John 8:11 -- On Condemnation

"She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
John 8:11


This is part of the story of the woman caught in adultery. God's laws were clear in this regard, and still are. Not a good choice. And yet, Christ chose not to condemn her... not to judge her and cast her out or stone her. Not because he didn't agree with the principle behind his own laws, or because he was in favor of lawlessness, but because he loved her, and he wanted to give her a chance to repent.

I think God offers that same grace to all of us. Eventually, caught or not, we will all have to stand before God and be judged for who we have become, and how we have used the lives that we were granted, but until that day, God gives us space and time to repent.

Alma warns us that if we harden our hearts that we condemn ourselves (Alma 12:14), and yet, if we are still alive and able to choose, John assures us "if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart" and that he can help us, and hopefully get to a point where we can repents and our hearts do not condemn us, and we can have "confidence toward God" (1 John 3:20-21).

Christ wasn't sent to condemn the world, but rather to save us (John 3:17), and that is still his goal. Let's remember that today, and instead of giving up or thinking that it is too late to change, let's turn to him and ask for help. He isn't going to ever say that sin is okay, but he wants to help us overcome it, and he'll give us another chance and work with us. He can help us to change for the better if we are willing to be changed.