Speaker 1: [inaudible 00:00:00], Jesus name we pray, amen.
Speaker 2: Amen. All right, well we’re there in John chapter number eight and we’ve been going through a series like we’ve talked about on Sunday morning’s called, Encounters With Christ. The purpose of this series is to take us through this summer and we’re just trying to learn about the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re New Testament believers and we’re followers of Christ and we’re not focusing in on any parables and we’re not focusing in on any miracles, we’re just focusing in on these intimate conversations that the Lord Jesus Christ had with individuals and we’re watching him as he deals with people, as he helps people and as he ministers to people, and even sometimes rebukes people and things like that. We started this series, we dealt with Nicodemus and the conversation that Christ had with Nicodemus. Then of course, last week we learned about Jesus with the woman at the well.
Speaker 2: Today we are dealing with another very famous story and that is the story of the woman caught in adultery. I want you to understand why this conversation between the Lord Jesus Christ and this woman even takes place. Before we get into the conversation we’ll look at the context that leads into this conversation. Now, you’re there in John, chapter eight. If you look at verse one the bible says, Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. John, chapter eight, verse two. Early in the morning he came again into the temple and all the people came unto him and he sat down and taught them. Notice verse three. So Jesus is teaching, he’s having his public ministry. He sat down, he’s teaching people truths. Then in verse three the bible says this, and the scribes and Pharisees, so these are the bad guys in the story, right. These are the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2: You’ll find that we constantly see them confronting each other and trying to basically make each other look bad. The scribes and the Pharisees are coming to Jesus and they’ll ask him questions and they’ll try to put them in situations where they’re trying to make them look bad. That’s exactly what happens here in John chapter eight. Look at verse three again, and the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him… Just get this picture in your mind. You’re sitting there in a public gathering, the Lord Jesus Christ is teaching from the Bible. He’s preaching God’s word. He’s teaching a lesson. He sat down and taught them the Bible says, and then here come those scribes and the Pharisees, they not only interrupt this public teaching, but they brought unto him a woman.
Speaker 2: I would imagine that this woman is not coming voluntarily. They’re probably dragging her. They probably have two or three guys grabbing her by her hands and bringing her. They brought unto him, a woman taken in adultery and when they had sent her in the mid. So just imagine today if Pharisees and Sadducees walked into this building right now and they were just dragging a woman into this building and just threw a woman right here in front of all of us. The Bible says they dragged her into their midst. Notice verse four, they say unto him, “Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act.” I want you to understand that the context that leads us into the story of the woman caught in adultery. The reason this conversation between Christ and this woman even takes place is because of those scribes and the Pharisees are attempting to confront Christ and they are attempting to have this spiritual battle of the wits with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2: And they are trying to make him look bad. They are trying to make him look like someone who’s either going to deny the law of the land or deny his own law. Here’s what you need to understand. This is a very famous story in the Bible, but this story is often misunderstood and misapplied. What I’m going to do this morning is I’m going to go through and kind of just show you some lessons from this story. What I want you to understand, this is the theme of this story. The theme of the story of the woman caught in adultery is that it shows us this great balance that must be balanced by new Testament Christians in different aspects of life.
Speaker 2: So here’s the first one. Even if you’re taking notes, maybe you can write this down and I’d encourage you to take notes on the back of your bulletin in the back of the chorus of the week. Excuse me. You’ve got a place there to write down some notes. When it comes to lessons about the woman caught in adultery, the first lesson is this. In this story we see a balance between scriptural law and in secular government. We see a balance that we as new Testament believers have to understand between scriptural law, biblical law, law given to us by God and in his word, and how do we balance that in a secular government that does not follow the laws of God, that does not follow the precepts of God, that is not enforcing the laws of God. Look, this is the time that Jesus lived in.
Speaker 2: By the way, this is the time that you and I live in. You’re there in John eight look at verse four again, and they say unto him, “Master, this woman was taken in adultery.” That’s what they said. They said in the very act. Now when I read those words, here’s what I think. I think, where’s the man? I mean, right? I mean they’re saying, they brought this woman and they caught her in the very act of adultery, but they bring the woman and they don’t bring the man. Verse five, notice what they said. They said, now Moses and the law commanded us that such should be stoned. They said, look, this woman was caught in adultery. In fact, we caught her in the very act. We brought her here to shame her in front of all these people and we have a question for you Jesus. Here’s our question, because Moses in the law, in the old Testament law, Moses commanded that such should be stoned. But what says thou. They said, “What do you think?”
Speaker 2: What is the answer to this question, Jesus and notice their motive, verse six, this they said tempting him that they might have to accuse him. They were not bringing this situation to Jesus because they genuinely did not know what, and they wanted to understand and they want it to get some enlightenment. They were bringing this situation to Jesus because they were tempting him that they might have to accuse him. Look, as we begin this understanding of the scripture, you need to understand the context of the question. You need to understand why is it that they even bring this question to Jesus and what is the context that surrounds the question?
Speaker 2: Now, keep your place there in John chapter eight that’s our text for this morning. But go with me to the book of Leviticus chapter 20. In the old Testament, if you start at the beginning, you have the book of Genesis, you’ve got the book of Exodus, and then you’ve got the book of Leviticus. Leviticus chapter 20 and here’s what you need to understand because they asked those questions. They say, what thou, they said this woman was caught in adultery and Moses said that she should be put to death, that she should be stoned. But they said, “What do you think Jesus? What says thou?” Now the context of the question is this, and here’s what they’re attempting to do. They are attempting to put Jesus at odds between the law of the land and biblical law. See, there is no good answer by the Pharisees standpoint to this question because here’s what you need to understand.
Speaker 2: In the old Testament, in the law that God gave the nation of Israel, when God set up a nation, and when God had set up a government, and when God gave laws that were to be the commandments of the law of the land that we’re supposed to regulate the law of the land, God plays the death penalty upon adultery. Are you there, Leviticus 20? Look at verse number 10. Now this is foreign to most Christians. Most Christians don’t understand this, but this is how God feels about it. And look in the law, in God’s economy, in God’s government, in God’s reign, adultery has the punishment of death. Leviticus 20 look at verse 10. Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 10 the Bible says this, and the man that committed adultery with another man’s wife, even he that commit adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Speaker 2: The Bible says that when Moses set up the old Testament, nation of Israel and their laws, there was a law of death penalty upon adultery. And so the Pharisees are right when they say, “Hey Moses and his law, Moses commanded that she should be stoned.” They are right because the old Testament law puts a death penalty on adultery. But here’s the problem. The problem is that Jesus was not living under the old Testament law as far as the old Testament law being the law of the land. Jesus and the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the scribes were not living in old Testament Israel.
Speaker 2: Jesus, and the Pharisees and the scribes and this woman and everyone in this situation is living under the Roman empire and the Roman empire has their own laws of the land and I want you to notice that the Bible highlights for us one of these laws in regards to the death penalty. Keep your finger there in Leviticus 20 we’re going to come back to it. Go back to John but not John eight go to John chapter 18. John chapter 18 so you should have your place in Leviticus and you should have your place in John chapter 18 and look at verse number 31.
Speaker 2: John chapter 18 and verse 31 notice what the Bible says. John chapter 18 and verse 31 the Bible says this, then said Pilate unto them. Now who’s Pilate speaking to? He’s speaking to the Jews. They want to crucify the Lord Jesus Christ then said Pilate unto them. Now, if you remember the story, and I’m not going to take the time to go through all the verses, but when the Jews brought Jesus to Pilate, Pilate he said, “I find no fault in him. This man has done nothing wrong. This man does not deserve to die.” So if you remember, Pilate was hesitant. Now he ended up giving into peer pressure and he ended up doing the wrong thing, but he was hesitant to crucify Christ. John 18:31 then said, Pilate unto them, “Take ye him and judge him according to your law.” So he says, look, I don’t want you to do with this. Hey Jews, why don’t you take him and you judge him according to your law. According to the Mosaic law, according to the Levitical law, you judge him.
Speaker 2: Notice the response from the Jews. The Jews therefore said unto him, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.” See, the Jews understood that under the Roman empire, the laws of the old Testament were not in effect. They were not to be implemented. They did not have any right or authority to put anybody to death. So it’s kind of silly. It’s funny because Pilate says to them, “Hey, I don’t want to put Jesus to death. Why don’t you guys do it?” And they’re like, “Hey Pilate, you know the law, we’re not allowed to put any man to death.” But yet these same people come to Jesus and they say, “Hey, the Mosaic law, the Levitical law says that this woman deserves to die.” But what says thou? See what they’re trying to do is they’re trying to put Jesus into this catch 22.
