1 John 2:1. New American Standard Bible 2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;
John writes “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin”. John refers to his reads as little children. John at this point in his life was the only remaining originally disciple. He had served and walked with Christ his entire life and know finds himself as the elder statesmen among the body of Christ.
Referring to them as little children is not to say that John looks down upon them. He sees them as spiritual children and has the utmost care and concern for them. Over the many years that John had walked with the Lord and served, the heart and mind of Christ had been developed within him. He saw these fellow believers the same way that Jesus viewed the originally disciples. Understanding this world is broken and lost and there are many deceptions.
John writes that you may not sin. God has not called us to perfection. No matter how mature we become in Christ we will never become sinless. If we did there would be no need to rely upon Jesus and there would be no need for confession. But God has called us to maturity and a right understanding of His grace and mercy will cause us to desire to walk and live in holiness and righteousness.
John points out that if we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father. That advocate is none other than Jesus Christ. He sits at the right hand of the Father and He is the mediator between us and Almighty God (Acts 7:55-56, 1 Tim 2:5). Because Jesus is our mediator, we can approach the throne of grace with confidence and boldness. Our sin no longer separates us from God because the righteousness of who Jesus is has been applied to our lives.
Jesus is called the righteous because He is without sin. He is perfect in every way. He is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. He who knew no sin has become sin for us so that His righteousness would be applied to us. The way God has designed salvation is that we can only be saved by faith alone. Our works are but filthy rags before the Living God. He simply bids us to come and fellowship with Him. To grow in Him and allow His character and nature to grow in us. Again, we will never walk in sinless perfection on this earth. But it doesn’t mean we are not called to holiness. As John told us previously if we do sin, we are called to confess that sin and He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, restoring us to right fellowship with Him.