Sin No More

Then neither do I condemn you" Jesus declared, "go now and leave your life of sin." --John 8:11

How often does one indiscretion or mistake turn out to land us neck-deep in trouble? The outcome of our own foolishness can result in a considerable mess that may take a huge amount of effort to clean up. We find ourselves bargaining with God, hoping that somehow we will be able to avoid any consequences. We utter a hasty prayer saying "Please God, just get me out of this and I promise I'll never do that again!"

If we were to honestly evaluate ourselves against God's standard, we would see that we do not deserve God's forgiveness. It is only because of His merciful nature and the gift of grace that we are forgiven time after time. When we confess our sins before God, not only does He forgive us, but he forgets our sin and we are given a fresh start. With that in mind, it is valuable to consider the story of the woman Jesus addresses in John 8, and think about how God deals with us when we sin.

The woman caught in adultery knows full well that she is in trouble. There is no denying or concealing her sin. She stands before Jesus exposed, ashamed, and anticipating the harshest of punishments. She makes no attempt to defend herself. The Pharisees stand ready to stone her to death, and all she can do is stand there. Jesus looks at her, tells her accusers that the one who is without sin may throw the first stone. One by one the crowd leaves and Jesus approaches the woman, asking her who accuses her. When she replies "no one," Jesus tells her "neither do I condemn you...go now and leave your life of sin."

Certainly the woman deserved to be punished, as do we. Because we are sinners, we deserve to die. By His mercy, God has provided a way for us to avoid that punishment. Jesus took our sins upon himself and died in our place. His crucifixion is what we should have experienced. With Christ's death on the cross, we are forgiven. Jesus' blood was shed so that ours need not be.
Although we are sinful people, God does not condemn us when we seek His forgiveness through Christ's blood.

I know that this is not something I deserve, nor is it something I completely understand. This unwarranted forgiveness motivates me to live a life free from sin. I know that is virtually impossible, but I also know that God forgives me each time I ask Him to. God has commanded us to leave our lives of sin. To do so, we need to rely on His strength. Left to our own devices, we will undoubtedly continue to find ourselves the victims of our own foolishness.