“And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.””
(John 8:11 NKJV)
Is there any historical interaction with Jesus that is quite as satisfying? The accused stands beside Him most likely guilty, yet most likely punished too harshly. And she watches her accusers fall away one by one. It is divine to hear God in the flesh say “neither do I condemn you“. Bask in the Glory of these words, as we all stand guilty. Bask in the Glory for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
In this understanding, a good friend reminded me that Jesus’ very next words were “go and sin no more“. This is the rubber meets the road moment. Jesus calls us to turn from our sin and turn to our Father.
Here I think we should develop some perspective. God reaches out to us, it is He who calls us. So we should not harbor any idea that we must put away every last sin before we call upon Him. Christ, in His compassion, stood beside those still in their sins.
The other side here is that He does want us to stop. He does want us to put behind us lust, greed, anger, or whatever else we might name. He does want us to be conscious about seeking His will and not our desires. He does want us to go forth boldly in eternal life.
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