You Don't Know How Bad I've Been

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2 ESV).

 

Often, I have opportunities to talk with people who are struggling with a certain sin and who sometimes wonder whether there’s any hope of forgiveness. They feel guilty and condemned. I’ve also had people tell me that I could never know how bad they’ve been. If I did, I surely would not believe that they could be forgiven and restored. The answer the Bible gives is to rely on the blood of Jesus. When you’re guilty, you need someone to argue your case. You need someone who can help you win. That’s impossible for us to do on our own because the evidence of sin in our lives is damning.

 

But the Bible pictures Jesus as our defense attorney. Jesus speaks to God, the Judge, in our defense and pleads our case. What makes him qualified to do that? What guarantee is there that his defense will bring forgiveness and acquittal? The evidence he brings to God is not our sins, but his sacrifice. Jesus is the Righteous One who perfectly obeyed God for us. He became the atoning sacrifice for our sins; he died to cover them. And on that basis the Father hears and pardons.

 

Good Friday and Easter are soon to come, their power and significance should not have escaped us in our preparation for the celebration of the resurrection. There simply is no sin so great or so heinous that Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection cannot provide our absolution. As He comes to you proffering the gift of grace through His work, accept it and rest in His promise to forgive and cleanse us from every unrighteousness (cf. 1 John 1:9). Celebrate your freedom and peace through Him.