To sin or not to sin is the decision you make in life. Every person is responsible for his or her own life and decides to believe God and His Word (ang Biblia) and walk in the will of God or not. Just like the Father, Jesus gave a command to sin no more but it was up to the people to give heed to his command or not. Let’s look at the story of the healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda and the woman who committed adultery and was caught in the act.
The healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda
Sa Juan 5:1-15, Jesus healed a man, who had an infirmity for 38 mga taon. This lame man laid on a bed at the pool of Bethesda.
When Jesus saw the lame man, He went to him and asked him if he wanted to get well. The lame man answered Jesus, that he didn’t have anyone to bring him to the water to get healed.
Then Jesus commanded the man to rise up and take his bed and walk. The man obeyed the words of Jesus and stood up and walked. The lame man was healed by Jesus! But what did Jesus say to him about the decision to sin or not to sin?
Why did Jesus say to Sin no more?
When Jesus met the man who was healed of his infirmity in the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus commanded the man to sin no more. Why did Jesus say to sin no more? Lest a worse thing would come unto him.
Jesus healed the man from his sickness (his infirmity). The man was made whole and the Kingdom of God had come unto him.
The kingdom of darkness had captivated the man for 38 mga taon. But when Jesus came and the power of the Kingdom of heaven came upon him, the man was released from his bondage.
Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, at sinabi sa eaniya, Masdan, ikaw ay ginawang buo: huwag ka nang magkasala, baka dumating sa iyo ang lalong masama
John 5:14
Jesus released the man from the spiritual prison of darkness
Jesus released this lame man from this spiritual prison of darkness. Now that this man was released from this spiritual prison of darkness, Jesus commanded the healed man to no violate the spiritual laws by sinning.
Sa madaling salita; Jesus told the man to keep the commandments and do the kalooban ng Diyos and stay obedient to God instead of obeying and doing the will of the devil (na gumagawa sa laman) sa pamamagitan ng pagkakasala.
Because if the man decided to reject the commandment of Jesus and disobey God and sin, he would be taken captive again by the forces of darkness and worse things would happen to him.
Jesus warned the man, because the man was carnal. He didn’t see the spiritual realm and couldn’t discern the spirits. But Jesus was spiritual and knew the spirit realm and the spiritual laws and revealed it to him through His word.
Jesus knew the Kingdom of Heaven and the kingdom of darkness. He wanted this man to stay free and not become a prisoner of the devil and darkness again.
Kaya nga, Jesus commanded the man to sin no more.
Sinabi ni Jesus, Go and sin no more to the woman that committed adultery
Sa Juan 8:1-11, we read about a woman that was caught in the act of adultery. The woman that committed adultery was brought unto Jesus. The Scribes and the Pharisees accused the woman of adultery and told Jesus what she had done.
They suggested to stone her according to the Batas ni Moises. But the words of these men didn’t come from a good conscience. They only wanted to tempt Jesus, so that they could accuse Him.
Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger and said to them, “He who’s sinless among you, let him be the first to throw the stone upon her“.
Jesus knew that the people that belonged to the old generation of fallen man were carnal. They were trapped in the sinful nature of the flesh.
Instead of stoning the adultrous woman, the men left one by one until there was no one left except Jesus and the adultrous woman.
Sa sandaling iyon, Jesus had the power to condemn the woman and stone her. Because Jesus walked in the authority of the Kingdom of God (bilang bagong nilikha) and was sinless.
Gayunpaman, Jesus said to the woman that He wouldn’t condemn her either. Since it was not Jesus’ time to judge but to save.
BUT… Si Jesus didn’t approve of her work of adultery. Jesus commanded the woman to go her way and huwag ka nang magkasala.
Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanya, Ni hindi kita hinahatulan: pumunta ka, at huwag nang magkasala
John 8:11
The new creation is separated from the world
When you repent and become born again in Christ and enter the Kingdom of God, you leave the kingdom of darkness and are separated from the world. You have been forgiven, natubos, and made whole and righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ.
You’ve become new creation and as a result of this spiritual transformation, gagawin mo put off your old man with his old habits.
You will no longer walk the way you walked before your repentance, because you repented from that lifestyle and its works (ng laman).
It is essential to realize that Hindi ka na isang makasalanan. You have become a saint through regeneration in Christ.
If you don’t realize and believe this, you will always think and live as a sinner. You’ll be stuck in your sins and never be freed from your sins.
