Our Advocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Listen to the "Verse by Verse" episode covering this scripture.
The apostle John recognized the ever-present danger of sin. He warned Christians to be on guard to avoid and overcome these actions that are totally opposite of how God wants us to live.
Still, John recognized that we all do break God’s law and sin (1 John 1:8). So we can be eternally grateful that Jesus Christ the righteous—the only human who never sinned—is willing to intercede for us. Satan is our accuser, but Christ is our defense attorney. Even more than that, He is willing to pay our penalty for us, giving us a clean slate before God!
Our response should be repentance, change and commitment to follow in His footsteps of righteousness. We who have given God sorrow because of our sins should seek to please Him by obeying Him.
For more about coming before God with repentance and seeking His mercy, see “What Is Repentance?”