Speaker 2: They’re trying to put Jesus into this no win situation where there’s really no right answer. Because remember, what they’re attempting to do is they are tempting him that they might accuse him. So here’s the idea. If Jesus says, “Yes, you’re right, the law of Moses says that she should be put to death. Let’s stone her. Let’s put her death right now.”
Speaker 2: Those Jews would be running to the Roman empire and saying, Jesus is leading an insurrection against Rome. Jesus is telling people to forget about the Roman law, and to follow the Mosaic law. And if you remember the Romans had this idea where they’re constantly trying to put down rebellion. They’re constantly trying to make sure that the Jews are in line. They’re constantly trying to make sure… This was why there was this pressure with this coming Messiah because the Jews believed that there was a coming Messiah that would free them from the Roman empire, and the Romans are constantly trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Speaker 2: That’s why Herod had all the children two years old and under put to death when people started showing up and talking about a King being born. A King of the Jews. The Romans were constantly trying to make sure that there was no sort of insurrection or rebellion brought up by the people. So if Jesus would’ve looked at this woman and said, “Hey, you know what? Leviticus 20 verse 10, she’s committed adultery, she deserves to be put to death,” then they would have turned around and accused him against the Roman empire as someone leading an insurrection.
Speaker 2: But if he would have said, if he would have answered, “No, don’t put her death. Yes, the law of Moses has that she deserves to be put to death, but we live under the Roman empire and it’s not lawful for us to put any man to death.” If he would’ve given that answer, then they would’ve turned around to all of the Jewish followers and say, “See, he doesn’t believe the Bible. See, he is denying the word of God. See, he is minimizing the word of God. See, he’s not really a follower of Moses,” because if you remember, the Pharisees were constantly telling the people, “We be followers of Moses, but this man, we don’t know where this man came from.” So they put Jesus in this catch 22 where they want him to answer what should be done with this woman caught in adultery because the Mosaic law, the Levitical law says she deserves to be put to death. But what say ye?
Speaker 2: And you need to understand the context of the question in order to understand the answer to the question. Notice the answer to the question. Look at verse five. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what says thou? John chapter eight verse six. This they said tempting him that he might have to accuse him… Notice what Jesus does, but Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground… I love these words, as though he heard them not. You say, what was the answer that came from Jesus and it was no answer. He sleeps down on the ground and starts scribbling in the sand and started scribbling in the dirt and he pretends he doesn’t hear them.
Speaker 2: And you say, “What?” I don’t understand the answer to Jesus’s question and here’s what you need to understand. We do not enforce old Testament law in a secular government. It is not our place to take old Testament law and say, “Well God put the death penalty upon adultery. God put the death penalty upon rape. God put the death penalty upon kidnapping. God put the death penalty upon witchcraft. God put the death penalty on homosexuality.” And by the way, those are all things that got put the death penalty on-
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: … in the old Testament. Well God put the death penalty on all those things. So let’s get a group go in and let’s go around all these people up and put them to death. No. See as new Testament Christians, we do not enforce the old Testament law in a secular government. Jesus was smart enough to understand, yes, that’s the laws of God. And look, the law of the Lord is perfect.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: But we don’t live in that government. We don’t live under the Mosaic law. We don’t live under the Levitical priesthood. We live in the Roman empire. There is a law to the land. So he says, “You know what?” And he just gives them no answer as though he heard them not. Notice verse seven. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, and he finally does give them an answer. Here’s the answer. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” That’s an interesting answer to the question because they said, “Hey, she deserves to be stoned.” The law of Moses tells us you deserves to be stoned, but what says thou? What do you think? And he says, well, you know what? First of all, I’m just not going to answer your question. And they’d get pressing him for him and they continue to ask him. He’s pretending like he doesn’t hear them. They keep pressing, and then he says, fine, you want to answer? Here’s your answer.
Speaker 2: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” And again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground and here’s what he says essentially, here’s what he says in effect. It’s this. He says, what you are asking to do is above your pay grade. He says, somebody has the authority to do what you’re asking to do, but it’s not you. He says somebody has the authority to go ahead and give the commandment to put this lady to death but it’s not you. You say, how do you know it’s not you? Because here’s the qualification to the authority. He that is without sin among you, let him first cast the stone at her.
Speaker 2: So he essentially says to them, this is above your pay grade. You’re asking theoretical questions that you don’t have anything, or any authority to enforce. Now let me just say this because this is where the story gets misapplied and misunderstood and misused and abused by the liberals today. I want you to get this. This is… Notice what Jesus didn’t say. Jesus didn’t say… Look at verse seven again. So when they continued to ask and he lift it up himself and said unto them, no, the Bible doesn’t say this. He didn’t get up and say, “Hey guys, we’re not under the law. We’re under grace.”
Congregation: That’s right.
Speaker 2: That’s not what he said to them.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: You know what liberal Christians today want to teach us and tell us? And they’ll take their stories and teach it. They’ll say, “Hey, you know what? We need to just forget about the old Testament. We need to just unhinge ourselves from the old Testament. We need to just be done with the old Testament. The old Testament law was for another dispensation. It was for another people. It was for another time. It doesn’t apply to us. Just forget about that guys. We’re under grace.”
Speaker 2: Just you know, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow. We don’t… Notice, he doesn’t say to them, “Hey, we’re not under the law. We’re under grace. Forget about the law. Forget about Moses. None of that applies.” He doesn’t give that answer. He doesn’t say, forget about the old Testament law. Here’s what he says. He says, “Yes, we can enforce it if you’re without sin.”
Speaker 2: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.” You say, I don’t understand what is that Jesus trying to tell us? Here’s what he’s trying to tell us. Maybe you should write this down. We do not enforce old Testament law in secular government. However, we do not condone what God has condemned. Do you understand that? Oh wait, what do you guys think about the old Testament law? We think it’s perfect.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: We think that if we lived in a society that followed the laws of God, we would live in a happy and clean and pure society. You’re going to go out and enforce it? No, we’re not going to condone what God condemns. We’re not going to enforce what our secular government doesn’t enforce. What? God did not call us to be lawless. God did not call us to take matters into our own hands and to go start up a militia and go, march on Washington and let’s take over this government and let’s make sure that they enforced the laws of God. That is not what Jesus was here to do. And by the way, that’s not what you and I are here to do.
Speaker 2: Now we acknowledge God’s law as perfect. We do not condemn… We do not condone, excuse me, what God has condemned. And this is where the liberals just completely got derailed with this story and other aspects. They say, “Hey, we’re done with the law and let’s just embrace it.” No. Look. He said, “If you’re without sin, go ahead. Do it. Go ahead, stoner her.”
Speaker 2: Here’s what he’s saying, and I really want you to understand this and give your place in John, go to Romans chapter 13. You’re there in John, you’ve got Acts, Romans. So you should have your place in John, you should have your place in Leviticus. And now I’d like you to put your place in Romans. We’re going to go back and forth between these three passages, Leviticus, John, Romans. Romans chapter 13. And let me say this. You say, I don’t understand this whole, he essentially told them that you’re asking to do something that’s above your pay grade. Let me explain this to you. There is coming a day when the old Testament law will be the law of the land of this world.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: There is coming a day. Well, don’t let the liberals tell you, forget about the old Testament. Forget about the law. Unhinge yourself from the law. It no longer applies. Oh no, it’s coming back.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: It’ll apply. In fact, it never left. It’s always been God’s law. It’s always been God’s will, it’s always been God’s desire. There is coming a day when the old Testament law will be the law of the land and that day will be during the millennial reign of Christ.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: You say, well, why can’t we do it now? Why can’t we have a militia now? Why can’t we just take a… March on Washington now? Why can’t we just take over the country now, and do it? Here’s why we can’t do it. Because you’re not without sin. I’m not without sin. You’re asking me to do something that’s above your pay grade. You say, “Whoa! Is there ever going to be a time when the old Testament law is implemented and enacted in this land?” Yes. It’s called the millennial reign of Christ. When he, that is without sin, we’ll establish the biblical law, but till then, stop being so worried about politics and start getting more worried about soul winning.
Speaker 2: Start being so worried about, well, we got to bring them the kingdom of God. And today you’ve gotten these critical, well, we got to bring in the kingdom of God. You don’t have to bring in nothing. Jesus will bring in his kingdom when he’s ready to do so.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: He called you to preach the gospel. He called you to reach centers. He called you to go out and take the gospel to the uttermost part of the earth. That’s what he’s called us to do. You say, are you denying the old Testament? Not, no. We love the old Testament law and we do not condone what God has condemned, but we also do not believe that it is our job to enforce old testimony. You said, “Ah, you’re a liberal.” No, actually I’m just trying to be like Jesus.
