Consider the following:
John 8:3-11
And the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman taken in adultery. And standing her in the midst, they said to Him, Teacher, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the Law commanded us that such should be stoned. You, then, what do you say?
They said this, tempting Him so that they might have reason to accuse Him. But bending down, Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger, not appearing to hear.
But as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.
And again bending down, He wrote on the ground.
And hearing, and being convicted by conscience, they went out one by one, beginning at the oldest, until the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
And bending back up, and seeing no one but the woman, Jesus said to her, Woman, where are the ones who accused you? Did not one give judgment against you?
And she said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I give judgment. Go, and sin no more.
Jesus forgave the woman of adultry, but he did not say anything about adultry no longer being a sin. He told her to go and sin no more. This both acknowledges that adultry is still a sin, and even after we are forgiven we are not to go about doing it again.
Another example can be seen in John 5:14 where Jesus had told the lame man at the pool of Bethesda to take up his bed and walk.
Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, Behold, you are made whole. Sin no more lest a worse thing come to you.
Recently, I’ve seen where some folks are going around saying that sin has ceased to exist because Jesus has forgiven us all of everything no matter what.
I definitely agree that we are saved by grace and not by works. God has done His part, and there is nothing we can do to earn or deserve it. However, we still have a part to play. We still need to confess our sins for what they are and repent of them, and then receive the forgiveness of our sins that has already been purchased for us. Note that this is not a religious work, but an act in faith to recieve what God has promised.
Grace does not stop sin from being sin. God’s forgiving a sin does not mean that the behavior is not longer a sin, only that the eternal consequences of the sin are no longer held against us.
Sin is still sin. Just because we are living in grace does not mean that anything that was once considered to be sin, an abomination, a work of the flesh, or rebellion has stopped being so.
God still hates sin and will not tolerate it to exist in His presence. It is because He loves us so much that He made a provision for the forgiveness of our sins through the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, the Lamb of God without spot or blemish.
Do not cover sin
Those who try to rationalize and redefine behaviors as not being sin are only trying to cover or hide their sin. Something is sin because God’s Word has called it sin.
No group can vote to make something no longer a sin, no TV personality can casually laugh it away, no popularity poll can change God’s opinion of it, no court can redefine it, and no psychology can help you cope with it.
Psa 32:5 I confessed my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgression to God; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Repent of sin
Repentance is turning away from the sin and not returning to it.
When we repent of our sin, God wipes away the eternal consequences of sin; however, we may still have some immdediate consequences to deal with. There are always consequences to sin. There are both temporal and eternal consequences to sin. When we sow to the flesh (sin), we reap of the flesh.
Luk 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
The most effective way to repent of sin and not repeat it, is to develop the same attitude toward it that God has.
Exhortation
It takes faith to please God. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith works by love. Love motivates us to want a closer relationship with God. Love motivates us to not let other junk (sin, rebellion, lusts of the flesh, doubt, unbelief) get in the way and come between us and God.
Even when we don’t necessarily feel love, we can choose to continue to act in love. This is the prime aspect of believing — the acting on the basis of what the Word of God says instead of what our flesh desires.
We have been delivered from slavery to sin, don’t let the flesh try and convince you otherwise. Having been delievered from this bondage gives us a choice.
It is utterly foolish to dabble in petty sins and give place to satan to come in and steal, kill, and destroy all the blessings that God has in store for us.
God has so many good things laid out on the table for us through His Spirit. Anything that the flesh has to offer pales in comparison!
God has written His law on our hearts. When we seek Him first and act in Love, when we are consumed with His purposes, the temptations to sin loose their hold.
Taste and see that the Lord is GOOD!
