This is the story of the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees bring her before Jesus and say that the law of Moses says she should be stoned to death. They ask Jesus what He says about it, and here’s the scripture, “And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more’” (John 8:7-11, ESV).

When I read this recently, I asked, “If it was not possible to sin no more, how could he command it?” And I thought, well then, it must be possible. But then I thought, the reason she is alive at this moment was that everyone else had sinned. And if everyone has sin, then how can she be commanded to sin no more?

Her life, at this moment, almost seems to depend on her sinning no more. I think the easiest response is to say that Jesus was referring to her adultery. That she should forsake her sin. Once any sin is exposed, brought to our attention and we’re convicted of it, we need to reject it, hate it, confess it, ask God to cleanse it away.

If this was a habit, it could be easily broken by a single encounter with Jesus where we recognize our sin and His salvation. It shouldn’t make us feel secure in our sin, but make us feel like our life is owed Him, and giving up everything would be worth it to be with Him. If you aren’t willing to give up your sin, then you love it more than you love God. If you think you can’t give up your sin, then you are making it out to be more powerful than God, an idol in your life.

Jesus came to free us from the law of sin and death, not so that we could sin and not die, but so that we could have sin removed from our lives so we can live.