Speaker 2: Because then the exact same situation that what Jesus did. You say, “Well, what should we be doing today as new Testament believers?” Are you there in Romans chapter 13 look at verse one. Romans chapter 13 and verse one says this, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God the powers that be or ordained of God. You know what Jesus did? He just followed the law of the land. You know what we should do? We should follow the law of the land.
Speaker 2: Now, let me just give some disclaimers because you need to understand. There is a place for Christians to disobey the laws of the land. You say, what is that place? Whenever the law of the land requires us to sin against God. See, there is a such thing as a hierarchy of authority. This is what the book of Acts says. We ought to obey God rather than men. So look, if the law of the land says that we need to kill our unborn children, then we disobey that law-
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: … because God says that a child in the womb is a human. It’s a person and it should be treated as such. If the law of the land says no more soul winning, then you know what? We obey God rather than man and we continue to go soul winning and the law of the land like a for Daniel says, you’re not allowed to pray anymore. Then we just get on our knees and we pray to God anyway. If the law of the land says you can’t read the Bible, we just read the Bible anyway. We just memorize the Bible anyway. We just smuggle Bibles and I guess we’ll have to stand on street corners with trench coats and Bibles in our trench coats and hand them out and have a little gang symbols or something I don’t know, but we don’t follow the law of the land. If the law of the land is causing us to sin, we will make God rather than men.
Speaker 2: But look as far as enforcing God’s law that’s for he that is without sin. That is for when there is a… You say, “Whoa! Well when will that come back?” When there is a perfect government and there will only be a perfect government when there is a perfect Prince, the Lord Jesus Christ running the government. Here’s what Jesus was saying. Jesus was saying, “Well, if I want to cast a stone at this woman, I can, but let me throw a question back at you. Which of you is without sin and he that is without sin let him cast the first stone.” Now let me just go ahead and just take a moment and do a compare and contrast here between adultery and homosexuality because this is something that’s actually thrown in our faces a lot as fundamentalists. If you kept your place there in Leviticus chapter 20, go back there and let me show you Leviticus chapter 20, verse 13.
Speaker 2: This is a verse that we’ve taught and preached and we teach, our church and churches like ours and we get a lot of attention, a lot of negative attention. We get a lot of persecution for this. Leviticus 20:13, the Bible says this, if a man also lie with mankind, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. And you know, preachers like myself, we get in trouble because we stand up with God’s word and say, you know what? Leviticus 20:13 tells you exactly how God feels about homosexuality, and you say, well, why do you have to say that?
Speaker 2: Here’s what we have today. Because today you’ve got Christian leaders telling people, God doesn’t think anything bad about homosexuality. God thinks is fine. God accepts it. And then we stand up and say, well actually I don’t know that God thinks it’s all that great. Because when God instituted the government, because when God set up a nation, because when God had the laws of the land, he said, if a man also lie with mankind, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed abomination. They shall surely be put to death.
Congregation: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And people say, “Oh, you guys are trying to incite violence.” We never said to go kill sodomites. In fact, we tend to get a snatch. We say, look, we’re followers of Jesus Christ. We do not enforce the commandments of God, but we will not condone what God has condemned.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: So if you want to know what we think, here’s what we think. We think that God put sodomites to death because that’s what he said and that’s how God feels about it. And you say, “Well, what do you think about that?” “I think it’s great.”
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: The law of the Lord is perfect. You said, are you going to go enact that? Are you going to go make that happen? We don’t live under old Testament law. We don’t live… But look, there is, I’m telling you, there’s coming a day called the millennial reign of Christ when all of these old Testament laws will be in effect and it’ll be the best society anyone’s ever lived in because the law of the Lord is perfect. So don’t compare these two and say, “Oh well, what about this?” No, here’s what Jesus said, the is in the comparison is this, as far as how we look at it and how we apply it, it’s the same. It’s the same comparison.
Speaker 2: God put the death penalty on certain things that ought to teach us how God feels about those sins, but we don’t go and enforce those. We don’t enact those. We don’t put that into our own hands. That is the job of government to do. Government should be putting it… Look, God never gave people the right to just go kill whoever they want. It was government who had the responsibility of the death penalty. It is government… You’re not just about to go kill whoever you want.
Speaker 2: If somebody has done something worthy of death in the old Testament and even in our government today, you’re supposed to try them. You’re supposed to bring them before judges. You’re supposed to bring evidence. You’re supposed to have their peers look at the evidence and say yes, this person is guilty of that. Then the whole congregation wants to go and put them to death. This is what the Bible teaches. Okay, but let me give you a contrast. You say, okay, well then adultery and homosexuality are the same thing. Now here’s where they’re different and here’s where homosexuality falls into a different category of sin. Go to Romans chapter number one. You kept your place there in Romans 13 and I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this, but I do want to make sure I cover this so that we’re thorough.
Speaker 2: Romans chapter one, look at verse 26. Romans 1:26 says this for this course God gave them up unto vile. You know what the word vile means? It means repulsive and disgusting. He gave them up until vile affections for even their women did change. Don’t miss these three words, the natural use into that which is don’t miss it against nature and likewise also the men leaving. Don’t miss these three words. The natural use of the woman burned in their laws, one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error, which was me, and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things. Don’t miss those three words which… Notice the three words are not convenient. What does that mean? It means that they don’t come normally. They don’t come naturally.
Speaker 2: Please understand this. In the Bible there are two categories of sins. There are normal sins and there are unnatural sins. There are natural sins and there are sins that are not normal. And listen, we are not minimizing or making excuses for the normal sins. Adultery is a terrible sin. It’ll really cause a lot of heartache in your marriage. It can even destroy your marriage if there’s no reconciliation and forgiveness. Adultery is a terrible, terrible sin that no Christian ought to go down that road, but it’s not an unnatural sin.
Speaker 2: You understand that? Here’s what’s unnatural. Here’s what’s not normal. When a man is attracted to another man, when a woman is attracted to another woman, when an adult is attracted to a child, when a human is attracted to an animal, those are unnatural sins. So look, and when we studied the Bible, we need to understand not all sin is equal.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: Not all of a sin is the same. There are unnatural sins, and by the way, the unnatural sins, God put the death penalty on all of them.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: And then there are natural sins that God puts the death penalty on. Look, you know that you can kill somebody and your dad’s going to make a reprobate, but you still by God’s law should be put to death. And we don’t do that anymore in the United States America, we don’t put murderers to death. You kill somebody and you go to prison for like 10 years and get out. You know, but God put the death penalty. You can be a witch and not be a reprobate, but God put which is a debt. You can commit adultery and not be a reprobate, but God put adulterous there so understand that they’re not the same. There’s natural sins, unnatural sins.
Speaker 2: All unnatural sins have the death penalty. All of natural sins show that your conscience has been seared, that you’ve been given over to a reprobate mind. God has seared your conscience. You’ve lost your opportunity to be safe because the only way that somebody could go into those unnatural sins is of God just seared your conscience. Because normal people… Listen to me. And you know this to be true whether you like it or not. Whether you agree with it or not. You know this to be true. Normal people don’t last after those unnatural sins.
Speaker 2: Teenage boys, we teach them to guard their eyes. We teach them to look away. We’re talking about members of the opposite sex. We teach Tanner’s voice. Hey, don’t… You’re driving down the road and you see a billboard with a girl that’s dressing modestly. You need to look away. You need to make a covenant with your eyes. You need to decide that you’re not going to look upon her and not just hit it. And oh man, good night. Jesus said, whosoever look at the bottom of woman to lust after I’ve committed adultery with her already in his heart. So what do we teach? You need to guard your eyes. You need to guard your mind. You need to make sure that you are purposely not lusting after other women. Why? Because that is a totally natural thing.
Speaker 2: You know what I don’t tell a 13 year old boy. Now when you’re going on that road and you see that queer looking model in his underwear ad, look the other way so you don’t get tempted. You know what boys think that’s disgusting.
Congregation: That’s right.
