BIble Verse of the Day Wednesday February 22nd, 2023

1 John 2:1-2 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father —Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

This verse tells us we have an advocate with the Father, Christ Jesus, the Son. An advocate speaks or writes in favor of another person, supports, urges on behalf of someone, or recommends publicly. In short, an advocate can be a lawyer, Jesus is my Lawyer, and He has never lost a case. An advocate stands up for someone in dire straits, or when we find ourselves in a predicament we cannot escape. John tells us that if we sin, we have Christ Jesus as our advocate. Since there will not be a day of our life we will not sin in our minds or deeds, we certainly need Christ Jesus as our advocate. 

The temptation to sin is with us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The temptation to commit a particular sin will not place us in a state of carnality, nor will we merely sin and place us in the realm of evil. If we continue in that sin without considering that we are sinning against God, we are in danger of slipping into corruption. We remain controlled by the Holy Spirit or Satan's evil forces; we cannot ride the fence between righteousness and evil. The control of our lives is not in our hands, contrary to the ways of the world that say, "I did it my way," we are either under the control of the spirit of God or the evil clutches of Satan.     

There is a vast difference between committing a sin, immediately going to God, asking for forgiveness, and giving in to the power of that sin. Christ Jesus's sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary gives us strength and influence over sin. When we confess to God our sins and ask for His forgiveness, we have the right to be represented by an attorney, our advocate with the Father, Christ Jesus, the righteous one.

The very instant we confess our sin to God, He restores us to a right relationship with our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Our salvation comes from the virtues of Jesus and His sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary and not from any good deeds we might mistakenly believe we have done. Because of this, God will dismiss the case against us brought by Satan and throw it out of court.