DCLM Daily Manna Sunday 7 January 2024
TOPIC: Christ Our Advocate
TRXT: 1 John 2:1-11 (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.
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
KEY VERSE
“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”
1 John 2:1
DCLM Daily Manna Today’s MESSAGE
Carey Theological College website published this story about a judge who lobbied for the release of a man he sentenced to life in prison. Judge Kevin Sharp carried an authoritative tone when he visited the White House to lobby for Christopher Young because of his years on the federal bench. He also had a specific opinion of the inmate in question, because he was the one that sentenced him to prison in 2013. Young was sentenced to life in prison under a federal “three strikes” law, even though his drug charges were nonviolent. Sharp said Young should never have received such a harsh sentence but that during the trial, his hands were tied because of the sentencing statutes.
READ DCLM Daily Manna Saturday 6 January 2024 – Joy Triumphant
John the aged apostle reveals Christ as our Advocate who argues and pleads our case with God. He encouraged believers to live free of sin. He emphasised the central teachings of the Scriptures that God’s people should walk in the light and not forsake those who are guilty, having fallen into sin by accident. This is one way not to give in to Satan’s accusations but depend on Jesus Christ, our Advocate. Christ’s propitiation, advocacy and intercession for believers should, however, not be taken as a license to continue living in sin. Those who make sin a habit have not known Christ and are still in darkness.
Christ is the One with the right to judge and condemn sinners. Yet, He is also portrayed here as our Advocate who argues and pleads our case with God. We should, however, understand that the condition here is “if any man sin” – not when he sins. Christ’s advocacy is not for practicing sinners. The excuse that the grace of God is more than sufficient to forgive all our sins does not hold for those who deliberately persist in evil conduct.
A new life is possible only after we have repented genuinely with a firm commitment to follow the Lord faithfully.
