Why Did Jesus Tell People to "Go and Sin No More"?
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In certain Christian circles, believers are quick to eschew any taste of legalism, as they should. Jesus and the apostles carefully and clearly spoke about such things and the New Testament teaches how we can’t be saved by what we do.
However, God cares about what we do. Our actions matter. Many become so afraid of legalism that they reject any need to live righteously as anti-Gospel, as if we save ourselves.
Yet Christ taught a Gospel of God’s singular deliverance that included—and was not separate from—a life reflecting God’s character and doing what was right.
Specifically, Jesus communicated the words, “Go and sin no more,” in the Gospel of John. Looking at the context and the rest of Scripture, we realize how grace and faith resulting in works aren’t in conflict. They’re the same thing.
Where Does Jesus Tell People to "Go and Sin No More"?
Jesus tells people to “go and sin no more” in two key passages, both in John’s gospel.
John 8:1-11 shares an account of a woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees bring her before Jesus, asking what should be done by the Law. They didn’t care about the Law, the woman, or Jesus’ thoughts; the religious leaders attempted to trap him. Jesus sought out the marginalized and sick, reaching out to them with forgiveness and compassion. At the same time, Jesus regularly criticized the Jewish religious leaders (John 5:39-40). The Mosaic Law prescribed stoning the adulterous woman. Would Jesus agree to execute the woman, making him an enemy of the disenfranchised? Or would he try to save the woman and go against the Law?
Initially, Jesus is quiet, writing on the ground. We don’t know what he inscribed in the sand, perhaps the Mosaic Law that prescribed both parties, the man and woman be executed (Leviticus 20:10). The man is mysteriously absent. Either way, after writing, he challenges the accusers. “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” The purpose of the Law was to cleanse the whole community of sin, which placed their own actions in question.
The men dropped their stones and left, from the oldest to the youngest.
Alone with the woman, Jesus asks who remains to condemn her, and she replies, nobody. “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more,” Jesus says (John 8:11).
In another passage, Jesus approaches a man who’d been lame for 38 years. Christ heals the man, telling him to take up his mat and walk. This was on the Sabbath, and the healed man got in trouble with the Jewish religious leaders for “working” on the Sabbath. Later, Jesus finds the now whole man and says, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14)
What Is the Context of Each Encounter?
First, in both cases, the individuals were in hopeless situations. The lame man had suffered for 38 years, with no one able to help him get into the miraculous pool to heal him. The woman faced shame and execution for adultery. Neither could save themselves, and no one would help them. The Jewish leaders, God’s supposed representatives, condemned the woman for her sin and considered the lame man cursed.
Second, Jesus intervened with compassion and power. He could have dismissed the woman or refused to answer the trap. Christ didn’t need to approach the lame man at all. But he chose to act in a way to save the woman from death, despite her guilt, and the man from a lifetime of pain. Jesus delivered them from physical or legal danger, revealing his deep love for them.
Third, Jesus’ compassion increased his conflict with the Jewish authorities. In John 5, Jesus healed the lame man on the Sabbath, and this led to outrage with the Jews. Christ answered them with truth and his divine authority. The leaders in John 8 clearly manipulated the whole situation, not out of a concern for truth or the Law, but to discredit the very Son of God. Christ’s compassion actually exposed religious frauds and hypocrites.
Fourth, Jesus’ command to “go and sin no more” came after he had already rescued them. He didn’t demand an action or obedience to get healing or mercy. He gave that freely first. After his rescue, he then called them to a new life based on gratitude and grace. His salvation freed them to live transformed. For them to go back to their former lives and sins would have denied the work of God.
Is Jesus Supporting Legalism in These Accounts?
Legalism is believing we need to do works of righteousness to earn salvation. Legalism says we earn salvation through our own efforts and obedience. As we see above, Jesus delivered unconditionally, only from his love. The call to righteousness came after, as a result of his work, not anything the woman or man could do. If anything, Jesus’ compassion exposed those who were strict legalists—priests, Pharisees, scribes, and the Jewish religious leaders.