Speaker 2: That’s disgusting. You know, a grown man isn’t, “Oh Miranda, a little five year old kid. I better be careful.” That’s disgusting. It’s vile, it’s a natural. The fact that you can go down that road shows that you’ve been given over to a reprobate mind. So there’s unnatural sins, there’s natural sins, and even within the category of natural sins, some are worse than others. Some got the death penalty, some got a financial penalty, some got a beating, some had no penalty. God says, “Hey, don’t lie.” But there’s no punishment for it. He didn’t give a punishment in His law, but He just says you shouldn’t do it. You understand what I’m saying? So as Christians, we need to be able to look at those scriptures and understand these things. And here’s what we realize. We realize that Jesus did not enforce old Testament law, but he also did not condone what God condemned.
Speaker 2: Go back to John chapter eight. We’re talking about the lessons that we can learn from the story. And the first lesson is this. We see that there is a balance between scriptural law and secular government. Now that’s the longest point. The rest of the points won’t be that long. Okay, we’ll finish this up quickly, but let me give you the second balance we learned in this story. And the second balance is this balance between learning to speak in every situation. I love this about Jesus and you really only see this with Jesus. As far as we don’t see it too much with other Bible characters, we see it with Jesus because Jesus, of course was perfect. But I want you to notice and please understand this, and this might be foreign to some of you. This might be the first time some of you hear this concept or understand this concept, but let me just help you out.
Speaker 2: It’s because of the culture we live in. But let me just help you out, and maybe you can write this down. It’s not that deep, okay? But it’s something that we don’t do today and it is this, the idea that we do not have to answer every question. You know that? You do not have to answer every question in every situation. Did you know that? Because we live in a Twitter, tumbler, Facebook, whatever, social media society today where everybody thinks their opinion is important and everybody thinks their opinion needs to be heard.
Speaker 2: Well, I’ve been given the freedom of speech. Yeah, you know what? You’ve been given the freedom to say whatever you want, but wisdom will tell you that you don’t have to give your opinion in every situation.
Congregation: That’s very true.
Speaker 2: We learned from Jesus, and I love this. Notice John chapter eight verse six this they said tempting him that they might have to accuse him, but Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not. Go to Matthew chapter number 11. Matthew… I’m sorry, not Matthew, Mark, chapter number 11. You’re there in John. If you just go backwards, you have Luke and then Mark. Mark chapter number 11 let me show you this. Another story of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark chapter number 11. In Mark 11 we have another face off between the Pharisees and the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice what the Bible says.
Speaker 2: Mark chapter 11 verse 27 and they came again to Jerusalem and as he was walking in the temple there came to him, the chief priest and the scribes and the elders and say unto him, here’s what they said. Here’s the question, two questions, “By what authority do is all these things and who gave you this authority to do these things?” Now again, they’re trying to catch him in his words, they’re trying to get him to say something that they could use against him. They ask him, by what authority do is all these things and who gave me this authority to do these things? And Jesus answered and said unto them, notice what he says. I love Jesus. I love watching him interact with people, interact with people he loved, interact with people that were trying to hurt him and cause a grief to his ministry.
Speaker 2: He says, “I will also ask of you one question and answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.” Here’s what he said. He says, “I’ll answer your question if your answer mine.” Verse 30. The baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men? Answer me. They ask him a question. He says, okay, let’s play a game. I’ll answer your question. You answer my question. Baptism of John. He said, I noticed you guys didn’t get baptized when John was baptizing. So let me ask you something. I’ve been wondering about this baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men? Answer me. That’s how he won and they reasoned within themselves with themselves. Say if we shall say from heaven, he will say, why then did you not believe him?
Speaker 2: If we say that the baptism of John came from heaven, then he’s going to ask, why didn’t you follow John? Why didn’t you believe what he said? But if we shall say of men, they feared the people for all man counted John that he was a prophet indeed. Jesus puts them in a catch 22. We say from heaven, he’s going to say, well, why didn’t you believe him then? And if we say it’s from men, then we’re afraid of the people because the people think that John was a prophet.
Speaker 2: Notice verse 33 and they answered and said unto Jesus, “We cannot tell.” And Jesus answering saith unto them, “Neither do I tell you by wide authority I do these things.” He says, if you don’t want to answer my question then I won’t answer yours, and here’s all I’m trying to tell you is you don’t always have to answer every question. In fact, sometimes the right answer is no answer at all. And you know what I’ve found is funny is that I will take positions and I will take stands on certain… There’ll be certain fights and certain things going on and I’ll say, “Hey, you know what? I don’t know about everybody else, but here’s where I stand. Here’s what I believe. Here’s what I think.” And people will attack me for that.
Speaker 2: I can’t believe you. I can’t believe you believe that. I can’t believe you say that, but then there’ll be drama and fights and I’ll just won’t say anything and people will attack me for that. Well, passionately Meadows hasn’t said anything. Pat wrote one [inaudible 00:39:31] event and they’ll just start assuming that I believe this. I believe that. Or I go there. You know what? You don’t have to answer every question.
Congregation: That’s right. Amen.
Speaker 2: You don’t have to give your opinion in every situation. In fact, there are some times when it’s okay to say, what do you think about… I don’t want to answer that question. I don’t have a dog in that fight. I think you’re trying to put me in a situation where you’re trying to pin me against certain people. You’re trying to make sure that I give you a quote that you can use against me. So why don’t you just take a hike.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: You’re a liberal, you know what? Call me whatever you want. This is how Jesus lived his life. He didn’t answer every question. Look, you don’t have to answer every question. You don’t have to give your opinion for every situation. And by the way, Jesus who’s gotten the flush didn’t feel the need to give his opinion in every situation. You’re not that smart. I’m not that smart. So sometimes look, even a fool when he holds his tongue is counted wise.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: So sometimes the best answer is no answer at all. Go back to John chapter eight. Let me give you the third lesson from this story. The first lesson was we saw the balance between the scriptural long cycle of government. What’s the balance? The balance is this. We don’t enforce old Testament law, but we do not condone what God condemns. Then we saw the balance about speaking in every situation and here’s the balance. Sometimes we stand up to be counted. Sometimes it’s okay to not give an answer. In fact, sometimes the right answer is no answer, at all.
Speaker 2: Let me give you the third balance we see in the story and it is this, the balance between salvation and sanctification, because these are two different doctrines that balance themselves in the Christian life. You see, I don’t understand what those doctrines mean or what those words mean. Let me help you with it. Notice John chapter eight verse nine. And they which heard it, because remember he said he that is without sin go at it. Cast the first stone and by the way, he stoops down and he starts writing in the sand. There’s a lot of talk about and discussion about and arguments about whether or not or what it is that Jesus wrote on the sand. We don’t know what he wrote in the sand. The Bible doesn’t tell us. We’ll have to get to heaven and ask him. I don’t know what he wrote, but whatever he wrote must’ve been good because notice what the Bible says in verse nine, and they which heard it being convicted by their own conscience.
Speaker 2: He says, look, he that is without sin, cast the first stone. And then he’s writing in the sand. I don’t know what he was writing. I wonder if he was writing… I don’t know what he’s writing. You know, he might’ve been writing the names of all the women that those men committed adultery with. I don’t know. Maybe he was writing a list of all the sins. Maybe they hadn’t committed adultery, but all the sins. I don’t know what he wrote, but whatever he wrote, notice a response, verse nine. And they which heard it being convicted by their own conscious when out one by one beginning at the eldest, even until the last and Jesus was left alone and the woman is standing in the midst. And when he had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, “Woman, where are those nine accusers?”
Speaker 2: Have no man condemn thee. And as verse 11 she said… I love these words. “No man, Lord.” And Jesus said unto her, that’s what he says. “Neither do I condemn thee,” he said. What did we learn from that? You know what we learned from that? That is a perfect illustration of salvation. This woman was guilty, no doubt. She was caught in the act. The law had spoken. She deserved to die, but Jesus forgave her. He said, where are the nine accusers?
Speaker 2: He says, where are those nine accusers that no man condemn? She says no man, Lord. Neither do I condemn thee. You know what salvation is? Salvation is this you are a sinner and you deserve to die and go to hell, and before you get a little self righteous about, well, she committed adultery you know what? Whatever sin you’ve committed has condemned you to hell and he chose to forgive her so you know what we get? We get this perfect picture of salvation. What is salvation? What is salvation say? Salvation says this. Salvation says, your sins are forgiven. Salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ saying, I have the right. I have the authority, I am the one without sin. I have the lot at back of me. I have the long gone to condemn you and send you to hell, but I won’t.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: But I will not condemn you. I will forgive you. In fact, I will take my sins upon you and I will take your punishment. Go to Romans chapter number eight. You say, what is salvation? Salvation is this. You can basically just sum it up in Romans chapter eight verse one. Notice what Romans 8:1 says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. There is therefore now no condemnation. He says, neither do I condemn thee.
