John 8: Sin in Our Lives

John Chapter Eight shows us the danger and consequences of continuing in sin. It begins with the Pharisees trying to find a way to attack Jesus, who had previously said:

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17 ESV)

“I tell you the truth, those who listen to My message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” (John 5:24 ESV)

Jesus had been talking about not condemning people for their sins. This would lessen the power of the religious leaders who benefited from the need to give to God to pay for their sins.

The leaders brought a woman to Jesus who was caught in the act of adultery to see if He would refuse to condemn her for the sin so they could attack Him. If Jesus did condemn the woman, they could call Him a hypocrite for going back on what He was proclaiming. Jesus did what His Father told Him to do and wrote words in the dirt as they brought the woman before Him:

However, when they persisted with their question, He raised Himself up and said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Then He bent down and went on writing on the ground with His finger. They listened to Him, and then they began going out, conscience-stricken, one by one, from the oldest down to the last one of them, till Jesus was left alone, with the woman standing there before Him in the center of the court.

When Jesus raised Himself up, He said to her, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no man condemned you?”

She answered, “No one, Lord!”

And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:7-11 AMPC)

Reading the entire account of what happened is so important. First, it begins by determining who has the right to condemn people who are in sin: only if you are sin free! Next, the full meaning of “no condemnation” is shown. If we simply state that Jesus doesn’t condemn us for our sins, well, that is true, but it is only part of what is said. He also expects us to turn from our sins!

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”... Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— (Galatians 3:10 & 13 ESV)

When we take Jesus as Lord, we are redeemed from the “curse of the Law.” The singular curse of the Law was that if you violated any part of it, you would go to Hell unless you sacrificed a lamb every year. There are curses (plural) that give the enemy a right to afflict us and future generations when we sin. This is why the New Testament urges us to turn from sin.

Christians with the Heart of a Pharisee?

The Pharisees felt since they sacrificed a lamb every year, they didn’t need anything else. They didn’t want a new message, they didn't want correction, and they didn’t want a Messiah. They were in control and they didn’t want anyone telling them about their sin. When Jesus brought correction, they continually looked to find faults in Him. How do you respond to messages about sin and the need to turn from it?

Whereupon the Pharisees told Him, “You are testifying on Your own behalf; Your testimony is not valid and is worthless.” (John 8:13 AMPC)

In this chapter of John, they accuse Jesus of testifying on His own behalf, even though He had performed more miracles than they had witnessed since Moses led them through the desert. Jesus refuted their accusations declaring that He only did what He heard from His Father. The Lord spoke with such wisdom, that many began to believe in Him.

So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, “If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 AMPC)

To be disciples of Jesus, we must be willing to learn His ways and do them! Then we will be set free. As the Pharisees insist that they are free, Jesus reveals the consequences of sin in our lives:

Jesus answered them, “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Whoever commits and practices sin is the slave of sin. Now a slave does not remain in a household permanently (forever); the son [of the house] does remain forever. So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free.” (John 8:34-36 AMPC)

Sin allows the enemy to come into our lives and gives him power over us while we live on this earth. We can be set free through Jesus. He has paid the price to free us from the enemy: the urge to sin can be removed but we must want to be set free. To be free from sin, we must be willing to stop sinning. What if we are not willing to stop sinning?

“I tell the things which I have seen and learned at My Father’s side, and your actions also reflect what you have heard and learned from your father.”

They retorted, “Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said, “If you were [truly] Abraham’s children, then you would do the works of Abraham [follow his example, do as Abraham did]. But now [instead] you are wanting and seeking to kill Me, a Man Who has told you the truth which I have heard from God. This is not the way Abraham acted. You are doing the works of your [own] father... ” (John 8:38-41 AMPC)

The Jews thought that since they were descendants of Abraham, that was all they needed. If they sinned, they would just sacrifice a lamb once a year. Throughout the history of Israel, they made this same mistake and many Christians are making the same one today.

You can say you are a Christian, just like these Jews said they were descendants of Abraham, but are you acting like your Father in Heaven? Are you trying to act like Jesus? When you hear the truth, are you willing to turn from sin or are you simply counting on the Lamb who was slain for your sin? Jesus begins speaking plainly about those who cannot receive and understand God’s truth about sin:

Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.

Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” (John 8:43-47 ESV)

Just like these Pharisees, there are some Christians who will not hear what God says, no matter how many miracles are performed. They cannot receive the truth because they are not really Christians. Because they are determined to continue in sin, they are unable to receive the truth and truly receive Jesus. They are what the Lord called “tares” or “darnels,” the poisonous weeds planted in the field of the wheat.

