Heading Sin off at the Pass

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (1 John 2:1). Centuries ago, the Apostle John took up his pen under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and wrote those words. He was referring to his purpose in writing his short epistle, but the Holy Spirit intended to speak of far more than John’s few words. All Scripture serves this purpose—a warning against the deadly dangers of sin. Certainly, God has made abundant provision for our sin: “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins” (vv. 1–2). An ocean of grace—Christ’s perfect righteousness, atoning blood, and intercessory prayer—swallows up our sins forever.

But John still yearns to head sin off at the pass: “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” Sin is immeasurably destructive. Irrational. Deadly. Virulent. As I heard someone in prison ministry once say, “Sin always takes you further than you wanted to go, holds you longer than you wanted to stay, and costs more than you wanted to pay.” The Bible gives abundant evidence of this. Scripture stands in the road like the angel of the Lord waving a flaming sword of warning, stopping us in our tracks. It cries: “Stop! Think what it will cost!”

Think of the crucial role Abigail played in the life of David before he became king (1 Sam. 25). David was the leader of a band of warriors, anointed by the Lord as the future king, but struggling to provide for his men while he fled from King Saul. David and his men found work caring for the sheep of a man named Nabal. When the time came to collect, Nabal greeted David’s men with vicious insults and a flat refusal. David told his men, “Strap on your swords.” Filled with (he thought) righteous rage, he vowed to slaughter Nabal’s entire household. Abigail, Nabal’s wise and godly wife, heard what had happened and lost no time. She got abundant provisions together and met David on the road—heading sin off at the pass. She spoke wisely to him, causing him to think about what he was about to do. She referred to David’s past heroism in defeating Goliath with the sling; she looked ahead to the time when he would someday be king over all Israel. But she subtly warned him not to pursue this kind of blood vengeance with his military might. She talked him back from the ledge of murder—and perhaps also from an entirely different kind of reign, that of a tyrant rather than of a righteous ruler.

All Scripture is God-breathed and stands like Abigail in the road, teaching, rebuking, correcting, and “training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). O dear friend, be warned. Repent. Turn from sin. How great will your delight be on judgment day at the sins you were warned off from committing.