"What are We Saved From?" - 1 John 2:1-2
Overview
From What Are We Saved?
When someone asks, "Are you saved?"—the deeper question is, "From what?" Scripture's answer points us first to ourselves. Writing as a beloved elder to his "little children," the Apostle John addresses the church both to refute false teaching and to assure believers of their standing in Christ. He urges them not to sin, but he is also clear-eyed: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" 1 John 1:8. The Greek of 1 John 2:1 carries the sense, "if anyone does sin—and you certainly will." Sin is not merely making mistakes; it is missing the mark, and that mark is the holiness of God Himself.
Scripture repeatedly shows what happens when sinful people meet the holy God. Moses hides his face at the burning bush. Isaiah cries, "Woe is me! I am lost" Isaiah 6:5. Peter falls at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man" Luke 5:8. John collapses as though dead before the exalted Christ Revelation 1:17. God's holiness means both His absolute moral purity and His being utterly set apart, and He calls His people to the same: "Be holy, for I am holy" 1 Peter 1:16; "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" Matthew 5:48. There is the problem: God is holy, and we are not. He is just, and He cannot wink at sin. Every one of us will stand before Him.
This is why Paul's resolve to "know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" 1 Corinthians 2:2 is the fruitful moment of all Scripture—the place every other line is sketching toward. John names it precisely: "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. The word advocate pictures one who comes alongside the guilty in court. Jesus the Righteous One stands beside us because He alone lived the perfect life. Atonement means at-one-ment: at the cross, the spotless Lamb took our sin, bore the wrath we deserved, and credited His righteousness to us, reconciling us to God. This salvation is wide enough for the whole world, for "God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" 1 Timothy 2:4.
So—from what are we saved? In a word: ourselves. From our sin, from the judgment it deserves, and from the lie that we have no need of a Savior. And by whom? By Jesus Christ the Righteous, our Advocate and atoning sacrifice. This victory is not something we manufacture; it is received by faith, itself a gift of God through Word and Sacrament. In the waters of Baptism, God speaks His decision over us: mine. When the world asks the question, may our answer be clear and crisp—saved from ourselves, by Jesus, for the Father, forever.
Transcript
Would you open your Bibles please with me today to first John the second chapter for our 3s
study, first John chapter two. 9s
The late R.C. Sproul, a theologian, a told story of when he was walking along one day 14s
in a man came up to him and said, are you saved? 20s
Well, Sproul recounts that he was rather startled because all of a sudden this man was 26s
right in front of him and very close to him. 31s
And he recounts how he just shared the first thing that came to his mind. 36s
When the man said, are you saved? 41s
Sproul responded by saying, from what? 44s
From what? 48s
Having heard Sproul's response, the man that asked the question then then stuttered and 51s
stammered and really didn't have a succinct answer to the question that Sproul had posed 58s
from what? 67s
I'd like to pose this question for us today. 68s
From what are we saved? 75s
From what are we saved? 79s
Can you answer that question succinctly? 84s
Perhaps in just one word? 89s
Let's study. 95s
As we turn to, first John, the second chapter. 97s
The author here, first John, is the gospel writer, John, the apostle, John. 101s
And John is writing here to the church because there's false teaching that he is 108s
addressing and he's also writing to the church to assure them of their salvation. 116s
So he's refuting false teaching and he's also writing to assure salvation. 122s
Take a look when he plays at verse 1 of chapter 2, John writes this, my little children. 131s
That's a wonderful term of endearing it, isn't it? 142s
John is older at this point. 145s
And so he is addressing those to whom he has proclaimed the gospel and there's such love 148s
for them. 154s
It's a beautiful, beautiful expression of his love for them, my little children. 155s
And then he says, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. 162s
Sin is also encompassing, isn't it? 174s
Think of our confession. 178s
We confess that we sin against God and our thoughts, our words, our deeds, by what we do, 179s
by what we don't do. 188s
That is an all-encompassing confession. 189s
Is it not? 193s
Sin and thought were indeed what we do and what we don't do is a reflection. 195s
It's an expression of the fact that we are sinners. 199s
And so John and his love for the church is encouraging the church to steer away by God's 205s
But then notice what he writes, next part of verse 1. 216s
But if anyone does sin, now he's certainly not communicating that there can ever be a point 221s
in our lives when we are not sinners. 229s
In fact, when you look at the Greek on this, in terms of the tenses and the word that is 233s
used, a way you could translate that would be, if anyone does sin and you certainly will, 239s
