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.
Observations
first point:
John addresses this to “my little children”
who are his “little children”?
probably the church, since he’s talking about those who say they have fellowship with God (v. 1:6), those who say they know God (v. 2:4), those who have “overcome the wicked one” (v. 2:13), those who the word of God abides in (v. 2:14), etc.
also in v 2:12 and onward he addresses “little children” and “fathers” so it’s group of mixed ages or maturities
these things are written
which things?
are written so that John’s little children wouldn’t sin
second point: if anyone sins...
there is an Advocate on that person’s behalf
the advocate is representing that person to the Father
Jesus Christ is the advocate
Jesus is righteous
Things God Does
and other interpretations
the goal is not to sin
God has mad arrangements for if you sin
God has appointed Jesus to defend us if we sin
Jesus has no sin so he can advocate for sinners
Application
don’t sin
read the book of John to avoid sinning
when you sin, trust that your Really Good Lawyer ™ (Jesus) will get you off the hook
when you sin, thank God for making arrangements to get you off the hook
tell other people about your amazing lawyer who can get you off the hook for anything
Other: “He must be expensive”
You: “Well given how much it will cost you if you’re found guilty, it probably doesn’t matter what His rate is”
Other: “Sure, but what does he charge?"
You: “Sort of nothing. But He has two rules: You’re not allowed to pretend He doesn’t exist or call Him a liar, and He needs to be convinced that you’re giving your all to never commit a crime again”