December 27

“And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father.” 1 John 2:1

What the Lord has done is wholly to forgive us for our sins and totally to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When Scripture says “all,” there is no doubt that God means all. Let us not divide his Word. He forgives all our sins, not only of the past but right up to date—sins that we are conscious of as well as those of which we are unaware.

“If any man sin.” God has spoken to us that we should not sin, Faced with his great forgiveness our gratitude, far from making us careless, will surely constrain us not to sin. But if a Christian should sin, he has an Advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ the righteous. It is now a family affair, as the words “with the Father” indicate. The very fact that the Son intercedes for us there guarantees that the least believer, however lately entered upon the Father-Son relationship with God has unqualified forgiveness.