Speaker 2: We see those perfect picture of salvation in the story. What is salvation? Salvation is you deserve to die. You deserve eternal punishment. You deserve to go to hell, but Jesus says, I forgive you. Go to Romans chapter five. Romans chapter five look at verse 20. Romans chapter five verse 20 says this. Moreover, the law entered… The law condemns us. The law judges us guilty. The law says, you are guilty. You deserve to die. The law condemns you to hell. He says, moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound. What does that mean?
Speaker 2: The law came into accuse me. The law came in that my offenses, that my sin, that it might be exceeding sinful, that the offense might abound, but we’re sin abounded. Grace did much more abound. Aren’t you thankful for that? Hey, for by grace, are you saved through faith. So what does that mean? We’re sin abounded. Grace did much more abound, here’s what it means. It means God has more grace than you’ve got sin. It means that God can forgive your sins. God can forgive all your sins. God, you say, I’ve done some terrible things. Or, like David who committed adultery. God forgave him. Or, like Moses who killed the man. God forgave him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I’ve done some sins that they’re just unforgivable. Look, we’re not talking about unnatural sins becoming a reprobate, we’ve already covered that, but look where sin abounds. And the Bible says grace did much more abound. Verse 21 that as sin had reign unto death. Even so my grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. So you know what we learned in this story? Keep your finger right there in Romans. Go back to John chapter eight. You know what we learned in this story? We learned about the balance between salvation and sanctification, why? Because salvation says, neither do I condemn thee. Salvation says, I forgive you and I will take my sins upon you, but you know that salvation is not the end. It is only the beginning. Didn’t we learn that when the story of Nicodemus. He calls salvation being born again. Why? Because salvation is just the start.
Speaker 2: God then wants you to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and savior. So look, salvation says, listen to me. Salvation says, you are forgiven. Your sins are forgiven. Sanctification says go and sin no more.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: So you know what the liberals want? They want to tell you, Jesus looked at this woman and he said, neither do I condemn thee. And yes, that’s what he says, but you know what Jesus all sinners that come to him in faith for salvation. He says, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. That’s sanctification. Salvation is this where sin abounded. Grace did much more abound. You know what sanctification is? Go to Romans chapter six.
Speaker 2: Here’s what’s interesting. Romans five the end of Romans five he says, the law entered in, that my offense might abound and he says, and we’re sin abounded. Grace did much more abound. Romans six verse one he says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Oh, he already told us, if you continue in sin, grace will abound, because where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. He says, salvation saves you. Salvation forgives you. Salvation does not condemn you. There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. He says, but shall we continue in sin that grace may abound. God forbid.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer there and see when God saved you, he not only took away the condemnation of sin, he took away the power of sin on your life. You don’t have to live in bondage to sin. You don’t have to live addicted. You don’t have to live the way you lived before, and Jesus looks at this woman. He says, “Where are thine accusers?” Because you know what Jesus does to the law. He dismisses it. She says, non Lord. Non Lord is another do I salvation. But then he says, go and sin no more, sanctification. In the Christian life we have this balance. Salvation forgives you. Sanctification cleanses you. Salvation says, I don’t condemn you for your sin. Sanctification says, but don’t live in sin.
Speaker 2: Salvation says, we’re sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And sanctification says, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. So we see this balance. What is it? You see a balance between scripture, law and secular government. We see a balance about speaking out in every situation and we see a balance about salvation and sanctification in this little eight first story of the woman caught in adultery.
Speaker 2: Let’s bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we love you and we thank you because the truth of the matter is that no matter how good we are, no matter how righteous we are, we all deserve to die. And we all deserve the same hell and the same punishment that this woman caught in adultery, caught in the very act deserved. Lord, I pray you to help us to live in this new identity you’ve given us in Christ, that we are forgiven. That we are not condemned. We can work through the guilt and we can work through the shame and we can work through the pressures of our sin. And we realize that sin has its consequences a
Speaker 2: Amen. All right, well we’re there in John chapter number eight and we’ve been going through a series like we’ve talked about on Sunday morning’s called, Encounters With Christ. The purpose of this series is to take us through this summer and we’re just trying to learn about the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re New Testament believers and we’re followers of Christ and we’re not focusing in on any parables and we’re not focusing in on any miracles, we’re just focusing in on these intimate conversations that the Lord Jesus Christ had with individuals and we’re watching him as he deals with people, as he helps people and as he ministers to people, and even sometimes rebukes people and things like that. We started this series, we dealt with Nicodemus and the conversation that Christ had with Nicodemus. Then of course, last week we learned about Jesus with the woman at the well.
Speaker 2: Today we are dealing with another very famous story and that is the story of the woman caught in adultery. I want you to understand why this conversation between the Lord Jesus Christ and this woman even takes place. Before we get into the conversation we’ll look at the context that leads into this conversation. Now, you’re there in John, chapter eight. If you look at verse one the bible says, Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. John, chapter eight, verse two. Early in the morning he came again into the temple and all the people came unto him and he sat down and taught them. Notice verse three. So Jesus is teaching, he’s having his public ministry. He sat down, he’s teaching people truths. Then in verse three the bible says this, and the scribes and Pharisees, so these are the bad guys in the story, right. These are the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2: You’ll find that we constantly see them confronting each other and trying to basically make each other look bad. The scribes and the Pharisees are coming to Jesus and they’ll ask him questions and they’ll try to put them in situations where they’re trying to make them look bad. That’s exactly what happens here in John chapter eight. Look at verse three again, and the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him… Just get this picture in your mind. You’re sitting there in a public gathering, the Lord Jesus Christ is teaching from the Bible. He’s preaching God’s word. He’s teaching a lesson. He sat down and taught them the Bible says, and then here come those scribes and the Pharisees, they not only interrupt this public teaching, but they brought unto him a woman.
Speaker 2: I would imagine that this woman is not coming voluntarily. They’re probably dragging her. They probably have two or three guys grabbing her by her hands and bringing her. They brought unto him, a woman taken in adultery and when they had sent her in the mid. So just imagine today if Pharisees and Sadducees walked into this building right now and they were just dragging a woman into this building and just threw a woman right here in front of all of us. The Bible says they dragged her into their midst. Notice verse four, they say unto him, “Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act.” I want you to understand that the context that leads us into the story of the woman caught in adultery. The reason this conversation between Christ and this woman even takes place is because of those scribes and the Pharisees are attempting to confront Christ and they are attempting to have this spiritual battle of the wits with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2: And they are trying to make him look bad. They are trying to make him look like someone who’s either going to deny the law of the land or deny his own law. Here’s what you need to understand. This is a very famous story in the Bible, but this story is often misunderstood and misapplied. What I’m going to do this morning is I’m going to go through and kind of just show you some lessons from this story. What I want you to understand, this is the theme of this story. The theme of the story of the woman caught in adultery is that it shows us this great balance that must be balanced by new Testament Christians in different aspects of life.
Speaker 2: So here’s the first one. Even if you’re taking notes, maybe you can write this down and I’d encourage you to take notes on the back of your bulletin in the back of the chorus of the week. Excuse me. You’ve got a place there to write down some notes. When it comes to lessons about the woman caught in adultery, the first lesson is this. In this story we see a balance between scriptural law and in secular government. We see a balance that we as new Testament believers have to understand between scriptural law, biblical law, law given to us by God and in his word, and how do we balance that in a secular government that does not follow the laws of God, that does not follow the precepts of God, that is not enforcing the laws of God. Look, this is the time that Jesus lived in.
Speaker 2: By the way, this is the time that you and I live in. You’re there in John eight look at verse four again, and they say unto him, “Master, this woman was taken in adultery.” That’s what they said. They said in the very act. Now when I read those words, here’s what I think. I think, where’s the man? I mean, right? I mean they’re saying, they brought this woman and they caught her in the very act of adultery, but they bring the woman and they don’t bring the man. Verse five, notice what they said. They said, now Moses and the law commanded us that such should be stoned. They said, look, this woman was caught in adultery. In fact, we caught her in the very act. We brought her here to shame her in front of all these people and we have a question for you Jesus. Here’s our question, because Moses in the law, in the old Testament law, Moses commanded that such should be stoned. But what says thou. They said, “What do you think?”
Speaker 2: What is the answer to this question, Jesus and notice their motive, verse six, this they said tempting him that they might have to accuse him. They were not bringing this situation to Jesus because they genuinely did not know what, and they wanted to understand and they want it to get some enlightenment. They were bringing this situation to Jesus because they were tempting him that they might have to accuse him. Look, as we begin this understanding of the scripture, you need to understand the context of the question. You need to understand why is it that they even bring this question to Jesus and what is the context that surrounds the question?
