Scripture
Our verse for today comes from John 8:7, 9-11, “He said to them, ‘let him that is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’ but when they heard it, they went away one by one. Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘woman, where are they? has no one condemned you?’ she said, ‘no one, Lord.’ and Jesus said, ‘neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more.’”
Background & Application
There probably aren’t many feelings that compare to being caught in sin, or as verse four says, “in the very act.” Much of the lure and pleasure of sin is the fact that it can go undetected by outsiders indefinitely. We don’t worry about somebody bringing us into church to reveal our crime and confirm the punishment. But much more heinous than the sins made public by celebrities these days are our private ones that repeatedly trip us up. We are so skilled at explaining away our faults that we don’t believe that we should be stoned. But we should, and not by any self-righteous spiritual leader, but by the God who knows all. But rather than feel what he throws from His hand, hear what he says from His heart – “neither do I condemn you.” The only one qualified to condemn chooses not to. Believe that you are condemned, and that you deserve it. Then hear His words again. When we understand being condemned and how Jesus says we are not, we’ll begin to understand His grace. For He didn’t just remove our condemnation, He said, “go, and sin no more.” That’s grace. Deserving a stoning, He gives us freedom from sin. That’s why we can come boldly to the throne of grace. He is not standing there with stones in His hands, only nail marks.
Charge
As we pray today, let’s thank God that He loved us so much that He sacrificed His Son, so that we could all become His children. Rejoice that you are not condemned, and go and sin no more.
