Go and Sin No More
Tone Deaf • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 26 viewsNotes
Transcript
Two stories same conclusion:
The message or conclusion of both texts is the same - “go and sin no more...”
We have an imagined tone that comes from a statement like this. In otherwords we come with a presupposition. We can color the conclusion with our understanding of who Jesus is, how he approached people, or what he sounded like.
If in your mind Jesus was a fire breathing prophet like John the Baptist or Elijah this may sound like the stern rigidness of an impatient father.
If you look at Jesus as a burlap covered Social Justice warrior with a rainbow peace sign you might look at this passage as a declaration that “you are good enough and you make me happy Go and don’t worry about sin anymore. I accept you for who you are.” I don’t think I need to tell you how far that undertanding is from the truth.
So let us consider Jesus in the two stories we find this statement made.
The first is the story of a man that sat by the pool of Bethesda this invalid man lived his days waiting for a healing power to make him whole but only if he could be first into the pool.
In John 5.1-8
After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole? The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
Often this passage is read as a stand alone event with an understanding of how you can get your unlikely miracle or how Christ is sent to restore hope or any other “seeker sensitive, sinner centered” reading of the passage.
However, John records for us the rest of the exchange and demonstrates that the interaction was not as micdrop moment as we all get.
And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
We are not told the specifics of the man’s physical impairment, but the context implies that it was caused by sinful choices. Jesus warned the man that he had been given a second chance and that he should make better choices. If the man returned to his sinful behavior, he would have wasted the opportunity Jesus gave him to live whole and forgiven.
The second story goes like this...
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
A woman was taken in the act of adultery (John 8:3–11). When the woman’s accusers brought her before Jesus, expecting Him to pronounce judgment, He told them that the one who was without sin should throw the first stone. One by one, the condemning crowd left. Then Jesus told the woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more” (verse 11).
She had been caught. She was guilty. She did deserve stoning according to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). But the religious leaders who had dragged her there had no concern for holiness. They were trying to trap Jesus into saying that the Law did not matter (verse 6).
And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Are there any indicators as to how Jesus would have sounded in these two separate events. I think there is...
A couple of things to keep in mind
Jesus did not come to destroy the law. Matthew 5.17
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
So to imagine Jesus with a ‘devil may care attitude is a misread’.
The Pharisees were bad at understanding the ‘why’ behind the law.
or the (spirit of the law)
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
So what was being offered to each of these individuals was not a savior that has changed the standard of holiness. Rather it is coming from the one who understands that holiness does not derive from suffering for sin. Rather it comes from a heart change toward sin.
Though you and I will undoubtedly suffer from sin. Suffering is not the point, It is to encourage a humility that God can bless.
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Jesus did not approach his people with this impatient demand toward holiness. Rather he understood that holiness is the way that people will find real life.
This is why the analogy of Jesus was two Paths, Two foundations.
Which is to say that if you hear Jesus with his back hand firmly pulled back saying if you sin again so help me. You are misunderstanding the tone of the passage.
In saying, “Go and sin no more,” Jesus was not speaking of sinless perfection. He was warning against a return to sinful lifestyle choices. His words both extended mercy and demanded holiness. Jesus was always the perfect balance of “grace and truth”
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The message to the man freed from being and invalid...
You have been set free from the condemnation of Sin do not return...
You no longer have to bear the marks of sin on your life don’t go back to that. You know what it is like to pay for the sin in your life with isolation, backsliding, and guilt don’t go back to that.
When we turn towards Jesus and accept His forgiveness, a profound transformation takes place within us (Luke 9:23; Acts 1:8). Forgiveness is not something that comes easily or overlooks the sins that separated us from God. It was an incredibly costly sacrifice for God to provide us with the opportunity to be cleansed and declared righteous before Him (John 3:16; 15:13). Instead of persisting on the self-centered path that initially led us astray from Him, those who have been forgiven can now walk in alignment with God's ways (Luke 14:27). Drawing closer to God signifies a journey towards righteousness, purity, and living a life of holiness (1 Peter 1:16; Romans 8:29). It is impossible to experience the life-changing power of forgiveness without undergoing a permanent and profound change.
The message to the woman in adultery...
You have been set free from the compulsion to Sin do not return...
Whatever was driving her back to sin again and again and again. The forgiveness, and grace of Jesus is bigger than that.
It is evident that the woman caught in adultery did not return to her unfaithfulness. Her encounter with Jesus had a profound impact on her. While she would still have imperfections like any other person, she underwent a lasting transformation. Her eyes were opened to the wickedness of her actions, and the allure of sin lost its grip on her. When we have an encounter with Jesus, sin no longer holds its deadly attraction. The power of grace brings about significant changes. "Should we continue to sin so that grace may increase? Absolutely not! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Romans 6:1–2). Through our rebirth in Jesus (John 3:3), the Holy Spirit breaks the power that sin once held over us (Romans 6:6). Previously, we only sought to please ourselves, but once we experience forgiveness, our motives change. Our new purpose becomes living to please God (Galatians 2:20).
It should be the goal of every Christian to “sin no more,” although we recognize that, while we are in the flesh,
we will still stumble (1 John 1:8).
God’s desire for each of us is to be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16).
Sin is no longer a lifestyle choice (1 John 3:9–10).
We can come to God and ask forgiveness (1 John 1:9; 1 Peter 4:1–2).
If we are God’s children, He will correct us, disciplining us when we need it (Hebrews 12:6–11).
His work is to conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).
