The Propitiation
1 John 2:1-2
September 9, 2012
I had initially planned to pick back up with our study of Matthew this morning and go in chapter 23 dealing with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
But I realized it was time for the Lord’s Supper and since you’ve already had a three week break from Matthew I didn’t think one more week would do you any harm.
So we’ll pick back up there next week.
This morning I want to simply focus on a truth
That certainly needs to be focused on from time to time.
I’ve always liked the lyrics to the hymn “I love to tell the story”
The third verse says:
“I love to tell the story; for those who know it best seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest; And when in scenes of glory, I sing a new, new song, ‘Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.”
And of course the point of the hymn writer is that
Even seasoned saints never get tired of the message of the cross.
We never get tired of hearing about atonement.
We never get tired of hearing about forgiveness.
And that certainly is a God-given desire,
For it was never intended that we ever allow ourselves
To get too far from the message of the cross.
That, in part, was why the Lord’s Supper was instituted.
• It was a time to build unity
• It was a time to examine self
• But ultimately it is a time to remember the sacrifice of Christ.
And certainly, as the hymn writer said,
This is a theme that will echo even into heaven.
Revelation 5:8-10 “When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
And so it is a fitting topic to discuss
As we come this morning to the table of the Lord.
And as you have already noticed we are going to study
Just a couple of verses here in John’s first epistle.
And in this text there are three things I want you to see.
#1 THE CHRISTIAN’S EXPECTED PURITY
1 John 2:1a
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that that you may not sin.”
Certainly we catch the turn of endearment from John.
He writes to his little children.
It is affectionate, it is caring, but it also carries the wisdom of an older and wiser man
Giving important instruction to those who need it.
And John is clear.
“I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”
First we have to ask “what things”?
Flip back to chapter 1.
(READ VERSES 5-10)
John is very pointed about what it means to have fellowship with God.
And John clearly identifies the barrier to having fellowship with God.
WHAT IS IT?
SIN
• (5-7) – If you walk in sin there is no fellowship
• (8) – If we deny our sin (that is seek to hold on to it) we have no fellowship
• (9) – If we confess our sin then fellowship is restored
• (10) – If we seek to conceal our sin and cover it, then again no fellowship
And without going into too much detail about those verses
It becomes obvious that the great hindrance
To having fellowship with God is sin.
And there is really no surprise to us there.
God is holy, He has no fellowship with darkness at all.
And so it makes sense to us what John says here in the second chapter.
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”
WHY?
Because sin messes up your fellowship with God.
It will steal your joy, and muddle your hope.
So I’m writing to encourage you in every possible way not to sin.
And really I think this is a point
That desperately needs to be stressed in our culture today.
• We have heard so much about the mercy of God…
• We have heard so much about the grace of God…
• We have heard so much about the love of God…
• We have heard so much about the forgiveness of God…
That if you aren’t careful it is easy for a person
To take a real nonchalant view of sin.
The temptation is to treat sin like it really isn’t all that big of a deal.
“Since I have an unlimited supply of forgiveness,
why worry about a few sins here or there?”
But I promise you that is a Satan-inspired mindset.
Jude 4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
“licentiousness” would be literally a license to sin.
And there are plenty with that sort of mindset.
And yet we are reminded of what Paul taught.
Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”
How can you live in sin if you’ve died to sin?
He would later say:
Romans 6:12-14 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Paul definitely saw sin as something to be avoided at all cost.
And yes even by the believer.
WHY IS SIN SUCH A SERIOUS ISSUE?
Because of the consequences it brings.
ASBESTOS ROOFING IN AFRICA
(Mesothelioma)
AIDS IN AFRICA
Now why are we so afraid of Mesothelioma or AIDS?
Because it can kill you.
SO WE’RE AFRAID OF THOSE THINGS, BUT NOT SIN?
Sin not only kills the body, sin kills the soul.
Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.”
Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…”
And sin sends people to hell for eternity.
