The Righteous One

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1 John 2:1-2,7-8,12-17

My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If any one loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever.

When I did a word search at bibleverses.com on “righteous” you can imagine how many hits I got! Psalms and Proverbs alone produced about 10 screens full of bible verses containing the word. In Jeremiah, where I spent a lot of time this morning, God reveals to Jeremiah that He will send His Righteous One to save Israel. I looked up righteous in the dictionary: adj. acting in a just, upright manner; doing what is right; virtuous. Webster’s says to see “right” and “wise” for a more detailed explanation.

Right and wise. Old commandment/new commandment. John is telling his audience that “God’s commandment” has been the same since creation – since Adam and Eve! It is very old, indeed! Yet it becomes new by Christ’s sacrifice. It holds us to a higher level of righteousness. It demands a more rigorous evaluation of our lives, and our actions. It requires a deeper, more committed faith. I think our human nature is to want to be right. But we know that God desires wisdom.

John’s use of “little children,” “young men,” and “fathers” probably refers to readers at various stages in their faith lives. He is telling us that no matter if we were “saved” yesterday or if we have always believed, salvation is ours. But we cannot love this world. We cannot desire its laws and its habits; its standards of right and wrong; its ways and its truth. We are to walk as Christ did—in the truth and in the light of God’s wisdom. John tells us, ”the world passes away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides for ever.”

Our wants and needs will be met by God. Our lives in this world are but a moment in time! So we must not delay. And we must not falter. Begin anew. Choose to be wise over being right, “because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.”

I hope you spend your day walking in the light of God’s wisdom and rejoicing in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

This devotion was originally posted at Worship for the Weekday on April 23, 2004.