My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
When we sin, the living Lord Jesus pleads our case before God the Father and removes God’s anger from us!
“Propitiation”is not a word we use very much, but it has a beautiful meaning. It means “a gift given to remove anger”. We know instinctively that sin makes God angry. It’s a personal offence to the beauty of what He’s made that we’d mar it with our sin. God’s pure nature is offended by sin!
Jesus offered Himself on the cross as a gift to God to remove His anger toward us. When God looks at the cross and sees what His Son was willing to do to take the guilt of our sins on Himself, how can He remain angry at His Son? He can’t.
So when we sin against God the Father, Jesus is our advocate, constantly applying His death on the cross to our sins and removing the Father’s anger.
If you’ve sinned against God and are afraid to come to Him now, don’t be afraid. His anger has already been removed. Come in repentance and restore your relationship with Him in confidence.
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