GO AND SIN NO MORE — John 8:11
Base Text: John 8:11
"'No one, sir,' she said. 'Then neither do I condemn you,' Jesus declared. 'Go now and leave your life of sin.'"
INTRODUCTION: WHY IS THERE EVIL IF GOD EXISTS?
If there is a God, why is there so much evil in the world? You have asked yourself that question more than once.
Every day we hear of war, or at least the threat of war. If there is a God:
- Why doesn't He end wars?
- Why doesn't He prevent the deaths of thousands of soldiers?
- The terrible injuries, the psychological and emotional trauma?
- The killing of innocent citizens, women, and children?
- The destruction of cities, homes, businesses?
- The displacement, malnutrition, and hunger?
Why does God allow weapons of mass destruction to be invented? Intercontinental missiles, nuclear warheads, biological and chemical warfare?
We also ask ourselves: Why doesn't God prevent crime? Murders, drug sales, violence. Why does He allow abuse — fights between spouses, physical or sexual abuse of children, kidnappings, rapes, extortion?
And why doesn't God keep me from sinning? If He is all-powerful, why doesn't He keep me from sinful thoughts, unkind words, forgetting to help?
We find the answer in His Word.
1. GOD CREATED MAN FOR GOOD (Genesis 1:31)
"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."
a) Everything was made good and with divine purpose
- God created man for well-being and happiness.
- The entire creation was declared very good.
b) Man is not a robot
- He is a person with a conscience and free will.
- God gave us the ability to choose.
c) There are only two paths
- People fight for their free will, they demand freedom.
- But there are only two paths, and each brings consequences.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20: "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction... choose life, so that you and your children may live."
2. EVIL IS THE ABSENCE OF GOD
a) God did not create evil — man chose it
John 3:19-20: "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil."
Evil is not a divine creation; it is what happens when man turns away from God. Just as darkness is the absence of light, evil is the absence of God.
b) The terrible consequences of sin
James 4:1-4: "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight."
Wars, diseases, envy, and the evils of the world are born from human selfishness, not from God's plan.
3. THE DIVINE PURPOSE IS TO FORBID EVIL
a) God gave commandments and warnings
The first thing He did was give clear commandments with the result of the disastrous consequences of doing evil.
b) In the Ten Commandments God forbids all evil
Exodus 20:3, 7, 13-17: "You shall have no other gods before me... You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God... You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. You shall not covet."
c) Time and again God insists
Isaiah 1:16: "Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong."
Isaiah 55:7: "Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them."
Many question God, but are unable to restrain their own evil. They demand freedom and rights, but they hate God because evil brings consequences.
4. GOD PREVENTS EVIL
a) Jesus' purpose was defined
Luke 4:18: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free."
b) When God heals, He warns: Sin no more!
When God heals someone, it is because He does not want them to continue in evil. When He forgives, it is so that man does not continue sinning.
- There are diseases that come from stress — God heals you and you remain under stress.
- There are diseases from sin — God heals you and you sin again.
c) Biblical examples of the divine warning
The paralytic at Bethesda (John 5:14):
Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years, and later told him: "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."
The adulterous woman (John 8:11):
The Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus, but He said to them: "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Everyone left. Then He assured the woman of forgiveness and told her: "Go now and leave your life of sin."
d) Paul warns repeatedly
Romans 6:12: "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires."
1 Corinthians 15:34: "Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God."
Ephesians 4:22: "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires."
God clearly forbids evil, does not desire it, and frequently prevents it.
CONCLUSION: TURN AWAY FROM IT
"Go and sin no more" means: if we have received mercy from God, turn away from evil.
It is like that woman whose husband beats her time and time again. She goes and files a lawsuit, justice applies restrictions, but she — with her need — returns to the one who beats and mistreats her. Is God to blame for this?
God has given the path, He has given the instructions, He has given forgiveness. The decision to obey is yours.
Today Jesus tells you the same thing He told that woman: "Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin."
🎥 VIDEO OF THE SERMON
Watch the full message here: https://youtu.be/H2_ws8nMyVk
Outline based on the sermon by Pastor Josue Angarita — Portal Campestre MMM Church, Giron, Santander, Colombia.
