When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman,
He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
She said, “No one Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” John 8:10-11 (NKJV)
This woman
had just been caught in the very act of adultery when they threw her at Jesus’ feet. What life-giving
power Jesus’ words must have given her as she was facing being stoned to death! Think of it, the
religious leaders were about to kill her for her sin, but her Messiah came and offered her the gift of no condemnation
and forgiveness of her sin instead. It
is interesting to note that she didn’t ask Jesus for forgiveness or mercy, He just freely gave it to her.
He knew that giving her the gift of no condemnation would give her the power to “go and sin no more”
and bring lasting change to her life. That is the miraculous power of His grace.
I find this scenario often
reversed these days. Passionate, Jesus-loving believers have the sincere desire for people to stop sinning
but the gift of no condemnation isn’t given until after there is change. The tendency
is to say, “Go and sin no more and the Lord will not condemn you.” It’s flip-flopped!
The problem is that there is no power in just telling people to stop sinning, if there were, the law of “Thou
Shalt Nots” would have worked and Jesus would not have had to die for our forgiveness. Sin loses
its power over people’s lives when they know that Jesus is not condemning them because He took all their condemnation
and punishment on the Cross.
Do you find yourself stumbling in the same areas repeatedly? Do you find
yourself crying out to the Lord begging Him to forgive you once more as you search high and low for just the right formula
to make the pattern of sin stop? Perhaps you desire to go to a ministry that will take you back in your
past to find out where the sin started. That is going to be one long session my friend…Adam is a
long way back!
I’ve got great news for you! Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for
you are not under law but under grace.” You are under the New Covenant of grace so you have been
set free from the prison of sin! When you place yourself back under the law, sin gains dominion.
When you walk in God’s grace, sin loses dominion. Revisit how Jesus ministered to
the most sinful of people….He gave them complete forgiveness with no condemnation. The ones He spoke
sharply to were the ones who did not need forgiveness…(tongue in cheek)
Nowhere in scripture do we find Jesus making follow up visits to these people making sure they stopped sinning.
He believed the best of His flock and He knew that anyone who encountered Him would never be the same again.
Are we to think these people never sinned again? Of course not, but one thing is for certain, sin
surely lost its appeal as they marveled at the grace and mercy they encountered with their Savior.
It is the same for you beloved Child of God! When the enemy
puts condemnation upon you, you can remind him, “Jesus said He doesn’t condemn me and I am forgiven so if He’s
not condemning me, you are SURE not condemning me!” Tell him if he wants to discuss it further he
can go chat with your Savior…
Grace is the Lord’s unconditional and free favor upon your life. It
wasn’t free for Jesus, it cost Him His life but it was His joy to come and die so you could LIVE! He
was cursed so you could be blessed! You did nothing to earn His grace and you will do nothing to lose it.
Know that when you fall, you fall into His grace! It is for you abundantly.
Enjoy your salvation…enjoy your
Savior! Because of the work of the Cross you are forever in His grace and favor!
