'Go and sin no more'- an impossible command. Who can keep it?
I was reading through another post yesterday (though the post itself may have been older) where someone on here said that Jesus does not command us to "sin as little as possible." He says "Go and sin no more." It's a short verse, but it feels loaded with implication and I'm curious what this sub thinks about it.
On one hand, "Go and sin no more" is a command to choose not to sin. So in a sense, we can't really say that as soon as we receive Christ, the Holy Spirit will prevent us from sinning for the rest of our lives. Otherwise Jesus would have said "Your sins are forgiven, you will never sin again" (which is a promise- different than a command). This command also implies (at least to me) the notion of free will. You can either obey or disobey a command- that is free will. On the other hand, "Go and sin no more" is an impossible command for we who are still sinful men. Why command something He knows we are unable to keep?
Now, we could say that it is precisely because we can't keep this command that we need Jesus all the more. The law threatens us (because we are unable to keep it) so we flee to Christ who has kept it. Well, that's fine....but those in Christ are still commanded to "Go and sin no more" which we cannot do. So, it becomes cyclical.
I suppose my question is how to view this command in light of it's impossibility, and am I just getting myself all tripped up over the phrasing and word choice?
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Posted Apr 26, 2017, 5:21 PM UTC