Day 8                                                    God’s Standards                                                  2:1

1 John 2:1  My little children, 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:

              Sin is so common.  Everyone sins.  If you’re human you will sin.  In fact if you say that you do not sin,  you are lying to yourself.  The human mantra is “we are only human.”  “We can’t help it.”  “It is how God made us.”  We desire sin,  but that’s not how God made us.

           Even though sin is common,  that does not mean it is normal,  or necessary.  It is not condoned by Christ.  God is not a grandpa in heaven who smiles and says,  “boys will be boys.”  God is holy.  In Him is no darkness at all.  God says to all of His children,  “Be ye holy,  for I am holy.”  (1 Peter 1:16)

            God hates sin.  It is not part of His plan for us.  He wants to have fellowship with us,  and sin will keep us from being able to walk with Him.  We must be righteous to walk with a righteous God.  Just because others are not holy,  does not excuse our sin.  We are not here to be like others.  We are here to be like Christ.  God’s standard is and always will be,  “that ye sin not.”  Every day when we wake up,  our prayer must be,  “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”  There is too much at stake.  It depends on how much we value a walk with God.  It also depends on how important it is for the world to see that Christ makes a difference in our life.  If we are just like them,  why would they want what we have.  What we have in Christ is a power that the world does not have.  We have the power to obey God,  not in our efforts,  but in the power of the Holy Spirit within us.   “For God hath not given us the Spirit of fear,  but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  (2 Timothy 1:7)  We have a nature to sin,  but we have the power not to sin. 

                God is not  trying to keep us from having fun.  His set of rules and standards are not a chain that holds us captive so we can’t be free.  Sin is the worst task master in the universe.  When we sin,  we are slaves to sin,  but true freedom comes from Christ.  His desire is not only for His glory,  it is also for our joy.  He wants the best for us.  Sin will ruin us. 

               The purpose of 1 John is “that we might have fellowship.”  There is another purpose to the book.  John writes in verse 4,  “that your joy might be full.”  When we are miserable,  and filled with guilt,  it is not because we are walking with God.  It is because we have chosen sin.  When we submit to His plan of holiness,  then we find the joy that God desires us to have.