“ they say unto him, Teacher, this woman hath been taken in
adultery, in the very act. . . But
Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. But when they
continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is
without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” John 8:4-7
Jesus came upon the group of Pharisees and
Sadducees ready to stone the woman caught is adultery. I can only imagine how he caught them by
surprise when, rather than joining them to stone her, he kneeled to write
something in the dirt. Acting almost oblivious to their questions, yelling and
anger. Calmly, Jesus looks up from His
kneeling position and asks them a simple question, though he already knew the
answer.
“He that is without sin among you, let him
first cast a stone at her.”
I’ve always wondered what Jesus wrote in the
dirt. Perhaps, he was writing the 10
commandments, perhaps a simple word – LOVE, perhaps a few of the sins of those
ready to throw the stones. Is it really
important what He was writing? Probably
not. The reality of the fact that He did
not immediately go to the act of executing Justice upon the woman though sent a
message to these law makers and Jewish leaders.
The message was loud and clear to them – “The Mosaic covenant is to be
followed in all things, and if they weren’t following it in their own lives,
how could they condemn this woman.”
We all need to take note of this in our lives. We are so quick to condemn others for their sin, without looking at our own. Did you sin today? The answer is yes, you did. So did I. We are all sinners in the eyes of the Lord and if you believe your sins are less sinful than another, than you need to ask yourself this question. Who will decide the severity of the sinful nature? You, me, my Pastor, my friends, my enemies; or God Almighty? You see, you and I are not equipped to judge mankind of their sinful nature. We aren’t capable of forgiving sin, redeeming sin or sanctifying a sinful life back to a measure of acceptance in the Lord’s eyes.
The Father, in His loving grace, gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die once as a price to redeem man’s sin. There is no second death, no additional measure of redemption that is coming. His blood was poured out that we might have everlasting, eternal life with the Father in heaven. We are all sinful in our flesh. Certainly, we see some sin as an abomination to the Lord’s love and nature, but does that make it less forgivable? Is God’s grace insufficient for some sin?
A few sins that make most of our skin crawl include: Murder, Rape, Child Abuse, Adultery and many forms of sexual sin and debauchery; will God forgive those who partake of these? What about lying, cheating, material possession idolatry, stealing, swearing, greed, pride, hate, envy, jealousy and so on; will God forgive these sinful actions? Who gets to decide? Are you truly prepared to tell God that He should or should not forgive one man’s actions, without considering the amount of sin in your own life that He has forgiven.
We don’t have to approve of sinful action when we see it. Keep in mind what Jesus told the woman after all of her accusers had left. “Woman, where are they? did no man condemn thee? And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more.” John 8:10-11
Jesus didn’t forgive her and tell her to go on and continue doing what she was doing, but rather “go and sin no more.” Repent, turn the other way, make a better choice, turn away from sin. These are all the same choices we are given every time sin comes our way. I believe we need to be a little more loving to those who we see living in sin. Help them understand that we are all sinners and in need of a savior. Help them understand that Jesus forgives sin and by the grace of the Lord their sin can be forgiven. But, also help them understand, Jesus requires them to turn from their sin and turn toward Him. If we loved others, I promise this world could truly be a more peaceful place for all of us.
We all need to take note of this in our lives. We are so quick to condemn others for their sin, without looking at our own. Did you sin today? The answer is yes, you did. So did I. We are all sinners in the eyes of the Lord and if you believe your sins are less sinful than another, than you need to ask yourself this question. Who will decide the severity of the sinful nature? You, me, my Pastor, my friends, my enemies; or God Almighty? You see, you and I are not equipped to judge mankind of their sinful nature. We aren’t capable of forgiving sin, redeeming sin or sanctifying a sinful life back to a measure of acceptance in the Lord’s eyes.
The Father, in His loving grace, gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die once as a price to redeem man’s sin. There is no second death, no additional measure of redemption that is coming. His blood was poured out that we might have everlasting, eternal life with the Father in heaven. We are all sinful in our flesh. Certainly, we see some sin as an abomination to the Lord’s love and nature, but does that make it less forgivable? Is God’s grace insufficient for some sin?
A few sins that make most of our skin crawl include: Murder, Rape, Child Abuse, Adultery and many forms of sexual sin and debauchery; will God forgive those who partake of these? What about lying, cheating, material possession idolatry, stealing, swearing, greed, pride, hate, envy, jealousy and so on; will God forgive these sinful actions? Who gets to decide? Are you truly prepared to tell God that He should or should not forgive one man’s actions, without considering the amount of sin in your own life that He has forgiven.
We don’t have to approve of sinful action when we see it. Keep in mind what Jesus told the woman after all of her accusers had left. “Woman, where are they? did no man condemn thee? And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more.” John 8:10-11
Jesus didn’t forgive her and tell her to go on and continue doing what she was doing, but rather “go and sin no more.” Repent, turn the other way, make a better choice, turn away from sin. These are all the same choices we are given every time sin comes our way. I believe we need to be a little more loving to those who we see living in sin. Help them understand that we are all sinners and in need of a savior. Help them understand that Jesus forgives sin and by the grace of the Lord their sin can be forgiven. But, also help them understand, Jesus requires them to turn from their sin and turn toward Him. If we loved others, I promise this world could truly be a more peaceful place for all of us.
Be
Blessed,
Rich
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