Speaker 2: Now, keep your place there in John chapter eight that’s our text for this morning. But go with me to the book of Leviticus chapter 20. In the old Testament, if you start at the beginning, you have the book of Genesis, you’ve got the book of Exodus, and then you’ve got the book of Leviticus. Leviticus chapter 20 and here’s what you need to understand because they asked those questions. They say, what thou, they said this woman was caught in adultery and Moses said that she should be put to death, that she should be stoned. But they said, “What do you think Jesus? What says thou?” Now the context of the question is this, and here’s what they’re attempting to do. They are attempting to put Jesus at odds between the law of the land and biblical law. See, there is no good answer by the Pharisees standpoint to this question because here’s what you need to understand.
Speaker 2: In the old Testament, in the law that God gave the nation of Israel, when God set up a nation, and when God had set up a government, and when God gave laws that were to be the commandments of the law of the land that we’re supposed to regulate the law of the land, God plays the death penalty upon adultery. Are you there, Leviticus 20? Look at verse number 10. Now this is foreign to most Christians. Most Christians don’t understand this, but this is how God feels about it. And look in the law, in God’s economy, in God’s government, in God’s reign, adultery has the punishment of death. Leviticus 20 look at verse 10. Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 10 the Bible says this, and the man that committed adultery with another man’s wife, even he that commit adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Speaker 2: The Bible says that when Moses set up the old Testament, nation of Israel and their laws, there was a law of death penalty upon adultery. And so the Pharisees are right when they say, “Hey Moses and his law, Moses commanded that she should be stoned.” They are right because the old Testament law puts a death penalty on adultery. But here’s the problem. The problem is that Jesus was not living under the old Testament law as far as the old Testament law being the law of the land. Jesus and the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the scribes were not living in old Testament Israel.
Speaker 2: Jesus, and the Pharisees and the scribes and this woman and everyone in this situation is living under the Roman empire and the Roman empire has their own laws of the land and I want you to notice that the Bible highlights for us one of these laws in regards to the death penalty. Keep your finger there in Leviticus 20 we’re going to come back to it. Go back to John but not John eight go to John chapter 18. John chapter 18 so you should have your place in Leviticus and you should have your place in John chapter 18 and look at verse number 31.
Speaker 2: John chapter 18 and verse 31 notice what the Bible says. John chapter 18 and verse 31 the Bible says this, then said Pilate unto them. Now who’s Pilate speaking to? He’s speaking to the Jews. They want to crucify the Lord Jesus Christ then said Pilate unto them. Now, if you remember the story, and I’m not going to take the time to go through all the verses, but when the Jews brought Jesus to Pilate, Pilate he said, “I find no fault in him. This man has done nothing wrong. This man does not deserve to die.” So if you remember, Pilate was hesitant. Now he ended up giving into peer pressure and he ended up doing the wrong thing, but he was hesitant to crucify Christ. John 18:31 then said, Pilate unto them, “Take ye him and judge him according to your law.” So he says, look, I don’t want you to do with this. Hey Jews, why don’t you take him and you judge him according to your law. According to the Mosaic law, according to the Levitical law, you judge him.
Speaker 2: Notice the response from the Jews. The Jews therefore said unto him, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.” See, the Jews understood that under the Roman empire, the laws of the old Testament were not in effect. They were not to be implemented. They did not have any right or authority to put anybody to death. So it’s kind of silly. It’s funny because Pilate says to them, “Hey, I don’t want to put Jesus to death. Why don’t you guys do it?” And they’re like, “Hey Pilate, you know the law, we’re not allowed to put any man to death.” But yet these same people come to Jesus and they say, “Hey, the Mosaic law, the Levitical law says that this woman deserves to die.” But what says thou? See what they’re trying to do is they’re trying to put Jesus into this catch 22.
Speaker 2: They’re trying to put Jesus into this no win situation where there’s really no right answer. Because remember, what they’re attempting to do is they are tempting him that they might accuse him. So here’s the idea. If Jesus says, “Yes, you’re right, the law of Moses says that she should be put to death. Let’s stone her. Let’s put her death right now.”
Speaker 2: Those Jews would be running to the Roman empire and saying, Jesus is leading an insurrection against Rome. Jesus is telling people to forget about the Roman law, and to follow the Mosaic law. And if you remember the Romans had this idea where they’re constantly trying to put down rebellion. They’re constantly trying to make sure that the Jews are in line. They’re constantly trying to make sure… This was why there was this pressure with this coming Messiah because the Jews believed that there was a coming Messiah that would free them from the Roman empire, and the Romans are constantly trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Speaker 2: That’s why Herod had all the children two years old and under put to death when people started showing up and talking about a King being born. A King of the Jews. The Romans were constantly trying to make sure that there was no sort of insurrection or rebellion brought up by the people. So if Jesus would’ve looked at this woman and said, “Hey, you know what? Leviticus 20 verse 10, she’s committed adultery, she deserves to be put to death,” then they would have turned around and accused him against the Roman empire as someone leading an insurrection.
Speaker 2: But if he would have said, if he would have answered, “No, don’t put her death. Yes, the law of Moses has that she deserves to be put to death, but we live under the Roman empire and it’s not lawful for us to put any man to death.” If he would’ve given that answer, then they would’ve turned around to all of the Jewish followers and say, “See, he doesn’t believe the Bible. See, he is denying the word of God. See, he is minimizing the word of God. See, he’s not really a follower of Moses,” because if you remember, the Pharisees were constantly telling the people, “We be followers of Moses, but this man, we don’t know where this man came from.” So they put Jesus in this catch 22 where they want him to answer what should be done with this woman caught in adultery because the Mosaic law, the Levitical law says she deserves to be put to death. But what say ye?
Speaker 2: And you need to understand the context of the question in order to understand the answer to the question. Notice the answer to the question. Look at verse five. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what says thou? John chapter eight verse six. This they said tempting him that he might have to accuse him… Notice what Jesus does, but Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground… I love these words, as though he heard them not. You say, what was the answer that came from Jesus and it was no answer. He sleeps down on the ground and starts scribbling in the sand and started scribbling in the dirt and he pretends he doesn’t hear them.
Speaker 2: And you say, “What?” I don’t understand the answer to Jesus’s question and here’s what you need to understand. We do not enforce old Testament law in a secular government. It is not our place to take old Testament law and say, “Well God put the death penalty upon adultery. God put the death penalty upon rape. God put the death penalty upon kidnapping. God put the death penalty upon witchcraft. God put the death penalty on homosexuality.” And by the way, those are all things that got put the death penalty on-
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: … in the old Testament. Well God put the death penalty on all those things. So let’s get a group go in and let’s go around all these people up and put them to death. No. See as new Testament Christians, we do not enforce the old Testament law in a secular government. Jesus was smart enough to understand, yes, that’s the laws of God. And look, the law of the Lord is perfect.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: But we don’t live in that government. We don’t live under the Mosaic law. We don’t live under the Levitical priesthood. We live in the Roman empire. There is a law to the land. So he says, “You know what?” And he just gives them no answer as though he heard them not. Notice verse seven. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, and he finally does give them an answer. Here’s the answer. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” That’s an interesting answer to the question because they said, “Hey, she deserves to be stoned.” The law of Moses tells us you deserves to be stoned, but what says thou? What do you think? And he says, well, you know what? First of all, I’m just not going to answer your question. And they’d get pressing him for him and they continue to ask him. He’s pretending like he doesn’t hear them. They keep pressing, and then he says, fine, you want to answer? Here’s your answer.
Speaker 2: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” And again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground and here’s what he says essentially, here’s what he says in effect. It’s this. He says, what you are asking to do is above your pay grade. He says, somebody has the authority to do what you’re asking to do, but it’s not you. He says somebody has the authority to go ahead and give the commandment to put this lady to death but it’s not you. You say, how do you know it’s not you? Because here’s the qualification to the authority. He that is without sin among you, let him first cast the stone at her.
Speaker 2: So he essentially says to them, this is above your pay grade. You’re asking theoretical questions that you don’t have anything, or any authority to enforce. Now let me just say this because this is where the story gets misapplied and misunderstood and misused and abused by the liberals today. I want you to get this. This is… Notice what Jesus didn’t say. Jesus didn’t say… Look at verse seven again. So when they continued to ask and he lift it up himself and said unto them, no, the Bible doesn’t say this. He didn’t get up and say, “Hey guys, we’re not under the law. We’re under grace.”
