John 5:14: Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
At the beginning of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of John, we see a pool in Jerusalem called Bethesda. The name Bethesda is of Aramaic origin and, according to Strong’s Concordance, can mean “house of mercy” or “flowing water.” What made the pool of Bethesda so special was that at a certain time (not specified in the Bible) an angel came and stirred up the water, enabling whomever stepped in it first to be made well of whatever disease he had. In John’s account, a man was at the pool who had some sort of infirmity for 38 years. It had left him unable to walk. Jesus came to the pool and saw this man there, realizing the man had been in that condition for a long time.
When the Lord asked him if he wanted to be made well, the man explained to Him that he had no one to put him in the pool when the water was stirred up, so someone always stepped in before him. Jesus spoke the word and the man was instantly healed. Since it was a Sabbath when the healing took place, the legalistic Jewish religious leaders, rather than rejoicing over a man’s miraculous healing, rebuked the man for carrying his bed on that day. They were unable at that time to learn who healed him, since the healed man did not know yet who it was. When Jesus came to him in the temple afterwards, He instructed the man as we see in the Scripture passage above, and it was then that the former cripple could identify Jesus. In this account we see the mercy of God demonstrated in this man’s healing. However, in the admonition that Christ gave him in the temple, we also see His holiness.
It is natural to wonder if the man’s previous condition was rooted in some sort of sin. We do not know for sure, though with the nature of the Lord’s words it is natural to wonder. Ultimately it does not matter. Why? Jesus does not want us sinning, period. It is true that God already knows ahead of time what we will do, and He knows that no matter how earnest we are in our desire to live for Him we are going to sin from time to time. When we do, He is merciful and gracious in how He deals with us as His adopted children (1 John 1:9). Because God is holy, however, He will never, ever tell us to sin. Always His instructions to us will be, “Sin no more” (also see John 8:1-11). Regardless of how gracious God is to us when we blow it, the fact is that we should not sin if at all possible and when we do, we must quickly confess and forsake it. There is a means by which we can avoid sinning despite the ever-present battle between the old and the new natures:
Galatians 5:16-18: I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Even Jesus’s warning to the man He healed was done in love. God’s love for us will not hold Him back from disciplining us if we persist in sin, nor in casting us off if we ultimately reject the faith we once believed in and lived by. His desire is to show mercy rather than judgment. The Lord loves our fellowship and wants us to spend time with Him, unhindered by anything in our lives that would stand between us and Him. Still, God leaves the choice up to us. He will not take away our freedom to choose whether or not to obey Him. If we choose to go against the Word of God and live how we want to, dabbling in sin and so on, there will be consequences.
There are those who think the warnings Jesus gave in John 5:14 and John 8:11 mean that if we sin at all, we’re immediately in danger of forfeiting our salvation. If you were to read the early church fathers’ writings, you would come to the same conclusion. While these ancient holy men were right about a lot of things, when it came to understanding God’s fatherly love and longsuffering, a number of them missed the mark badly. Too, some of their writings were tainted by the fascination with asceticism which beguiled Christians beginning in the late 100’s and early 200’s AD, a fascination which led both to monasticism and to such beliefs as backsliding being a type of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit and that if believers sinned at all after being baptized, their salvation would be lost. If God were that strict, then those of us who had backslidden would have no hope, and for that matter no Christian would remain saved long enough to make it to heaven, so what would be the point of getting saved at all?
If you are one of those persons who has difficulty in seeing God as a loving and forgiving heavenly Father, rest assured that if you are concerned that you have gone too far then you have not. A person who forfeits their salvation no longer cares about God and the things of God. The Lord, as a loving heavenly Father, will do whatever it takes to motivate you to return to and remain on the right path. That includes the use of severe discipline if necessary. In light of these facts, what did Jesus mean when He warned the man that He had healed?
Jesus had a knack for saying a lot with few words. Contained in His loving admonition are all the possibilities that those who have sinned I have set forth to outline a progression that sinning and backsliding believers can go through, all the way up to forfeiture of salvation—or to repentance and a return to the Lord:
1 Peter 3:17: For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Hebrews 12:5-6, 11: And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”…Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
2 Peter 2:20-22: For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-31: For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again to themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame…For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Luke 15:11-13, 17-24: Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living…But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put iton him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”
Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Psalm 103:8-14: The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.
As Christians, one of our goals should be to not sin. Since we will sin sooner or later, keep a short account with God. Promptly admit it, confess that you agree with God that whatever sin you committed is a sin, repent of it, and move forward. Do not beat yourself up over what you did. Sometimes we can be our own toughest critics, and unforgiveness toward yourself is a sin just like it is toward other people. If you have backslidden, return to your heavenly Father.
He loves you and is fighting for you. If He disciplines you, as much as it might hurt, rejoice anyway because that means He has not cast you off; you are still His child. Be thankful that we serve a merciful and loving God, and bask in His love. At the same time, do not presume that just because God loves you that you can get away with just about anything. It does not work like that. Remember the loving but certain warning that Jesus gave to the man whom He healed: “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” The Lord can forgive you, restore you, and pour out a superabundance of love and blessings upon you. But if you insist on rebelling against God, be sure that He can also destroy you.
