1 John 2:12-14 I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.… I. I want the babes in grace, the weak in faith, to notice THEIR PRIVILEGE. "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." 1. This is a privilege extremely desired by the little children. They have but lately felt the burden of guilt; the Spirit of God has but newly convinced them of sin; and, therefore, above everything, their prayer is, "Father, forgive me." To the freshly saved it is a joy worth worlds to have their sins forgiven; and this joy belongs of right to all the saints, yea, even to the little children in the family of God. The pardon of sin is as the pearl of great price to you in your present stage of spiritual life; you would have sold all that you had in order to procure it; and now that you have it your heart is aglow with gratitude. Far be it from me to stay your holy joy, and yet the Lord will show you greater things than these. 2. At your stage of experience pardon is the most prominent blessing of the covenant. The newly pardoned does not yet see the innumerable other blessings which come in the train of forgiveness; he is for the present absorbed in the hearing of that one sentence, "Go in peace; thy sins which are many are all forgiven thee." Pardon is but an entrance blessing, a welcome at the doorstep: there are rarer joys within the house. You have become an heir to a boundless inheritance; all things are yours; heaven, and Christ, and God are yours. 3. Here let me observe that the forgiveness of sins is assuredly the possession of the new beginner in the Divine life. 4. Note, also, that your sins are forgiven you on the same terms as those of the apostle, and the greatest of the saints: your sins are forgiven you for the sake of Jesus, for the sake of His glorious person, for the sake of His honourable offices, for the sake of His atoning death, for the sake of His glorious resurrection, for the sake of His perpetual intercession before the throne of God. 5. Now notice that this is the reason why John wrote to you, little children. The moment, then, that a man has his sins forgiven, he is old enough to begin to understand that which is written, and he should become a Bible reader. II. I have to speak of THE KNOWLEDGE of these little children. "I have written unto you, little children, because ye have known, or know, the Father." The tiniest babe in the family of God knows the Father. 1. For, as we have seen, his sins are forgiven him. By whom is that pardon given? Why, by the Father; and, therefore, he that has had his sins forgiven him necessarily knows the Father. 2. Moreover, this is a piece of knowledge which the child of God obtains very early in his spiritual life; for whatever a child does not know, he knows his father. Little children, you know God now in your spiritual childhood. You could not write a treatise upon His attributes; but you know Him by the instinct of a child. Little children, the result of your knowing God as your Father is that when He is away from you you are in the habit of crying after Him. On the other hand, when you do get to your Father you show that you love Him by the perfect restfulness of your spirit. In God you are at home. The presence of God is the paradise of the believer. This also is true, that you seek to imitate Him. Would you not be perfect if you could? If you could, would you not be rid of every sin? And do you not glory in Him? Little children when they begin to talk, and go to school, how proud they are of their father! We cannot make enough of our God. We extol Him with all our might. With the blessed virgin we sing, "My soul doth magnify the Lord." III. THE PRECEPTS which John has written for your guidance. First, look at 1 John 2. "My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not." 1. That is the first precept — little children, sin not. Children are very apt to get into the mire. There is so much of carnality about us, so much of the old Adam, that the question is not into which sin we fall, but into which sin we do not fall. Like the pendulum, we swing to the right hand and then to the left: we err first in one way and then in another; we are ever inclined to evil. Avoid every sin. Ask for the grace of God to sanctify you wholly, spirit, soul, and body. 2. Further on in this second chapter the apostle writes to them again, and tells them (ver. 18) that it is the last time, and that there are many antichrists abroad. You will have to run your eye right down the chapter till you come to verse 24, for that is what he says to little children, because there are many antichrists in the world that would seduce them; "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning." Little children are very fickle. The toys which they cry for one day they break the next; young minds change with the wind. So, little children, there are many evil ones who will endeavour to seduce you from the truth of God, it is well to be on your guard against those who would mislead you. Till we are rooted and grounded in the truth, new things have great charms for us, especially if they have about them a great show of holiness and zeal for God. "Little children, let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning," leave to others the soon-exhausted novelties. 3. Little children, here is a third precept for you (ver. 28). "And now, little children, abide in Him." Let the truth abide in you, and do you abide in Christ, who is the truth. What next? 4. Read on to 1 John 3:7 — "Little children, let no man deceive you." Children are very credulous; they will believe any idle tale if it be told them by a clever and attractive person. Little children, believe your Saviour, but be not ready to believe anybody else. 5. Further on (1 John 3:18) we read, "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." 6. You have the next word in 1 John 4:4 — "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." Satan dwells in the world, and he is mighty; but God dwells in you, and He is almighty; therefore be not afraid. 7. The last precept to little children is at the end of the Epistle. Care fully read the last verse — "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." I do not think you are likely to fall in love with the idols of the heathen and bow down to them; but there are plenty of other gods which are the idols of one period and the derision of the next. Keep you to Christ. Ask not for pomp and show; ask not for noise and bluster; ask for nothing but that your sins may be forgiven you, that you may know the Father, and then that you may abide in Christ, and be full of love to all the family of God. (C. H. Spurgeon.) Parallel Verses KJV: I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.WEB: I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. |
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