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 (Bibelen) 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
I Johannes 5:1-15, Jesus helbredet en mann, som hadde en sykdom for 38 år. Denne lamme mannen lå på en seng ved bassenget i Bethesda.
When Jesus saw the lame man, He went to him and asked him if he wanted to get well. Den lamme mannen svarte Jesus, that he didn’t have anyone to bring him to the water to get healed.
Da befalte Jesus mannen å reise seg og ta sengen sin og gå. The man obeyed the words of Jesus and stood up and walked. Den lamme ble helbredet av 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 befalte mannen å ikke synde mer. Why did Jesus say to sin no more? Lest a worse thing would come unto him.
Jesus helbredet mannen fra hans sykdom (hans skrøpelighet). Mennesket ble frisk og Guds rike hadde kommet til ham.
Mørkets rike hadde fengslet mannen for 38 år. But when Jesus came and the power of the Kingdom of heaven came upon him, mannen ble løslatt fra sin trelldom.
Etterpå fant Jesus ham i templet, og sa til ham, Se, du er gjort hel: Synd ikke mer, at det ikke skal komme deg noe verre
John 5:14
Jesus løslot mannen fra mørkets åndelige fengsel
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.
Med andre ord; Jesus told the man to keep the commandments and do the Guds vilje and stay obedient to God instead of obeying and doing the will of the devil (som arbeider i kjødet) ved å synde.
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 advarte mannen, 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.
Derfor, Jesus befalte mannen å ikke synde mer.
sa Jesus, Go and sin no more to the woman that committed adultery
I Johannes 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. De skriftlærde og fariseerne anklaget kvinnen for hor og fortalte Jesus hva hun hadde gjort.
They suggested to stone her according to the Moseloven. 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 skrev på bakken med fingeren og sa til dem, “He who’s sinless among you, la ham være den første til å kaste steinen på henne“.
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.
I det øyeblikket, Jesus had the power to condemn the woman and stone her. Because Jesus walked in the authority of the Kingdom of God (Som den nye skapelsen) and was sinless.
derimot, Jesus said to the woman that He wouldn’t condemn her either. Since it was not Jesus’ time to judge but to save.
MEN… Jesus godkjente ikke of her work of adultery. Jesus commanded the woman to go her way and Synd ikke mer.
sa Jesus til henne, Heller ikke jeg fordømmer deg: gå, og synd ikke mer
John 8:11
Den nye skapningen er atskilt fra verden
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, innløst, and made whole and righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ.
You’ve become new creation and as a result of this spiritual transformation, du vil utsett din gamle mann med sine gamle vaner.
Du vil ikke lenger gå den veien du gikk før din omvendelse, because you repented from that lifestyle and its works (av kjøttet).
Det er viktig å innse det du er ikke lenger en synder. 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.
Da du ble født på nytt, du gikk fra ett åndelig rike til et annet (Kolosserne 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, du var ikke i stand til å underkaste deg Gud og gjøre hans vilje. I stedet, 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 (viljen, begjær, and desire of your flesh), og levde i synd. Bibelen sier, at hvis du synder, you have the devil as father and do the lust thereof (John 8:44).
When you decided å omvende seg, du sa indirekte at du ikke ville ha djevelen som din far lenger. Du ønsket ikke å adlyde hans ord og gå i hans vilje. Du var lei av livet ditt under hans autoritet.
Da du hørte evangeliets ord og møtte Jesus Kristus, du trodde på ham og tok imot ham som din frelser og Herre.
Du ville ha Gud som din Far i stedet for djevelen og adlyde hans ord og vandre i hans vilje. Du ønsket ikke å adlyde djevelens ord og vandre i hans vilje.
Guds natur vil gjøre hans vilje
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. Hvis en jordisk far vil det beste for barna sine, hvor mye mer din himmelske Far.
Det er derfor, God revealed His will to us in His Word (Bibelen).
God revealed to us not only what pleases Him and what displeases Him, but He also revealed the way of salvation, hvordan bli en ny skapelse and how to walk as the new creation in His will.
God revealed it all in the Bible which is His Word. Så det, Hans måte blir din vei og His thoughts becomes your thoughts.
Did the people choose to sin or not to sin?
Jesus fortalte mannen, som ble helbredet fra sin skrøpelighet og kvinnen, som ble tatt i utroskap, å ikke synde mer. Derfor, 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?
sa Jesus til ham, Du skal elske Herren din Gud av hele ditt hjerte, Og med hele din sjel, Og med alt ditt sinn. Dette er det første og store budet. Og det andre ligner det, Du skal elske din neste som deg selv. På disse to budene henger hele loven og profetene (Matthew 22:37-40)
Kvinnen hadde makten til å si nei’ til utroskap, fordi ellers, Jesus ville ikke ha gitt henne budet om ikke å synde mer. Spørsmålet er, svarte kvinnen Jesus’ bud om ikke å synde mer?
Did the adulterous woman obey the commandment of Jesus or did she let her feelings, hennes begjær, and her desire rule over the words of Jesus and give in to her feelings of lust and desire?
Huske, da Jesus befalte å ikke synde mer, His crucifixion and the utgytelsen av Den Hellige Ånd had not taken place yet.
So these people were not born again. De var fortsatt den gamle skapningen. However the old creation had the power to say ‘no’ å synde og å ikke synde mer.
Du har også makt til ikke å synde mer. Du bestemmer deg for å synde eller ikke synde.
Gjennom Jesu Kristi forløsningsverk, du er blitt hellig og rettferdig. Nå som du er blitt hellig og rettferdig, du har også blitt kalt til å leve i hellighet og rettferdighet (2 Korinterne 5:21).
Frelst av nåde og gjør Åndens gjerninger
Du blir ikke frelst av gjerninger, but by grace. Men å være under nåde betyr ikke at du har lov til å fortsette å synde. For hvis kjødet ditt har dødd i Kristus da du ble født på ny, hvordan kan du gjøre kjødets gjerninger?
Du skal elske Herren din Gud av hele ditt hjerte, og av hele din sjel og av hele ditt sinn, og du skal elske din neste som deg selv (Matthew 22:37-40)
When you are saved and born again, you see the nature and effect of sin, som er dødens frukt. You will hate sin, akkurat som Gud. Du vil hate ditt tidligere liv som synder og vil ikke vende tilbake til det. (Les også: Kan du fortsette å synde under nåde?)
Når du elsker Gud av hele ditt hjerte, sjel, sinn, og styrke skal du elske å gjøre hans vilje.
You shall spend time with God and renew your mind with the Word of God (Bibelen) and apply His words into your life, slik at du blir en gjør av Guds ord og gjør Åndens gjerninger. Du trenger ikke, men du vil, fordi du er skapt i hans likhet, og du elsker Gud.
Når Ordet og Den Hellige Ånd bor inne i deg, du vil vandre etter Ånden i lydighet mot Ordet. Du vil gå i kjærlighet, hellighet, og rettferdighet, gjør Faderens vilje og opphøyer og herliggjør ham.
«Vær jordens salt”