that's what's being communicated in the tenses that are being used with this Greek word. 248s
That's why Greek is such a marvelous language here that is used basically because so 253s
that very, very specific. 258s
So he writes, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin, but if anyone does sin 262s
with the communication and we certainly will, that's echoed, isn't it, in chapter 1. 270s
Look at verse 8, please. 278s
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 280s
Is that sound familiar? 290s
Well, it's a portion of scripture that's just incorporated right into our liturgy, right 292s
as part of our confession. 298s
Verse 10, if we say that we have not sined, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. 301s
I think of an article that was in a major magazine, a several years ago, the title of it 316s
was, pick and choose Christianity. 322s
The author said that a study was done of churches, this study was predominantly in the Midwest. 327s
It was a study done of Christians in churches and what the study found is that, well, 335s
there can be a tendency to pick and choose what portions of the Bible you're going to want 343s
to listen to and to discard the rest. 351s
The study revealed that the most difficult teaching for Christians is about sin. 355s
That's understandable, isn't it? 368s
Because when the law confronts us in our sin, that can make us quite uncomfortable. 370s
This is what particularly struck me. 378s
Well, particularly struck me in this article was that one third of all of the people in the church 383s
in this survey, one third of the people involved across denominational lines, they checked the box 393s
that communicated that while they understand that they make mistakes in life, they didn't 403s
understand themselves to be sinful. 411s
That is a startling, isn't it? 419s
One third of all those people that were in that survey said that they didn't understand themselves 421s
to be sinful. 431s
The love of may there not be one person in this church that believes that they're not sinful. 435s
We're all sinful. 452s
We are all sinners. 454s
And the word here used for sin is the most common word in the scripture. 459s
It means to miss the mark. 465s
Well, who's mark are we missing when we see it? 470s
I think of the great account back in Exodus. 478s
In terms of God speaking to Moses through the burning bush and there the scripture records, 483s
he said, further, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 492s
and the God of Jacob, and Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God. 497s
Or I think of Isaiah's vision of the throne room of God recorded in Isaiah 6. 507s
Isaiah writes, 514s
Whoa is me. 515s
I am lost. 517s
I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips. 518s
Yet my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts. 525s
Or the story when Jesus directs the fish into Peter's net and Peter responds by saying, 532s
go away from me, Lord for I am a sinful man. 539s
Or John's revelation of the exalted Christ in Revelation 1, 544s
when I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead, 550s
but he placed his right hand on me saying, 554s
do not be afraid. 558s
What's being communicated here? 562s
What's being communicated is that God is other. 564s
He's the other. He is holy. 571s
And so the mark that we miss in our sinfulness is God's mark for us. 577s
Holding us has two dimensions that we see. 592s
First it's absolute moral purity. 596s
And also secondly, it's an understanding of being apart or distinct set apart. 602s
So when we think of the holiness of God, we understand that he is sinless. 611s
He is also set apart. 620s
Leviticus, the 11th chapter. 625s
For I am the Lord, your God sanctify yourselves, therefore. 627s
In other words, set yourselves apart here and be holy for I am holy. 631s
That's echoed in first Peter, the first chapter. 640s
As he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct. 643s
For it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy. 649s
Jesus says in Matthew the 5th chapter, 655s
be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 659s
And there's the problem, isn't it? 670s
There's the problem. 673s
God is holy and we are not rescinders. 677s
Picture the scene, would you? 690s
You're having lunch with a friend that you haven't seen in years. 694s
It's just a wonderful time to sit down with them and to share a meal and to find out what's been going on in their life. 700s
As you talk, it's just like you've picked up and never been apart. 709s
The conversation goes in a multiple directions. 717s
As you've been sharing joys and sorrows in your life, 721s
and then the conversation moves to faith. 727s
And the person that you're having lunch with says, 731s
you know to be honest with you, I just don't feel a need for Jesus. 736s
I don't feel a need. 746s
Your friend says, I'm happy. 750s
I got a wonderful life, wonderful family, wonderful friends, wonderful job. 754s
I just don't feel a need for Jesus. 761s
Your friend then goes on to say, 768s
well, I certainly believe in a God. 770s
It doesn't make sense to look at the complexity of creation 774s
and to say that there is no God. 779s