Revelation 20:11-15 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Ephesians 5:5 “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
That is why Paul said, even to believers:
Colossians 3:5-6 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience,”
But it’s not like hell is the only consequence of sin.
Sin will wreck your life.
It certainly blocks blessing in your life.
Jeremiah 5:25 “Your iniquities have turned these away, And your sins have withheld good from you.”
It can stifle the effectiveness of your prayer life.
Psalms 66:18 “If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear;”
Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”
But beyond that, sin just brings about terrible consequences
In everything it touches.
Need I remind you?
Genesis 3:14-19 “The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.” Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
All of that is because of sin.
The point is sin is not to be messed around with.
Sin will Wreck your life, Stop your prayers, Block your blessings,
Kill your body, and Send you to hell.
Mesothelioma has nothing on sin!
And so know that of all the truths that we learn about forgiveness,
Nothing we learn is meant to encourage you that sin is no big deal.
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”
Just know he is serious!
Stay away from sin.
BUT OF COURSE THAT IS A PROBLEM ISN’T IT.
Because we all sin.
We’ve identified with Paul in our lives.
Romans 7:14-19 “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”
Just because we don’t want to sin doesn’t mean we always succeed.
WHAT THEN?
Here comes the good news.
#2 THE CHRISTIAN’S EFFECTIVE PRIEST
1 John 2:1b
“And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;”
Now the emphasis is still “Don’t sin”, but if sin occurs in your life
There is something you desperately need to know.
“we have an Advocate”
We sin, and we know the consequences that should be on the way.
• We should lose all blessing,
• We should lose the chance to pray,
• We should be affected with curses,
• We should await sure and certain death,
• We should expect torment for all eternity.
That is what we should expect every time we sin,
But we “have an Advocate”
The word is PARAKLETOS
It means “someone who comes alongside.”
I have someone who stands with me before the Judge.
Someone who pleads my case.
And this is a good thing, I need an ADVOCATE,
Because I have two things against me.
One is the EVIDENCE, the other is the ACCUSER
We know the accuser don’t we.
• He’s the one that told God, “Does Job fear God for nothing..? But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” (Job 1:9, 11)
• He’s the one who accused Joshua of wearing dirty garments.
• And Revelation 12:10 says he accuses the brethren before God “day and night”
That means not only do I have a sin problem, but I also have a tattle-tale.
There is zero chance that my sin is going to go unnoticed.
I’m guilty and I will get caught.
I need a good lawyer.
And that is what I’ve got.
I have “an Advocate with the Father”
His name is “Jesus Christ”
Romans 8:33-34 “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”
Hebrews 7:23-25 “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
• He is my Advocate.
• He prays for me before the Father.
• He pleads my case.
And by the way, He is a good lawyer.
Notice He is “Jesus Christ the righteous;”
WHY DOES THAT MATTER?
Because the last thing you want at your trial
Is a lawyer that has bad history with the Judge.
And in the past that is all we had.
TURN TO: Leviticus 16
Notice how we were depending on a priest,
And Scripture said he had his own problems.
The picture was that the lawyer who was defending us,
First had to stand trial for his own sin, before he could plead for ours.
That is not a good advocate.
We want a righteous advocate.
And in Jesus we have one.
Hebrews 7:26-28 “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.”
So I try to avoid sin, but when I fail,
I have one who will stand beside me before the Judge.
Now friend, that is good, BUT IT ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH.
WHY?
• Because we stand before a righteous and omniscient judge.
• We stand before a Judge who never misses a verdict.
• We stand before a Judge who never condemns the innocent and who never acquits the guilty.
So I can have the best Lawyer in the world,
But if I am guilty that lawyer can’t do a thing about it.
That is why I need more than a good priest.
And we have more.
#3 THE CHRISTIAN’S ETERNAL PROPITIATION
1 John 2:2
“and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and nor for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
We can have a good priest, but we learned in Leviticus
That a priest is nothing without a payment.
I appreciate the prayer, I need the payment.
