The Circle of Fear

1 John 2:1-11 (New International Version)

 ¹My 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. ²He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

 ³We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. ⁴The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

 ⁷Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. ⁸Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

 ⁹Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. ¹⁰Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. ¹¹But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

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The Circle of Fear

When the popular band “The Eagles” prepares a new song for concert, they sit in a circle with an acoustic guitar and unamplified voices and rehearse their intricate vocals. They call this exercise “The Circle of Fear” because there is no place to hide and no way to conceal any errors they might make in the harmonies. That sense of absolute exposure for their mistakes is what makes this drill so frightening to them.

Apart from Christ, we would suffer a far worse kind of exposure before the God of all justice. If we had no advocate and no escape, we would also have no hope. But in Christ, the believer has a Defender who stands before the Father on our behalf. First John 2:1 says, “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.” – With our failing exposed, He takes our defense. Our Defender carries our relationship with God beyond a “circle of fear” to a fellowship of grace and truth.

Our challenge is to live lives of purity and integrity that honor our heavenly Father. Yet, when we do fail, we do not need to fear abandonment or ridicule from our Father. We have an Advocate who will carry us through.

The “Circle of Fear” in which you are in right now, God the Father wants to help you and be there with you, taking away all the accusation that the enemy has against you. But in order for Him to help you, you’ve get to receive His Son Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. And today is the day for salvation; the Bible says, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7)

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Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail.
Thy mercies how tender! How firm to the end!
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

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Jesus Christ, 

the One who died as our Substitute
Now lives as our Advocate.