“And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” Carnal Christians love to quote the first part of this text to justify their lax lifestyle. It’s amazing how sinning saints can become so Bible oriented when attempting to vindicate themselves. When the devil quoted scripture to Jesus on the mount he left out an important portion. So it is not difficult to see where these types of people get such an idea.
Paul had to deal with this kind of heresy in his day also. There were those who wanted to be saved by grace, but continue in sin. The apostle’s reply to such was, “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Certainly, as long as we have the old Adamic nature we will not be free form sin, but neither are we free to sin. Like the old time preacher used to say, “A sheep may fall into a mud hole, but it’s not his nature to stay there; on the other hand, the old sow will wallow in it.”
After forgiving the immoral woman Jesus told her that in the future her previous life style was to cease. It’s a serious thing to continue in sin once forgiven. Remember Jesus words to the man at the pool of Bethesda, “Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.”
“No man is condemned for anything he has done: he is condemned for continuing to do wrong. He is condemned for not coming out of the darkness, for not coming to the light.” (George MacDonald)
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