To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

Later Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you."

 

Some people complain that Christians dwell on sin too much.  The question is how much is “too much”?  Remember, it only required ONE sin for Adam and Eve to get booted out of the Garden.  Or is that, in fact, true?  Only one sin?  Let’s look at the situation… the serpent told Eve that she could not depend on God’s Word (Genesis 3:1-4 ).  Then he told her that she could be like God – or more accurately, she could be equal to God, which – in effect – made her capable of becoming a god herself (Genesis 3:5) – the lie that epitomized the very reason Satan himself got booted out of heaven.  Eve bought both lies, and ate the fruit, then gave some to Adam – who was standing right there the whole time and doing nothing to stop her (Genesis 3:6). 

 

All of a sudden, the two most blessed people ever created had thrown God’s blessings to the ground and trampled them in favor of their own desires… Through their rebellion, the door was opened for sin and death to come into the world.   Sin and death… sorrow and misery… disease and tragedy… guilt and depression… bitterness and hatred… unrighteous anger and pain… murder and adultery… perversion and pride…

 

So, again, how much is “too much”?  And again, what is the root cause of all problems in the world?  Sin. What is the one thing that keeps us from having joy and a full life in Jesus?  Sin.  What creates misery and guilt and depression and anger and bitterness and all the other things listed above?  Sin.  Could it be that the real problem is that Christians don’t dwell on sin enough? 

 

Jesus wanted the man at the pool at Bethesda to enjoy the new lease he had been given on life.  He wanted him to reach his full potential.  He wanted him to take the talents and abilities that God had given him and use them to glorify God.  If sin was an active part of his life, he could do none of these things.  Sin cripples and maims a life.  It destroys our ability to obtain joy.  It wrecks our relationships.  It eats at our insides, and makes us emotional and spiritual cripples.

 

"Stop sinning."  Just what does this mean?  Is it possible for a human being to be totally without sin?  No.  Why?  Because even the best of us will mess up at some point.  Even the best of us sins.  Even Paul - the man God chose to carry the message of the cross to the Gentiles - the man who wrote nearly half of our New Testament - had problems with sin (Romans 7:7-24).  So why would Jesus say, “Stop sinning”?  Because He knows that although a totally sinless life is not possible, a heart turned toward Him and away from sin is very possible.  A person who has repented of his sinful nature and turned his heart towards Jesus will sin less and less and less.  And when a person whose focus is pleasing Jesus commits a sin, he will feel… not just guilt… not just remorse… not just shame… but total broken-heartedness.  And once that person experiences that feeling of broken-heartedness, the likelihood of continuing to sin grows less.  Day by day, the person learns what it really means to be free in Jesus.  So, "stop sinning" is not a decree towards an impossible goal; it is an urging towards freedom.

 

“Or something worse may happen to you."  What did Jesus mean? It’s quite simple… The man had spent his life being a cripple, and Jesus had just healed him.  If the man led a sinful life going forward, any number of things could happen to him that would be worse than the crippled state from which he’d just been delivered… Yes, the wages of sin is death, but Jesus paid our “bill” in that department.  However, the consequences of sin can be any number of horrible things, like venereal diseases (some of which are incurable, and at least one of which kills), prison, broken marriages, etc. So Jesus was warning the man that he’d been given a new lease on life, and not to blow it by diving into a life of sin.

 

Pray for the Holy Spirit to enable you to stop sinning - to turn your back on your sinful nature and turn your heart towards Jesus - so that you may have freedom through Him.

 

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 NIV