Haven't read all the threads yet in this topic; but I would like to know what Jesus meant when He told people to "Go and sin no more." Did that refer to ALL sin, or just the sin that got them into the trouble that Jesus healed/fixed??????

How do we "Go and sin no more"??

Certainly, at the very least, it meant the particular sin that was at that moment being recognized. However, as we would all agree, Jesus would not give anyone "sanction" or "permission" to sin, thus making lawful the unlawful. So the command to "sin no more" must be thought of as one which can be broader than just one sin.

It is my conviction that when Jesus spoke that command, hope sprang up in the heart of the hearer--to think that Jesus would have enough confidence in them as to entrust them with such a high obligation. It would give one hope just to know that God must think him/her capable of following such a command. (After all, no one commands the impossible, right?)

Jesus also gave similar commands to a more general audience, such as in Matthew 6 where He asked us to be perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect. Such a command can hardly be applied to just one sin.

Sin is a disease that causes death. If the Doctor is working on us to eradicating the disease, should not we be happy to have Him take it all out, leaving no trace of it?

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

No doubt Jesus meant all sin. The "how to" part of His promise must necessarily involve 1) rebirth, 2) abiding in Jesus, and 3) partaking of the divine nature. "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not . . . doth not commit sin . . . cannot sin." 1 John 3:6-9. We must talk to Jesus about Jesus and as we do this we are Christlike, resisting sin, growing in grace, maturing in the fruits of the Spirit.

Welcome to the list.

Just time for quickie answers....


As GC said, it surely means that particular sin should no longer be committed.

But given God's hatred for rebellion, and the damage rebellion causes the rebel, I am very sure that it also includes all known sin.

Furthermore, sin being the bad thing that it is, it is very likely to include even unknown sins, assuming the repentant sinner continues to be guided by God.


1Jn 3:9 is pretty clear that the son/daughter of God cannot sin because God's Seed - Jesus - remains in him. So the key to going and sinning no more looks like Jesus abiding in the sinner and the sinner abiding in Christ.

What does that mean in specific, daily terms? We listen to God and He tells us "this is the way; walk in it."

I think this is a good, relevant, Scripture. And I believe it is possible to understand the verse in the sense that,

Those that are born of God can "not sin".

The power is available to them so that they need not sin.
Galatians 5:16-17 teaches (in contrast to Romans 7) that those that "walk in the Spirit... shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh... [and they] cannot do the things that they would." That is, they cannot succumb to temptation.

The name of the Lord is a "strong tower", and Satan has no power to break into it. May we abide in that tower, for the moment we remove ourselves from it, we are exposed and vulnerable. We will stumble and fall into sin.

Stewart

I would put it in much stronger terms than that. While some say that for one born of God it is possible not to sin, I believe the Bible teaches that for one born of God it is not possible to sin. Rather than victory over sin merely being available, for the true child of God victory over sin is inevitable.

Please can you qualify that thought a little more for me Asygo?

Adam was born of God, but it was possible for him to sin.
At what point did he cease being "born of God"?

Put another way, born-again believers who are abiding in Jesus and partaking of the divine nature are not only not sinning, more importantly, they are, while thus connected, "perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Neglecting to abide in Jesus results in resurrecting the mind of the old man and resuming a life of sin. Reverting back to the resurrected mind of the old man, however, does not undo rebirth. It's just that while they are disconnected from Jesus they are no longer able to benefit from the holy traits and sinless attributes Jesus implanted within them the instant they experienced rebirth. The gift of repentance, praise the Lord, empowers them to the repent which, in turn, gives God the right to forgive them and to restore them to the mind of the new man. Thus restored, they resume abiding in Jesus, partaking of the divine nature, perfecting holiness unto the honor and glory of God our Father. Adam did not cease being born of God when he neglected to abide in Jesus.

Good. Yes, thank you, I agree with all this. But to employ any language that expresses the impossibility of sinning, is fraught [in my view] with subtle dangers.

If one is born of God, he is being led by the Spirit of God. Since the Holy Spirit will not lead anyone into sin, one thus led will not sin. And while he abides in Christ, he cannot sin because in Christ in no sin, and Jesus will take him into sin. In short, sin and God just do not mix. Hence, one who is with God cannot also be with sin at the same time.

Of course, one can cease to be born of God, which is the subject of your questions below.


Adam could not have sinned if he had remained born of God. More than just having the ability to avoid sin, whoever is born of God actually avoids sin.


The Bible promise is not merely the possibility of avoiding sin. Whoever is born of God does not sin. And as a child of God, he is beyond Satan's reach.

When did Adam cease being born of God? First, we must agree that it happened at some point. The verse I just quoted said that the wicked one does not touch one who is born of God. But we know that Satan most certainly did touch Adam, a fatal touch at that.


John tells us that the child of God is the one who receives Him. But it is not a momentary event. We must receive Jesus, and keep Him. That means He must abide in us, and we in Him. John also tells us that if we do that, we do not sin.

At some point, I don't know exactly when, Adam must have ceased abiding in Jesus. Instead of receiving Jesus, he chose to receive Satan. It was at that point, when Adam replaced Jesus with Satan, that he ceased to be a child of God and became a slave of Satan.

I hope that helps clarify my view a bit.