"GO AND SIN NO MORE"
by Stan Butler


In the 8th chapter of John, a story is told that while Jesus was teaching a crowd of people in the temple one day, the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Him and said that they had caught her in the very act of adultery. That must have been embarrassing enough, without being brought before a crowd only to be embarrassed again. They then proceeded to tell Jesus that according to the Law of Moses, she ought to be put to death by stoning, and wondered what He had to say about that. They asked Him this to trick Him, but instead, He turned the tables on them. He bent down and using His finger wrote on the ground. He then stood up and said, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” You know the story, they all left one by one and with no one left to condemn her, Jesus said two things to her, “Neither do I condemn thee,” and then the words, “Go and sin no more,” or in other words, “don’t do it again.”

Under the old covenant, sins committed weren’t remitted. A sin under the old covenant could only be pushed back till Calvary and the cross, because the blood of an animal isn’t, wasn’t, and never will be capable of remitting sin. We deserve death when we sin just as that woman caught in adultery, but because Jesus died for our sins, there’s not a stone cast in our direction. The only accusers we have are ourselves and the devil.

Our covenant however is one of remittal. Jesus when he instituted communion and holding the cup said in Matthew26:28, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” At His table, we examine ourselves and if we do a through examination, we then have to admit and we have to confess to sins that we have been caught in the very act while doing. There’s not a sin we can commit that can be done in secret. God sees all and knows all. According to 1Cor 11:31&32, as we examine our selves, we judge ourselves so we won’t be condemned with the world. And because of the blood of the New Covenant, Jesus says, “neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more,” or in other words, “don’t do it again.” It sounds impossible, “Go and sin no more.”  But Jesus wasn’t telling her she had to go and live a sinless life; he was telling her not to commit adultery again, not to continue living in the immoral situation she was in.

I don’t know about you but to me, it’s an embarrassment to stand before Jesus during the examination time of communion and confess to the same sin week after week and promise week after week to repent of the same sin. We sing a song with the words, “I stand amazed in the presence, of Jesus the Nazarene.” Sometimes I feel as if I should sing, “I stand embarrassed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene.” So, if you feel anywhere close to where I’m coming from, after you’ve eaten and drank of His precious body and blood, tell him “Jesus, thank you for not condemning me and I will go and sin no more. I promise I won’t keep committing this same sin. And this time Jesus, I’ll keep my promise.”