‘Who among you is without sin?’ Was the question Jesus asked all those who accused the woman caught in the act of adultery. John 8:1-11
How would you or I answer this question I wonder? Perhaps we should not answer it so quickly with the obvious and common ones such as, ‘not I, I am a sinner!’ or ‘God no longer sees my sin, but Jesus in me!’
Jesus came to bear the sin of the world. He in fact became a curse as sin was laid upon Him. Gal 3:13. He was like a dried sponge drenched in sin soaking it all up – to contain it all. His body, was pure, perfect in its sinless state so He was able to hold all of sin in its entirety. He took murder, hatred, cruelty, confusion, hopelessness, despair, lust, greed, selfishness, mental illness, sexual perversion, fornication, all manner of lying, manipulation, addictions and dependency, fear, loathing, rebellion, unforgiveness, bitterness, and pride (and all the rest!) upon Himself. 2 Cor 5:21.
May we strive to understand what this truly means so we do not trample upon Christ our Lords work that He has done for us in our ignorance and carelessness.
Think of it this way; A father sees danger ahead for his child, for the child has no capacity to understand the danger, that it is in fact even dangerous, let alone have the power to do something about it. In his wisdom, of all that he knows, sees and understands He creates the way for his children to be kept from the devastation that lies ahead and the schemes that the enemy will devise. In his plan he has created a safe zone for his child and instructs him that he has created a place that he will be safe from what is coming to destroy all that is in its path. He shows him the area and tells him that there is only one way of entrance into this place and also adds that to remain he must abide by the rules that have been put in place. The child nods and believes his father, and enters in. As time progresses, there are voices that beckon the child telling him that he can come out and have some fun, just for a bit – so the child jumps over the wall of the alcove and joins the others with the anticipation and excitement of taking part in all its pleasures. He wonders what is so bad of this place anyway. He continues in his new found adventure and begins to grow up and adopt its ways and customs and forgets about the rules he was taught in his alcove and reasons he really didn’t see the relevancy of them anyway.
This child, has been given all that a father could give to him so he would be kept under the cover from the destruction that is to come, but the child has chosen not to remain in his caring.
You see the price of the Son’s life paid for freedom for all – from wrath to come and from sin’s hold. Instruction has been given, in the Gospel – how one enters in and the teaching of Christ reveals how one is to remain in His Kingdom until the end. These instructions are not forced or enforced – they are given. It is up to those who accept them to abide by them – to remain in the protective custody of God. The prodigal son in scripture describes this well.
To those who embraces sin, to practice it – they step out of God’s salvation boundary into the kingdom of darkness to which the rules of this domain apply, which is sin and death. It is a vulnerable and dangerous place to be. In God’s grace He does much for one’s such as these, some seen and most unseen – so they would turn and run back to Him. He puts things in place, He allows certain unpleasant things to occur and even may give them over to the evil that they crave for, or are deceived by. In all this, God can pluck anyone out of the trap they have walked into – by one thing. Humble repentance. This is the key to unlock the door that has us bound. Upon true repentance, which is to TURN from that which we are practicing – turning away from, to move TO God. It is not words we say like some kind of mantra. It is words along with our action and state of mind. In our sincerity, we may not really know what to do next, but what we must know, is that which we MUST NOT DO.
So back to the question,
Who among you are without sin?
Our answer?
Jesus, you are! My Savior and Lord! I will no longer walk in my sin – I will walk in You!
How would you or I answer this question I wonder? Perhaps we should not answer it so quickly with the obvious and common ones such as, ‘not I, I am a sinner!’ or ‘God no longer sees my sin, but Jesus in me!’
Jesus came to bear the sin of the world. He in fact became a curse as sin was laid upon Him. Gal 3:13. He was like a dried sponge drenched in sin soaking it all up – to contain it all. His body, was pure, perfect in its sinless state so He was able to hold all of sin in its entirety. He took murder, hatred, cruelty, confusion, hopelessness, despair, lust, greed, selfishness, mental illness, sexual perversion, fornication, all manner of lying, manipulation, addictions and dependency, fear, loathing, rebellion, unforgiveness, bitterness, and pride (and all the rest!) upon Himself. 2 Cor 5:21.
May we strive to understand what this truly means so we do not trample upon Christ our Lords work that He has done for us in our ignorance and carelessness.
Think of it this way; A father sees danger ahead for his child, for the child has no capacity to understand the danger, that it is in fact even dangerous, let alone have the power to do something about it. In his wisdom, of all that he knows, sees and understands He creates the way for his children to be kept from the devastation that lies ahead and the schemes that the enemy will devise. In his plan he has created a safe zone for his child and instructs him that he has created a place that he will be safe from what is coming to destroy all that is in its path. He shows him the area and tells him that there is only one way of entrance into this place and also adds that to remain he must abide by the rules that have been put in place. The child nods and believes his father, and enters in. As time progresses, there are voices that beckon the child telling him that he can come out and have some fun, just for a bit – so the child jumps over the wall of the alcove and joins the others with the anticipation and excitement of taking part in all its pleasures. He wonders what is so bad of this place anyway. He continues in his new found adventure and begins to grow up and adopt its ways and customs and forgets about the rules he was taught in his alcove and reasons he really didn’t see the relevancy of them anyway.
This child, has been given all that a father could give to him so he would be kept under the cover from the destruction that is to come, but the child has chosen not to remain in his caring.
You see the price of the Son’s life paid for freedom for all – from wrath to come and from sin’s hold. Instruction has been given, in the Gospel – how one enters in and the teaching of Christ reveals how one is to remain in His Kingdom until the end. These instructions are not forced or enforced – they are given. It is up to those who accept them to abide by them – to remain in the protective custody of God. The prodigal son in scripture describes this well.
To those who embraces sin, to practice it – they step out of God’s salvation boundary into the kingdom of darkness to which the rules of this domain apply, which is sin and death. It is a vulnerable and dangerous place to be. In God’s grace He does much for one’s such as these, some seen and most unseen – so they would turn and run back to Him. He puts things in place, He allows certain unpleasant things to occur and even may give them over to the evil that they crave for, or are deceived by. In all this, God can pluck anyone out of the trap they have walked into – by one thing. Humble repentance. This is the key to unlock the door that has us bound. Upon true repentance, which is to TURN from that which we are practicing – turning away from, to move TO God. It is not words we say like some kind of mantra. It is words along with our action and state of mind. In our sincerity, we may not really know what to do next, but what we must know, is that which we MUST NOT DO.
So back to the question,
Who among you are without sin?
Our answer?
Jesus, you are! My Savior and Lord! I will no longer walk in my sin – I will walk in You!
