the old sin nature in this life or that it doesn't exist.

How do we get that continual cleansing from the defilement of sin? We receive that by walking in the light as John wrote in 1:7. Our "new man needs the continual exposure to the light so that the light will overcome the darkness. The Word illumined by the Spirit is light!

As Zane Hodges rightly noted, "It is significant that John talked of walking in the light, rather than according to the light. To walk according to the light would require sinless perfection and would make fellowship with God impossible for us with a sin nature. To walk in it, however, suggests instead an openness and responsiveness to the light."

When we confess our sins, the estrangement and loss of fellowship with the Lord is restored. The uncleanness and pollution caused by the sin in the life must be dealt with. In 1:9 the plural word "sins" suggests that John was referring to acts of sin, (fruit of the root) not the sin nature, as in verse 8. This sin produces a defilement which only God is able to remove and He does as He acts to remove the contamination from "all unrighteousness."

The word "confess" means, literally, "to say the same thing." That is, we are to have the same attitude toward sin that God has. When God says in the Scriptures that something is sin, our immediate response should be, "That’s right, Lord, that is sin".  I agree with you about what it is and I am grateful for the work of Jesus Christ on the cross that cleanses from all sins. And I thank you, Lord, that you are faithful and just in your dealings with me.

He is able to deal with us in Grace precisely because of the Work of Christ on the cross. That's the very basis of Grace.

Summary:

God’s Forgiveness of Sin - Four Aspects