Congregation: That’s right.
Speaker 2: That’s not what he said to them.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: You know what liberal Christians today want to teach us and tell us? And they’ll take their stories and teach it. They’ll say, “Hey, you know what? We need to just forget about the old Testament. We need to just unhinge ourselves from the old Testament. We need to just be done with the old Testament. The old Testament law was for another dispensation. It was for another people. It was for another time. It doesn’t apply to us. Just forget about that guys. We’re under grace.”
Speaker 2: Just you know, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow. We don’t… Notice, he doesn’t say to them, “Hey, we’re not under the law. We’re under grace. Forget about the law. Forget about Moses. None of that applies.” He doesn’t give that answer. He doesn’t say, forget about the old Testament law. Here’s what he says. He says, “Yes, we can enforce it if you’re without sin.”
Speaker 2: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone.” You say, I don’t understand what is that Jesus trying to tell us? Here’s what he’s trying to tell us. Maybe you should write this down. We do not enforce old Testament law in secular government. However, we do not condone what God has condemned. Do you understand that? Oh wait, what do you guys think about the old Testament law? We think it’s perfect.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: We think that if we lived in a society that followed the laws of God, we would live in a happy and clean and pure society. You’re going to go out and enforce it? No, we’re not going to condone what God condemns. We’re not going to enforce what our secular government doesn’t enforce. What? God did not call us to be lawless. God did not call us to take matters into our own hands and to go start up a militia and go, march on Washington and let’s take over this government and let’s make sure that they enforced the laws of God. That is not what Jesus was here to do. And by the way, that’s not what you and I are here to do.
Speaker 2: Now we acknowledge God’s law as perfect. We do not condemn… We do not condone, excuse me, what God has condemned. And this is where the liberals just completely got derailed with this story and other aspects. They say, “Hey, we’re done with the law and let’s just embrace it.” No. Look. He said, “If you’re without sin, go ahead. Do it. Go ahead, stoner her.”
Speaker 2: Here’s what he’s saying, and I really want you to understand this and give your place in John, go to Romans chapter 13. You’re there in John, you’ve got Acts, Romans. So you should have your place in John, you should have your place in Leviticus. And now I’d like you to put your place in Romans. We’re going to go back and forth between these three passages, Leviticus, John, Romans. Romans chapter 13. And let me say this. You say, I don’t understand this whole, he essentially told them that you’re asking to do something that’s above your pay grade. Let me explain this to you. There is coming a day when the old Testament law will be the law of the land of this world.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: There is coming a day. Well, don’t let the liberals tell you, forget about the old Testament. Forget about the law. Unhinge yourself from the law. It no longer applies. Oh no, it’s coming back.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: It’ll apply. In fact, it never left. It’s always been God’s law. It’s always been God’s will, it’s always been God’s desire. There is coming a day when the old Testament law will be the law of the land and that day will be during the millennial reign of Christ.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: You say, well, why can’t we do it now? Why can’t we have a militia now? Why can’t we just take a… March on Washington now? Why can’t we just take over the country now, and do it? Here’s why we can’t do it. Because you’re not without sin. I’m not without sin. You’re asking me to do something that’s above your pay grade. You say, “Whoa! Is there ever going to be a time when the old Testament law is implemented and enacted in this land?” Yes. It’s called the millennial reign of Christ. When he, that is without sin, we’ll establish the biblical law, but till then, stop being so worried about politics and start getting more worried about soul winning.
Speaker 2: Start being so worried about, well, we got to bring them the kingdom of God. And today you’ve gotten these critical, well, we got to bring in the kingdom of God. You don’t have to bring in nothing. Jesus will bring in his kingdom when he’s ready to do so.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: He called you to preach the gospel. He called you to reach centers. He called you to go out and take the gospel to the uttermost part of the earth. That’s what he’s called us to do. You say, are you denying the old Testament? Not, no. We love the old Testament law and we do not condone what God has condemned, but we also do not believe that it is our job to enforce old testimony. You said, “Ah, you’re a liberal.” No, actually I’m just trying to be like Jesus.
Speaker 2: Because then the exact same situation that what Jesus did. You say, “Well, what should we be doing today as new Testament believers?” Are you there in Romans chapter 13 look at verse one. Romans chapter 13 and verse one says this, let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God the powers that be or ordained of God. You know what Jesus did? He just followed the law of the land. You know what we should do? We should follow the law of the land.
Speaker 2: Now, let me just give some disclaimers because you need to understand. There is a place for Christians to disobey the laws of the land. You say, what is that place? Whenever the law of the land requires us to sin against God. See, there is a such thing as a hierarchy of authority. This is what the book of Acts says. We ought to obey God rather than men. So look, if the law of the land says that we need to kill our unborn children, then we disobey that law-
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: … because God says that a child in the womb is a human. It’s a person and it should be treated as such. If the law of the land says no more soul winning, then you know what? We obey God rather than man and we continue to go soul winning and the law of the land like a for Daniel says, you’re not allowed to pray anymore. Then we just get on our knees and we pray to God anyway. If the law of the land says you can’t read the Bible, we just read the Bible anyway. We just memorize the Bible anyway. We just smuggle Bibles and I guess we’ll have to stand on street corners with trench coats and Bibles in our trench coats and hand them out and have a little gang symbols or something I don’t know, but we don’t follow the law of the land. If the law of the land is causing us to sin, we will make God rather than men.
Speaker 2: But look as far as enforcing God’s law that’s for he that is without sin. That is for when there is a… You say, “Whoa! Well when will that come back?” When there is a perfect government and there will only be a perfect government when there is a perfect Prince, the Lord Jesus Christ running the government. Here’s what Jesus was saying. Jesus was saying, “Well, if I want to cast a stone at this woman, I can, but let me throw a question back at you. Which of you is without sin and he that is without sin let him cast the first stone.” Now let me just go ahead and just take a moment and do a compare and contrast here between adultery and homosexuality because this is something that’s actually thrown in our faces a lot as fundamentalists. If you kept your place there in Leviticus chapter 20, go back there and let me show you Leviticus chapter 20, verse 13.
Speaker 2: This is a verse that we’ve taught and preached and we teach, our church and churches like ours and we get a lot of attention, a lot of negative attention. We get a lot of persecution for this. Leviticus 20:13, the Bible says this, if a man also lie with mankind, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. And you know, preachers like myself, we get in trouble because we stand up with God’s word and say, you know what? Leviticus 20:13 tells you exactly how God feels about homosexuality, and you say, well, why do you have to say that?
Speaker 2: Here’s what we have today. Because today you’ve got Christian leaders telling people, God doesn’t think anything bad about homosexuality. God thinks is fine. God accepts it. And then we stand up and say, well actually I don’t know that God thinks it’s all that great. Because when God instituted the government, because when God set up a nation, because when God had the laws of the land, he said, if a man also lie with mankind, as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed abomination. They shall surely be put to death.
Congregation: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And people say, “Oh, you guys are trying to incite violence.” We never said to go kill sodomites. In fact, we tend to get a snatch. We say, look, we’re followers of Jesus Christ. We do not enforce the commandments of God, but we will not condone what God has condemned.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: So if you want to know what we think, here’s what we think. We think that God put sodomites to death because that’s what he said and that’s how God feels about it. And you say, “Well, what do you think about that?” “I think it’s great.”
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: The law of the Lord is perfect. You said, are you going to go enact that? Are you going to go make that happen? We don’t live under old Testament law. We don’t live… But look, there is, I’m telling you, there’s coming a day called the millennial reign of Christ when all of these old Testament laws will be in effect and it’ll be the best society anyone’s ever lived in because the law of the Lord is perfect. So don’t compare these two and say, “Oh well, what about this?” No, here’s what Jesus said, the is in the comparison is this, as far as how we look at it and how we apply it, it’s the same. It’s the same comparison.
Speaker 2: God put the death penalty on certain things that ought to teach us how God feels about those sins, but we don’t go and enforce those. We don’t enact those. We don’t put that into our own hands. That is the job of government to do. Government should be putting it… Look, God never gave people the right to just go kill whoever they want. It was government who had the responsibility of the death penalty. It is government… You’re not just about to go kill whoever you want.
