My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 1 John 2:1-3 (NIV)
As believers in sweet Jesus, sadly, we still maintain sinful tendencies (and unfortunately, we will until we are at last home with the Lord). We are certainly not perfect and not one of us has arrived yet. If we are still living and breathing, sin is right there with us. The Apostle Paul pens in Romans 7:21-25 (NIV): “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”
Yet, this does not mean we are not to be diligently seeking to kill sin within before it kills us. It also does us well to remember that every sin carries with it a death sentence to something – death to trust, death to love, death to joy, peace and on and on we could go. Sin leaves a very wide wake. We never simply sin as unto ourselves either – it will affect everyone in our spheres of influence. And while believers in Jesus are forgiven, the consequences remain and they are not pretty. Trust me, sin is not our friend, Jesus is. He is the Friend that sticks closer than a brother. And He is only, always, just a breath away. Our goal is to sin less as we grow up in Him Who is our Head. We achieve this through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit and it is always for His glory and for our good. As we call on the Name of the Lord, He will catch us when we fall and carry us through the whatever if we simply call on His Name.
Jesus is presently at the right hand of God the Father interceding for the saints. He Who at one time walked this dusty earth (as well as created it!) pleads to the Father on our behalf. He is our Advocate on high, our friend Who will never leave of nor forsake us.
Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high. My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; on behalf of a man he pleads with God as a man pleads for his friend. Job 16:19-21 (NIV)