Free indeed.
“Then Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?’. ’No one, Lord,’ she answered. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Now go and sin no more.’” (John 8:10-11)
Imagine a horse tied to a fence post. The horse has been tied so long that it doesn’t realize when its master cuts the rope, and instead stays near the post for the rest of its life. That sounds silly, but it’s what a lot of us look like! The Word of God tells us that we are no longer bound to our sinful nature, and yet sometimes we remain tied to the ways of our pasts. The Bible says that if the Son (Jesus) sets you free, you are free indeed! Deeds are actions, which means that our actions should reflect our free status. Instead, how many of us can admit that sometimes of our actions look a little like we’re still tied to the post?
In this story of the woman caught in adultery, we see a beautiful picture of the character of Jesus. We learn 3 things:
Jesus rescues us from our accusers- even though the woman was wrong, Jesus came to her aid and rescued her from the punishment of man. He does the same for you and me! The Bible tells us that the devil is our accuser, pointing out our wrongs to God “day and night”(Revelation 12:10). However, the very next verse encourages us to know that we will ultimately overcome the enemy “by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony”.
Jesus did not come to condemn- scripture tells us that Jesus was not sent into the world to condemn it, but to be the doorway for the lost to be found by God.
Jesus does not leave us the way he finds us- Jesus did not simply rescue the woman in that moment and release her back into her old way of life. Nor did he simply pour grace on her and justify her sin. He sets the example of the kind of grace that causes life change. Only the love of God can change a heart.
Today I declare that you will begin to live your life from a place of freedom, not for freedom. Christ already paid for your freedom in full on the cross. Now I am not naive enough to say that once you accept Christ you will never stumble again. I am saying that you now have an extra source of strength! The Holy Spirit is working within you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases God; you don’t have to do it on your own! You only need to decide in your heart to turn away from an enslaved mindset, and your actions will follow. If you are reading this and feel like the horse that is tied to the post, unable to truly walk in freedom, this is for you! If you know you’ve been freed, but have been waiting on a magical moment of never sinning again, this is also for you (that won’t happen until Jesus comes back)! If you were waiting on a sign, here it is.
Be free and sin no more.