Noong ipinanganak kang muli, you stepped from one spiritual kingdom into another (Mga Taga Colosas 1:13-14)
In your old life, you thought like the world and walked in sin (sin = disobedience to God. It’s everything that goes against the Word of God that represents the will of God) and you were of the devil.
The nature of the devil will do his will
You had the character and nature of your father the devil. In your fallen state, you were not able to submit to God and do His will. Sa halip, you lived after the will of the flesh in rebellion.
You were rebellious towards God and His Word and obedient to the words and will of the devil (ang kalooban, libog na libog, and desire of your flesh), at nabuhay sa kasalanan. Sinasabi ng Bibliya, that if you sin, you have the devil as father and do the lust thereof (John 8:44).
When you decided magsisi, you indirectly said that you didn’t want to have the devil as your father anymore. You didn’t want to obey his words and walk in his will. You were fed up with your life under his authority.
When you heard the words of the gospel and met Jesus Christ, you believed in Him and accepted Him as your Saviour and Lord.
You wanted God as your Father instead of the devil and obey His words and walk in His will. You didn’t want to obey the words of the devil and walk in his will.
The nature of God will do His will
From the moment you are born again and receive the nature of your Father God, you will long for Him and the things of His Kingdom. There must be a desire to do the will of God and to walk according to what God says.
A real father knows what is good for his child. A real father wants the best for his child. If an earthly father wants the best for his children, how much more your heavenly Father.
Kaya nga ba, God revealed His will to us in His Word (ang Biblia).
God revealed to us not only what pleases Him and what displeases Him, but He also revealed the way of salvation, how to maging bagong likha and how to walk as the new creation in His will.
God revealed it all in the Bible which is His Word. Kaya nga, Ang kanyang paraan ay nagiging iyong paraan at His thoughts becomes your thoughts.
Did the people choose to sin or not to sin?
Jesus told the man, who was healed from his infirmity and the woman, who was caught in the act of adultery, Upang magkasala wala na. Kaya nga, these people had the power to sin no more. They had the power to say ‘no to sin’. But did they obey the commandment of Jesus and choose to sin no more or not?
Sinabi ni Jesus sa Kanya, Iibigin mo ang Panginoon mong Dios ng buong puso mo, at ng buong kaluluwa mo, at ng buong isip mo. Ito ang una at mahusay na utos. At ang pangalawa ay katulad nito, Mahalin mo ang iyong kapitbahay bilang iyong sarili. Sa dalawang utos na ito ay nakabitin ang lahat ng batas at ang mga propeta (Mateo 22:37-40)
The woman had the power to say ‘no’ to adultery, dahil kung hindi, Jesus wouldn’t have given her the commandment to sin no more. Ang tanong ay, did the woman respond to Jesus’ commandment to sin no more?
Did the adulterous woman obey the commandment of Jesus or did she let her feelings, her lust, and her desire rule over the words of Jesus and give in to her feelings of lust and desire?
Naaalala mo pa ba, when Jesus commanded to sin no more, His crucifixion and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit had not taken place yet.
So these people were not born again. Sila pa rin ang lumang nilikha. However the old creation had the power to say ‘no’ to sin and to sin no more.
You too have the power to sin no more. You decide to sin or not to sin.
Sa pamamagitan ng redemptive work of Jesus Christ, ginawa kang banal at matuwid. Now that you have been made holy and righteous, you’ve also been called to live in holiness and righteousness (2 Mga Taga Corinto 5:21).
Saved by grace and doing the works of the Spirit
You are not saved by works, but by grace. But being under grace doesn’t mean that you are allowed to keep sinning. Because if your flesh has died in Christ when you became born again, how can you do the works of the flesh?
You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul and with all of your mind and you shall love your neighbour as yourself (Mateo 22:37-40)
When you are saved and born again, you see the nature and effect of sin, na siyang bunga ng kamatayan. You will hate sin, tulad ng Diyos. You will hate your former life as a sinner and will not return to it. (Basahin mo rin: Maaari mo bang panatilihin ang pagkakasala sa ilalim ng biyaya?)
Kapag ikaw mahalin ang Diyos sa buong puso mo, kaluluwa, isip isip, and strength you shall love doing His will.
You shall spend time with God and renew your mind with the Word of God (ang Biblia) and apply His words into your life, so that you become a doer of the words of God and do the works of the Spirit. Hindi mo na kailangang, but you want to, because you have been made in His likeness and you love God.
When the Word and the Holy Spirit dwell inside of you, you will walk after the Spirit in obedience to the Word. You will walk in love, Kabanalan, at katuwiran, doing the will of the Father and exalting and glorifying Him.
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