The New Testament clearly rejects the idea of earning salvation by works. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
When Jesus says “go and sin no more,” he’s the Savior who already showed them mercy. He doesn’t say, “Stop sinning so I can help you.” They were helpless in that sense, unable to save themselves. Instead, he says, “I’ve saved you, now live free.” God’s complete compassion includes both the salvation from condemnation and empowerment to be transformed and live right.
To see this principle, we simply read the next verse after Ephesians 2:8-9, following the clear verses about salvation by grace and not by works. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We can’t be saved by good works, and weren’t, but God intentionally and purposefully saved us for good works. He set us free from the power and penalty of sin so we can live righteous, with love for all, and on mission with the Father. His command to sin no more called them to live out their new freedom.
What Other Scriptures Reveal Similar Principles?
In the Gospels, Jesus often saves or heals someone and then calls them to respond with action. This pattern continues to reveal the principle that the doing flows from the saving, not the other way around.
In Mark 5:1-20, Jesus delivers the demoniac, a man possessed by thousands of demons. After setting him free from evil spirits, the man wants to travel with Jesus. Instead, Jesus says, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” Jesus delivered the man first and then sends him to preach the Kingdom. The new purpose comes from the healing.
Jesus heals ten lepers in Luke 17:11-19. Afterward, he tells them to go show themselves to the priest. The Law required healed lepers to be checked out by the priests. They did, yet one returned and thanked Jesus.
While not in a gospel, Jesus did the same to Paul during his conversion in Acts 9. After stopping Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus, revealing himself in such a powerful way that Paul is blinded, Jesus tells Paul to go into the city and wait for further instructions. God then sends a disciple in Damascus, Ananias, to heal and minister to Paul.
The children of Israel, enslaved in Egypt, first experienced deliverance by the blood of the lamb upon Passover. Pharaoh set them free first, and God further saved them by parting the Red Sea. Only after God’s deliverance did he give them a Law to follow, to live as his people
From beginning to end, the Bible shows a complete work—salvation empowers action. God doesn’t save us to do nothing. He delivers us to walk in a new way, with a new purpose. Our own go and do flows from his gift of grace.
What Does “Go and Sin No More” Mean for Us Today?
Going back to the two narratives where Jesus says, “Go and sin no more,” we can recognize several important lessons.
First, we are also helpless to save ourselves. Like the woman caught in sin and the lame man, we had no way out of our situation or suffering. On our own, we can’t escape judgment or find healing and deliverance. We need a Savior.
Second, Jesus saves us not because we earned it or could be good enough. He loved us even while we were broken and sinners. Yet he had compassion on our situation. He doesn’t want us to suffer, nor does he want us to be condemned to eternal destruction for our sins. The Father forgives us, removing our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. With the woman and the lame man, Jesus acted first. Further, he wanted them to live free. And he also saves us for a purpose, to have a right and reconciled relationship with him.
Third, we can’t have a reconciled relationship with him if we go back to sin. Sin separated us from the Heavenly Father, so why would we continue in it? Also, God rejects sin because it harms ourselves and others, and he can’t accept it and love us at the same time. For us to return to our sin isn’t a salvation from it. Jesus saves us for a new life and purpose. We no longer live for ourselves. We share intimacy with God through Christ, and we live to share the same freedom in Christ with others through our words and deeds.
Fourth, this new life gives God glory and exposes legalism. Every other religion teaches the doing before the saving, and they are all false and empty. Therefore, living from grace and mercy reveals false religion. Walking free from love challenges those who seek to do it in their own strength, leading to division and conflict. But God seeks to set them free, too.
“Go and sin no more” still calls us to live changed lives. Not to earn salvation but because God’s gifted us with it. And we can only live right in the power of the Spirit, which is also a gift to us upon our repentance. Jesus invites us to intimacy with him, freedom, purpose, and a life glorifying God.
Peace.
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