“She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’” – John 8:11
Jesus showed us the difference between addressing sin and condemning a person. He didn’t ignore the woman’s sin but He also didn’t destroy her for it. He showed her love, grace, and forgiveness and called her to a life worthy of those things. Our culture has largely forgotten this distinction, believing it to be impossible to do one without the other. That’s false!
The Bible is crystal clear – we are to pursue lives of holiness. We must implore other believers to be holy for our Lord is holy. We should lovingly confront sin in our fellow believers and expect them to do the same for us because we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Every person has temptations they struggle with and sins they fall into from time to time. Those sins must not be ignored, explained, excused, defended, or celebrated.
At the same time, Jesus offers grace and forgiveness for sins rather than condemnation. To everyone who believes, Jesus shows infinite mercy and love, forgiving us and washing us clean. Even when we stumble and fall, yet again. Jesus doesn’t condemn our existence because of our past or present sin. He doesn’t conclude that we just need to be thrown on the garbage heap because we’re obviously hopeless. He doesn’t walk away from us because we’re just too awful to forgive.
Our Lord calls us to do the same. To lovingly confront sin in our brothers and sisters. But never to sit in condemnation of them. To win them with grace not harshness or cruelty. To treat them with dignity even if they’ve thrown that to the wind. To show them Christ by our words, actions, and attitudes, the Christ Who lovingly calls them to radically transformed lives of holiness. #FollowJesus