I mean, just a statistical probability that the earth would be just tilted the certain way, 783s
and the sun, the certain distance from the earth and the rotation, 790s
the earth and all of the complexity of it all, 795s
I mean, it justifies logic. 797s
Your friend says, to say that there would be no God. 799s
But then your friend says, 805s
but I just don't feel a need for God. 808s
I just don't feel a need for Jesus. 814s
God is holy, and he will judge all of us. 821s
God is just. 836s
He cannot simply wink at sin and say, oh, it doesn't matter. 839s
When we die, we don't go out of existence. 848s
No, when death comes, it's a transition in the location of living. 854s
And where will that be? 864s
Heaven or hell? 866s
We will all stand before the holy God, all stand before Him. 870s
People that have studied art, they call it the fruitful moment. 889s
They say, you know, when you study the great artists, the rim brands, Michelangelo, 896s
when you study the great artists, what the artists would do is they would, 906s
they'd make sketch after sketch, after sketch, after sketch of their subjects. 913s
Until they found the one where they said, that's it. 919s
That captures the essence of the person or the essence of what needs to be communicated. 926s
And after making all of those sketches, when they would come to that fruitful moment, 936s
then they'd begin to paint. 943s
As we look at Scripture, what's the fruitful moment? 950s
What's that fruitful moment that all of the other pictures, they drive through, they drive through, 957s
what is that fruitful moment in Holy Scripture? 964s
I think the Apostle Paul summarizes it so well in the second chapter of First Corinthians when he writes this. 971s
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 983s
So that's it. 994s
That's the purpose. 998s
Everything drives to that. 1000s
Everything can be reduced to that. 1002s
The fruitful moment is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1006s
Back to our text. 1017s
Verse 1, my little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. 1021s
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ. 1031s
That word advocated means to come along side. 1042s
It was really a legal term. 1046s
It represented the one who would come to the side of the guilty one in ancient day in the courtroom situation. 1049s
So what's lifted up here in this expression of the fruitful moment of who Jesus is and what Jesus does. 1059s
It's the understanding that He is our advocate before the Father. 1069s
And then notice it says as a descriptor of Jesus, the righteous. 1076s
Remember what's another understanding of Holy, it means righteous. 1084s
Jesus lived the perfect life. 1091s
Jesus never sinned. 1093s
Jesus couldn't sin. 1095s
He's God in the flesh. 1096s
He is absolutely righteous. 1098s
We have an advocate with the Father. 1102s
Jesus Christ, the righteous. 1105s
Then verse 2, and He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. 1108s
Remember the meaning of that word. 1116s
Atonement. 1118s
At one meant. 1120s
When Jesus went to the cross, he affected reconciliation with God. 1123s
He brought us back into that relationship, at one meant. 1131s
In relationship with God that had been severed because of sin. 1136s
The spotless lamb of God, the sinless one, the Lord Jesus took upon himself at the cross, all of our sin. 1141s
And we received His righteous, perfect life credited to us. 1151s
The wrath of God for sin was laid upon the Lord Jesus. 1159s
The advocate then before the Father, the righteous one comes along side of us and He has borne the penalty that should have fallen upon us. 1167s
And God has declared us forgiven. 1181s
Then John goes on to say, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 1189s
Paul writes in 1 Timothy, the 2nd chapter, that God desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1196s
The whole world has been reconciled unto God through the cross and the empty tomb. 1209s
And that great victory is received by faith. 1217s
Faith that's not our own doing. 1222s
It is the gift of God through word and sacrament. 1225s
His God transforms our hearts into people that trust Jesus as Savior and more. 1231s
Are you saved? 1247s
From what? 1250s
How would you respond? 1252s
One word? 1255s
ourselves. 1260s
We're saved from ourselves by whom? 1264s
In my study, I've got two pictures. 1277s
There are pictures of the baptisms of our grandchildren. 1284s
Those pictures were taken by the very talented photographer and artist in our congregation, Kathy Skinner. 1293s
And I'm going to request another picture of be taken, just like it, of our third grandchild when he's baptized. 1301s
I love these black and white pictures because it zooms in on the face of the children. 1319s
And there's just the hand by the head and water drips off of the fingers. 1330s
It is such a wonderful reminder that God comes in all of His grace washing us in the promises in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 1342s
Taking the victory of the cross and the empty tomb and making sure that we know that that victory is for us. 1358s
God making His decision about us in the waters of baptism where God says, 1369s
mine, mine. 1381s
What are we saved from? 1392s
By whom may our answer be clear and crisp? 1396s