Most would rather bask in nice stories about Christ, in the knowledge of His grace and forgiveness of sin without acknowledging the requirements of obedience to Him and His law or the consequences of sin.

Yet, far from honoring his or her Savior, the Christian who does this actually demeans the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and shows a lack of understanding of what sin is and what it costs.

Just what is sin? The Bible defines sin as transgression of the law (1 John 3:4).

Jesus taught that actions that led to sins were to be stopped, not tolerated under an umbrella of unconditional grace. In John 8 we find a story of how the religious leaders of His day sought to entrap Him by making a difficult judgment. They did so by bringing before Him a woman caught in the act of adultery and asking Him what punishment she deserved.

Jesus told those who accused her to stone her if they were without sin. The accusers left one by one. But to the woman He said: "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She responded, "No one, Lord." Jesus then told her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more" (verses 10-11, emphasis added).

Jesus told her to stop sinning. If we are followers of Christ, should we not heed His instruction as well? GN