Someone has to pay for my mistake.
Praise God that is what Christ did!
“He Himself is the propitiation for our sins;”
Romans 3:23-25 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;”
1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
WHAT IS THIS PROPITIATION?
The word is HILASMOS
It means “appeasement” and it is a strong word.
John MacArthur said this:
“Propitiation by the way is a very strong word; hilasmos in the Greek. And Propitiation means “the actual satisfying of God’s just wrath”, it’s not a potential it’s an actual word. It could be translated “placated” or “satisfied”. He Himself is the satisfaction, He is the placation, He propitiates God, satisfies God, placates God’s anger for our sins…Nothing is left out. And Jesus death here was a satisfaction. He was the sacrificial Lamb on the ultimate Day of Atonement, whose blood sprinkled before God was a true satisfaction. Propitiation is too strong a word to mean something potential, because propitiation means it turns God’s wrath away forever…”
(MacArthur, John [Audio Sermon: “90-278 = The Doctrine of Actual Atonement Part 2 = Selected Scriptures”] clip begins at (43:30)
That is what Christ did.
He satisfied every possible reason God had for being angry.
When we stood at court, our Advocate stood beside us, and yet our sin was enough to condemn us anyway, and the Judge was livid!
And then our Advocate did the most unthinkable thing.
He told the Judge that He would pay our sentence.
He satisfied the wrath of the Judge.
That is why I love Jesus’ words on the cross.
John 19:30 “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”
Jesus totally finished the work.
• On the cross He actually atoned for the sin of those who trust in Him.
• He actually paid it all.
• He settled the account.
• He satisfied the righteous requirement of God forever.
Hebrews 10:10-14 “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
He doesn’t keep suffering…
He won’t have to come again to suffer again…
At that one moment He satisfied God’s wrath for all eternity,
For all who sinned before Him and all who sinned after Him
So long as they believe in Him.
He totally appeased God’s wrath.
“He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”
Now don’t misapply that verse.
Some read it as though He paid for all my sin,
And He paid for everyone’s sin as well.
But propitiation is too strong a word for that.
If Christ fully propitiated everyone’s sin, then no one would go to hell.
Rather, what John is saying is that
He is the only propitiation this world will ever get.
He is our propitiation, and He is their propitiation,
Meaning they can’t claim a different one.
What Jesus did was so perfect and so effective
That no one would ever equal what He did.
He fully satisfied the righteous requirement of God
For all those who believe.
Romans 8:1-4 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
And friend, that is why we take the Lord’s Supper.
• I do my best not to sin.
• I know that sin never brings about good results in my life.
But as hard as I try, I still fail, and I still sin.
I’m so thankful to have Jesus stand beside me before the Judge
And not just that He is a sympathetic Lawyer,
But that He is a sufficient one.
For not only does my lawyer plead for me, He atoned for me.
He took away all the wrath God had for me.
He paid for all of it.
And now there is no more war between me and God.
Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
I once had fear, and now I have hope
Simply because Jesus satisfied God’s wrath on me.
And that is why when Jesus sat in the upper room, taking the Passover, ready to approach the cross He said:
Luke 22:19b-20 “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”
He didn’t do it for Himself, He did it for you.
He did it to pay the debt you owed.
He did it to satisfy the wrath against you.
And that is what we come to remember.
In a moment I’m going to pray and then
We will have a time or preparation for the Lord’s Supper.
Paul told us to examine ourselves and so doing partake of the table of the Lord.
So we’ll have a time of preparation.
And then we’ll tell Christ thank you for His sacrifice
By partaking of the Lord’s Supper.
LORD’S SUPPER
• Deacons come
Isaiah 53:1-3 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
• Give bread to deacons
• Deacon prayer
• Deacons pass out bread
Luke 22:19 “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
• Take Bread
Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.”
• Give juice to deacons
• Deacon prayer
• Deacons pass out juice
Luke 22:20 “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”
• Take Juice
• Prayer
• Closing Hymn