Another parable He set forth before them, saying, “The kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while he was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed also darnel (weeds resembling wheat) among the wheat, and went on his way. So when the plants sprouted and formed grain, the darnel (weeds) appeared also.” (Matthew 13:24-26 AMPC)

When Jesus explains this parable to His disciples, He says that God is the Man sowing good seed and Satan is the one sowing darnel or tares. The particulars of the plants reveal attributes of people operating with God and those who are wolves in sheep’s clothing.

• Wheat seeds are golden, tares seeds have black threads in them

  • Gold is God’s glory

    • Christians seek God’s glory not their own

  • Black is sin

    • Tares are rooted in sin, they may have some truth, but it comes with sin.

• Both darnel and wheat look almost identical until it is fully grown.

  • The top of the wheat forms a heavy head.

    • It bows under the weight of it.

    • As Christians grow in knowledge of God they realize more and more how big God is compared to them and readily submit to God’s ways.

  • The top of a tare is light and empty of kernels like wheat: they do not bend but stand taller than the wheat.

    • Tares may grow in knowledge, but it puffs them up

      • They will attempt to stand over and control others they perceive as less than.

• Wheat and tares produce according to their nature

  • Wheat nourishes those who receive it

    • They multiply with good fruit when planted.

  • Tares do have small seeds, but they are poisonous.

    • They will find faults in others, and their words will bring condemnation rather than correction.

It is easy to see the traits of tares in the behavior of the Pharisees. They were rooted in sin, refused to bow to Jesus, they used words to poison the hearts of others, and thought more highly of themselves than others. My question about the parable of the man who sows seed has always been: if Satan plants seeds, does it mean some people are born to be tares?

There is a process to planting. You have to place the seed in the soil in its season. In our lives, there is a season when we are planted: Each person has an option to be rooted in pride and/or sin or to consider how small we all are compared to God. We can receive information about who Jesus is, without our hearts being impacted by the futility of our lives without Him.

Without Him, our lives will end in eternal torment. That is the truth. He knows the past and the future, we may not even know the truth of what is happening right before us.

Unless we regard Jesus as vitally important, we are not really “believing” in Him. When scripture mentions believing in Jesus, the word “believe” means to trust in, rely on, and cling to. If we think that our salvation is not really all that important, that we can just continue as normal in life, then we have not truly believed in Jesus.

Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? (Ezekiel 14:3 KJV)

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry... (1 Samuel 15:23 KJV)

Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18 ESV)

If we say we are a Christian but focus only on what we want to do in life then we are stubbornly persisting in our own direction in life. We are making an idol out of our own desires by placing them over what our Lord wants. Haughty means to look disdainfully upon something. If we refuse to learn, we have a haughty spirit because we discount the Word of God.

If you continue in the sin of idolatry, pride, or a haughty spirit, then you will not be able to receive Jesus. If your life isn’t impacted when you receive Jesus, then you haven’t truly accepted Him as your Lord, which means owner.

The Pharisees thought much of themselves, based on their knowledge of what they had studied and the amount of influence they had. This is the sin of pride that kept them from receiving salvation through Jesus. Do you feel that your life is great, you are doing fine, and you don’t need Jesus? Then you have the same attitude as the Pharisees.

Whatever sin we have in our lives, if we continue in it, despite knowing that it is sin, have not submitted to Jesus as our Lord? We are still a slave to sin and sin is our master, not Jesus. The Lord paid a high price to set us free from sin… will you accept that price? Are you willing to depend upon, lean on, rely on, trust in, and cleave to Jesus: He is your lifeline to Heaven!

If you are ready to fully commit to Him, He has made it is so easy. A recent visitor to my home discovered that she was not a Christian, despite attending church as a child. She hadn’t thought of Jesus in years, except to say mocking words about Him.

After chatting with her about Jesus for a few days, she simply said something like, “God, I am so sorry. I have been so confused about who You, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are. Please forgive me for all the words I said mocking You guys. Jesus, you are my Lord, I really want to get to know who You are, if You will help me.”

After she said this prayer, she had a vision of a glowing ring; it was brighter than the sun. Then a relaxing feeling came over her; like the peacefulness right before you fall asleep. Next, an intense energy cascaded from her head to her toes bringing a wonderful sensation with it.

The ring was the wedding ring we receive as the “Bride of Christ,” when we take Jesus as Lord. Once we accept Jesus as Lord, then we receive the Holy Spirit who brings the peace that passes all understanding, along with God’s power.

The next step for this new Christian was to begin learning about Jesus. She will start with Genesis, then go on to the New Testament to learn about Jesus. There are free online classes in the Life of Jesus course that we go over in our weekly meetings if you’d like help learning.

If you need help breaking free from sin, come to a place where you can learn God’s ways, and receive tutoring and prayer so that you can be free and remain free! The Online Christian Church has everything you need and it is FREE!

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John 8: Sin in Our LivesOnline Christian Church

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