[Jesus] said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

~ John 8:10-12

I remember quite clearly the first time this concept was raised in a discussion group (this one was called a small group at the time) and the reason I remember it so well was because of the reaction. The question is, can humans live without Sin? The response that evening was an aggressive and emphatic “no”. An appropriate counter response to this would be, but what if we can live a life free from sin?

What I don’t think is being suggested

The conversation here can be taken in a few directions. What I think is quite clear cut is the idea that no one, other than Jesus has been able to live their life free from sin since their birth. Consider the following excerpts from the New Testament :

… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God …

~ Romans 3:23

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

~ 1 John 3:4-5

This seems unambiguous, that there is a distinction between humans in general and Jesus in particular which actually becomes crucial to the original question. While all humans have been subject to sin at somepoint in their lives (Paul called it being slaves to uncleanliness in Romans 6), what does the payment Jesus made on the cross do to this state of being?

Here is the rub

We cut short 1 John chapter 3 in that previous blockquote, how does it continue?

Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

~ 1 John 3:4-9

This reads similar to Galatians 6:7 where the author tells us “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” The verses in John consistently being hard hitting and to be honest a little uncomfortable. Is this my experience of being a follower of Christ? Does the existence of sin in my life after this confession put my soul in danger? These are the sorts of questions which arise when circling this particular subject.

To keep on this track for a little longer, this shouldn’t really be a surprise to the bible reader. It is not an insignificant statement to say that to sin is to be incompatible with Yahweh and such a condition makes a relationship with him difficult. Perhaps the Garden of Eden narrative is taken for granted in this area, Adam and Eve needed to leave the presence of Yahweh when they chose their sinful act. Paul makes the connection as well when he says “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

Slow down, slow down.

It is at this point I get concerned about how this comes across. It is worth bearing with the flow of the conversation a little longer however.

All have sinned but Jesus was able to avoid this in order to pay for our sins by forfeiting his own life. This is the Good News that followers of Jesus are keen to share. But what exactly is this Good News? What was Jesus freeing us up to do? Let’s take a moment to think about some thing Jesus said about what our lives will look like, given we accept and are filled with the spirit.

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

~ Matthew 7:15-20

On the subject of his followers standing out from non believers Jesus instructs his listeners thus :

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

~ Matthew 5:48

There seems to be a connection between what we do and the consequences of these doings. Enter stage left a discussion on works based salvation. What we are dealing with here is not works based salvation. Salvation is a grace fuelled gift, it is what happens after this salvation which is up for discussion here. Do we take this salvation and mix it in with the sin and it neuters it like alchemy? We can rely on Paul to comment on this :

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

~ Romans 6:15-19

Being free from sin we become slaves to righteousness, being filled with the spirit we become a good tree that bears good fruit. Paul again, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16). This, if true, is the best news.

What’s the problem?

Conflict will always be a part of reading the scriptures. There is too much translation for their not to be. There is a language translation to the majority of it’s readers but arguably there is a cultural translation to all modern readers of the scriptures today.

Sometimes there is conflict which encourages greater understanding and sometimes there is conflict because the Spirit is trying to communicate that something isn’t right. From considering the question, is it possible to live a Spirit filled life without sin? I have read enough to suggest that this is possible. Not only that, it is advisable to do so. Jesus instructs the woman at the well to do just that. If the problem is that your life doesn’t bear out the descriptions that the authors of the New Testament letters describe then that can be conflicting, absolutely. The scriptures address this as well :

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

~ 1 John 2:1

The ideal scenario is that, through the power of the Spirit a follower of Christ will live their lives free from sin. However, if sin does find a way in then all is not lost (more good news) but it can be dealt with in the same why when a believe is first born, through Jesus the righteous. How amazing would it be to live an obedient life, in the spirit, and serve Yahweh in all the ways he is communicating to us ?