Your personal advocate - 1 John 2:1-6

If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you will no doubt get frustrated at the times when you make mistakes and you end up sinning. It can be so annoying! You don't intent to; in fact you mean to keep your mind clear but you get caught out. There are a couple of passages in the New Testament that deal with these situations.

But first, in the Old Testament we have some healthy guidance in about this topic. The overall lesson of the Psalm 119 is that the word of God is vital and essential to our survival. For instance verse 9 says 'with what shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word'. Verse 11 states 'I have hidden your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against You'. This is all great advice to prevent a believer from sinning!

But what happens when we do sin!

That is where today's passage helps, as does yesterdays!

Yesterday we read in verse 9 - 'If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness'. On our part when we realise that we have sinned we should admit it (confess to God) and God will keep his part of the bargain - Forgive us and cleanse us!

Today we read in 1 John 2:1"And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous'. This verse is teaching that when we sin the Lord Jesus draws along side His Father in heaven on our behalf. He is our advocate, that is the one who represents us before God. He (Jesus) is righteous. He, as a result of his death, made us righteous before God or right with God. On account of his sacrifice (that dealt with our sins) he also maintains our right standing before God.

My dear fellow believer do not give up in despair when you sin. The Lord Jesus who saved you will forgive and cleanse you when you confess your sins but before that even happens he has dealt with the issue in the presence of God. Your confession ensures that you consciously enjoy the benefits of what he has done for you.

1 John 2King James Version (KJV)

2 My little 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:

2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

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Would a loving God send people to hell?

Would a loving God send people to hell?

Is this the right question or at least does it ignore some of the other issues of justice, choice and righteousness?

To start with let's look at what the bible says about life after death

No 1 - You are not just a body, you are made up of body, soul and spirit.

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thess 5.23

No 2 - You are dead in sin (no relationship with God) long before your body dies. That's the result of Adam's sin.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned - Romans 5:12

No 3 - You can have eternal life long before you leave this life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life - John 3.16

No 4 - You will never cease to exist, only your body will die temporarily. You will be raised to go to either heaven or the Lake of fire.

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt - Daniel 12:2

But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days - Daniel 12:13

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire Revelation 20:13-15

In regard to why a loving God would punish people, I recently heard one homeless man wisely tell another, “You wouldn’t want to live in a world where God didn’t punish injustices and just freely forgave sin—without any request for someone to choose the salvation He offers back. Imagine a place where injustice was never punished and people never recognized their sin and need for salvation. That would be terrible and painful.”

We all want justice to reign. For a good God to be truly good, injustice must be punished. This is why it makes complete sense that Jesus had to die. There must be a payment for the evil we inflict on the world and one another. Jesus’ death epitomizes God’s mercy and justice—and it all happened in one act.

Let me leave you with a couple of quotes that help as we consider good and evil, right and wrong and heaven and hell.

"Right is Right even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it."—G.K. Chesterton

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.” 
― C S Lewis, The Great Divorce

J B Phillips said "God is indeed all goodness and light but he will show no more compunction towards the evil things that we have allowed to grow in our hearts than a human surgeon would to a malignant growth'. 

C. S. Lewis: "The Christian does not think that God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because he loves us."

Have a think about these things; they are too important to ignore

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Have you ever done enough to qualify for heaven?

Mark 12. 28-44

28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David?

36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.

37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces,

39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts:

40 Which devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

The main lesson

Basically you never will be able to do enough to qualify for heaven. Here are some reasons:

1. Religion does not make the grade. 

2. Good living doesn't improve your prospects. 

3. Doing your best isn't good enough. 

This isn't because God is difficult and awkward like an old teacher, boss or parent. There are some people who you will never please no matter how hard you try but God's not like that!

The truth of the matter is that we as flawed humans we are not capable of living like God or in a way that pleases Him. He is perfect and has no capacity to sin: we are sinful and struggle to live life well. 

So what!

Do we have a problem without a solution!

No quite. That's why the Father (God) sent the Son (Jesus) to be the Saviour of the world. 

God is holy but not hateful. 

He cannot live with us as sinners but he has provided forgiveness and salvation through the death of his Son. 

All that is required is the following:

1. Our confession and admission that God is correct. The purpose of this confession is to be bring us to the reality of our true condition before God. 

2. Our repentance towards God. This is a change of mind where we see God for who he is and ourselves for who we are. It is more than regret. It is the correct reaction of turning and placing God in control, dethroning ourselves and confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. 

3. Resting on Jesus Christ for salvation.  This is called faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. It comes as a result of admitting our failure to change or save ourselves and our recognition and reliance on Jesus Christ to save us.  

A simple bible statement to summarise all of these stages would be 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,' Acts 16:31. 

To get to this stage we must understand that Jesus died, was buried and rose from the dead three days later. 

May God bless you though His word and His Son. 

Stephen 

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Priorities in 2016 - STT Bible Media Blogs

If you were asked to write what your primary objective in life was; what would you write? In other words do you know why you exist?

Jesus did! When commenting on his death he said one day, 'for this cause came I into the world'. The Lord Jesus knew exactly why he had come from heaven to earth. Many years after Jesus died one of Jesus disciples, John, summarised why Jesus came by stating that 'the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world'. 

In today's section of scripture the disciples are ducking, diving and debating who should be the greatest. Like most of us they were so absorbed with their own prospects and importance that they forgot about anyone else. The Lord Jesus was just about to suffer and die and they were having a stupid argument!

When push comes to shove most of us are really only interested in No 1 - me, mine, my!

God's Son, Jesus, didn't focus on his own things but went to the cross to die for our sins. He knew he was 'the way, the truth and the life' and that no one can get to God except through faith in him. 

Ask yourself  - 

Where is my focus?

What are my priorities?

Am I saved and safe for eternity?

Have I made the right preparation to meet God?

May God bless you and enlighten you as you read this passage of scripture. 

Stephen 

Mark 10:32-45

And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,

Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles: And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

And they said unto him, We can. 

And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

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