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“If Any Man Sin—”, April 22
If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous.
1 John 2:1
.
When we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, we shall have
no relish for sin; for Christ will be working with us. We may make
mistakes, but we will hate the sin that caused the suffering of the Son of
God.
If one who daily communes with God errs from the path, if he turns
a moment from looking steadfastly unto Jesus, it is not because he sins
willfully; for when he sees his mistake, he turns again, and fastens his
eyes upon Jesus, and the fact that he has erred does not make him less
dear to the heart of God. He knows that he has communion with the
Saviour; and when reproved for his mistake in some matter of judgment,
he does not walk sullenly, and complain of God, but turns the mistake
into a victory.
There are those who have known the pardoning love of Christ,
and who really desire to be children of God, yet they realize that their
character is imperfect, their life faulty, and they are ready to doubt
whether their hearts have been renewed by the Holy Spirit. To such I
would say, Do not draw back in despair. We shall often have to bow
down and weep at the feet of Jesus because of our shortcomings and
mistakes; but we are not to be discouraged. Even if we are overcome
by the enemy, we are not cast off, not forsaken and rejected of God.
No; Christ is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. Said the beloved John, “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.” And do not forget the words of Christ, “The Father
himself loveth you.”
John 16:27
. He desires to restore you to Himself,
to see His own purity and holiness reflected in you. And if you will but
yield yourself to Him, He that hath begun a good work in you will carry
it forward to the day of Jesus Christ.
All sin ... may be overcome by the Holy Spirit’s power.
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