No Condemnation. But No More Sexual Sin, Either. | John 8:1-11

If you listen to enough sermons about the woman caught in adultery and her encounter with Jesus, you might think that the only lesson to be learned is that Jesus doesn’t condemn sinners. But you would be only partly right. Which means, of course, that you would also be partly mistaken.

You read about the encounter in John’s gospel, chapter eight.  The scribes and Pharisees bring to Jesus a woman taken in adultery, caught in the very act. They say the woman should be stoned to death. Jesus stoops down and writes something on the ground. He then stands, and says to her accusers, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). Those that hear His words are convicted by their conscience, and file out. They leave the woman alone with Jesus. Jesus then stands up and asks the woman, “Where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” She replies, “No one, Lord.” And then Jesus replies with those immortal lines, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11).

These days you’ll hear preachers put the emphasis on the first thing that Jesus said, but rarely on the second. You will hear that Jesus did not condemn this woman who was caught in adultery. And the preacher will be correct. The preacher will say that Jesus forgives sexual sin. And, again, you will hear right, because Jesus does indeed forgive sexual sin. But what you won’t hear very often these days is any teaching on the second part of what Jesus said. Jesus commanded this woman to do two things:

1. Go (presumably home, to her husband, whom she had sinned against)
2. Don’t commit the sexual sin of adultery ever again

“Sin no more.” That’s what many preachers miss from this historical encounter. They stress the forgiveness, but not the changed life. They concentrate on who Jesus did not condemn, but they forget to mention what Jesus commanded the woman to do, or, rather, what to stop doing. But Jesus told the woman to do two things: Go, confront the consequences of your sin by facing the husband you have sinned against, and then don’t commit sexual sin ever again. Yes, He withheld condemnation. But he also commanded obedience. He extended restoration, but He demanded repentance.

The lesson for you and me is that an encounter with Jesus should result in a transformed life. If you are guilty of sexual sin, whether you get caught in the act or not, you should expect that Jesus will forgive you if you come to him in repentance, confess your sin, and ask Jesus to forgive you. And He will. But you should also expect to change your life. Forgiveness isn’t a “get-out-of-jail-free” card that you can play anytime you sin sexually. That’s why Jesus didn’t say to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you. Now, go about your business.” Jesus demands that you confess your sexual sin—and then forsake it.

That’s what “sin no more” means. For this woman, it means no more adultery. No more sinning against your husband. No more breaking of the seventh and tenth commandments. No more sexual sin for you, period. In other words, Jesus does not expect this woman caught in adultery to return to her home forgiven, but to continue in her adultery. Jesus does not expect you to come to him for forgiveness for your porn use and masturbation today, only to see you walk away ready to commit the very same sexual sins again tomorrow. “No condemnation” is always followed by “sin no more.”

There are two lessons that you and I should take away from this episode in Jesus’ ministry. One, Jesus forgives sexual sinners. Praise God. And two, Jesus demands that individuals caught up in adultery and sexual sin abandon their sexual immorality and sin no more. Forgiveness from Jesus is something you receive in a moment by grace alone through faith alone. But living a life free of sexual sin takes, well, a lifetime. It requires work. Don’t expect to have one without the other.