Speaker 2: If somebody has done something worthy of death in the old Testament and even in our government today, you’re supposed to try them. You’re supposed to bring them before judges. You’re supposed to bring evidence. You’re supposed to have their peers look at the evidence and say yes, this person is guilty of that. Then the whole congregation wants to go and put them to death. This is what the Bible teaches. Okay, but let me give you a contrast. You say, okay, well then adultery and homosexuality are the same thing. Now here’s where they’re different and here’s where homosexuality falls into a different category of sin. Go to Romans chapter number one. You kept your place there in Romans 13 and I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this, but I do want to make sure I cover this so that we’re thorough.
Speaker 2: Romans chapter one, look at verse 26. Romans 1:26 says this for this course God gave them up unto vile. You know what the word vile means? It means repulsive and disgusting. He gave them up until vile affections for even their women did change. Don’t miss these three words, the natural use into that which is don’t miss it against nature and likewise also the men leaving. Don’t miss these three words. The natural use of the woman burned in their laws, one toward another, men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error, which was me, and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things. Don’t miss those three words which… Notice the three words are not convenient. What does that mean? It means that they don’t come normally. They don’t come naturally.
Speaker 2: Please understand this. In the Bible there are two categories of sins. There are normal sins and there are unnatural sins. There are natural sins and there are sins that are not normal. And listen, we are not minimizing or making excuses for the normal sins. Adultery is a terrible sin. It’ll really cause a lot of heartache in your marriage. It can even destroy your marriage if there’s no reconciliation and forgiveness. Adultery is a terrible, terrible sin that no Christian ought to go down that road, but it’s not an unnatural sin.
Speaker 2: You understand that? Here’s what’s unnatural. Here’s what’s not normal. When a man is attracted to another man, when a woman is attracted to another woman, when an adult is attracted to a child, when a human is attracted to an animal, those are unnatural sins. So look, and when we studied the Bible, we need to understand not all sin is equal.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: Not all of a sin is the same. There are unnatural sins, and by the way, the unnatural sins, God put the death penalty on all of them.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: And then there are natural sins that God puts the death penalty on. Look, you know that you can kill somebody and your dad’s going to make a reprobate, but you still by God’s law should be put to death. And we don’t do that anymore in the United States America, we don’t put murderers to death. You kill somebody and you go to prison for like 10 years and get out. You know, but God put the death penalty. You can be a witch and not be a reprobate, but God put which is a debt. You can commit adultery and not be a reprobate, but God put adulterous there so understand that they’re not the same. There’s natural sins, unnatural sins.
Speaker 2: All unnatural sins have the death penalty. All of natural sins show that your conscience has been seared, that you’ve been given over to a reprobate mind. God has seared your conscience. You’ve lost your opportunity to be safe because the only way that somebody could go into those unnatural sins is of God just seared your conscience. Because normal people… Listen to me. And you know this to be true whether you like it or not. Whether you agree with it or not. You know this to be true. Normal people don’t last after those unnatural sins.
Speaker 2: Teenage boys, we teach them to guard their eyes. We teach them to look away. We’re talking about members of the opposite sex. We teach Tanner’s voice. Hey, don’t… You’re driving down the road and you see a billboard with a girl that’s dressing modestly. You need to look away. You need to make a covenant with your eyes. You need to decide that you’re not going to look upon her and not just hit it. And oh man, good night. Jesus said, whosoever look at the bottom of woman to lust after I’ve committed adultery with her already in his heart. So what do we teach? You need to guard your eyes. You need to guard your mind. You need to make sure that you are purposely not lusting after other women. Why? Because that is a totally natural thing.
Speaker 2: You know what I don’t tell a 13 year old boy. Now when you’re going on that road and you see that queer looking model in his underwear ad, look the other way so you don’t get tempted. You know what boys think that’s disgusting.
Congregation: That’s right.
Speaker 2: That’s disgusting. You know, a grown man isn’t, “Oh Miranda, a little five year old kid. I better be careful.” That’s disgusting. It’s vile, it’s a natural. The fact that you can go down that road shows that you’ve been given over to a reprobate mind. So there’s unnatural sins, there’s natural sins, and even within the category of natural sins, some are worse than others. Some got the death penalty, some got a financial penalty, some got a beating, some had no penalty. God says, “Hey, don’t lie.” But there’s no punishment for it. He didn’t give a punishment in His law, but He just says you shouldn’t do it. You understand what I’m saying? So as Christians, we need to be able to look at those scriptures and understand these things. And here’s what we realize. We realize that Jesus did not enforce old Testament law, but he also did not condone what God condemned.
Speaker 2: Go back to John chapter eight. We’re talking about the lessons that we can learn from the story. And the first lesson is this. We see that there is a balance between scriptural law and secular government. Now that’s the longest point. The rest of the points won’t be that long. Okay, we’ll finish this up quickly, but let me give you the second balance we learned in this story. And the second balance is this balance between learning to speak in every situation. I love this about Jesus and you really only see this with Jesus. As far as we don’t see it too much with other Bible characters, we see it with Jesus because Jesus, of course was perfect. But I want you to notice and please understand this, and this might be foreign to some of you. This might be the first time some of you hear this concept or understand this concept, but let me just help you out.
Speaker 2: It’s because of the culture we live in. But let me just help you out, and maybe you can write this down. It’s not that deep, okay? But it’s something that we don’t do today and it is this, the idea that we do not have to answer every question. You know that? You do not have to answer every question in every situation. Did you know that? Because we live in a Twitter, tumbler, Facebook, whatever, social media society today where everybody thinks their opinion is important and everybody thinks their opinion needs to be heard.
Speaker 2: Well, I’ve been given the freedom of speech. Yeah, you know what? You’ve been given the freedom to say whatever you want, but wisdom will tell you that you don’t have to give your opinion in every situation.
Congregation: That’s very true.
Speaker 2: We learned from Jesus, and I love this. Notice John chapter eight verse six this they said tempting him that they might have to accuse him, but Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not. Go to Matthew chapter number 11. Matthew… I’m sorry, not Matthew, Mark, chapter number 11. You’re there in John. If you just go backwards, you have Luke and then Mark. Mark chapter number 11 let me show you this. Another story of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark chapter number 11. In Mark 11 we have another face off between the Pharisees and the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice what the Bible says.
Speaker 2: Mark chapter 11 verse 27 and they came again to Jerusalem and as he was walking in the temple there came to him, the chief priest and the scribes and the elders and say unto him, here’s what they said. Here’s the question, two questions, “By what authority do is all these things and who gave you this authority to do these things?” Now again, they’re trying to catch him in his words, they’re trying to get him to say something that they could use against him. They ask him, by what authority do is all these things and who gave me this authority to do these things? And Jesus answered and said unto them, notice what he says. I love Jesus. I love watching him interact with people, interact with people he loved, interact with people that were trying to hurt him and cause a grief to his ministry.
Speaker 2: He says, “I will also ask of you one question and answer me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.” Here’s what he said. He says, “I’ll answer your question if your answer mine.” Verse 30. The baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men? Answer me. They ask him a question. He says, okay, let’s play a game. I’ll answer your question. You answer my question. Baptism of John. He said, I noticed you guys didn’t get baptized when John was baptizing. So let me ask you something. I’ve been wondering about this baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men? Answer me. That’s how he won and they reasoned within themselves with themselves. Say if we shall say from heaven, he will say, why then did you not believe him?
Speaker 2: If we say that the baptism of John came from heaven, then he’s going to ask, why didn’t you follow John? Why didn’t you believe what he said? But if we shall say of men, they feared the people for all man counted John that he was a prophet indeed. Jesus puts them in a catch 22. We say from heaven, he’s going to say, well, why didn’t you believe him then? And if we say it’s from men, then we’re afraid of the people because the people think that John was a prophet.
Speaker 2: Notice verse 33 and they answered and said unto Jesus, “We cannot tell.” And Jesus answering saith unto them, “Neither do I tell you by wide authority I do these things.” He says, if you don’t want to answer my question then I won’t answer yours, and here’s all I’m trying to tell you is you don’t always have to answer every question. In fact, sometimes the right answer is no answer at all. And you know what I’ve found is funny is that I will take positions and I will take stands on certain… There’ll be certain fights and certain things going on and I’ll say, “Hey, you know what? I don’t know about everybody else, but here’s where I stand. Here’s what I believe. Here’s what I think.” And people will attack me for that.
Speaker 2: I can’t believe you. I can’t believe you believe that. I can’t believe you say that, but then there’ll be drama and fights and I’ll just won’t say anything and people will attack me for that. Well, passionately Meadows hasn’t said anything. Pat wrote one [inaudible 00:39:31] event and they’ll just start assuming that I believe this. I believe that. Or I go there. You know what? You don’t have to answer every question.
Congregation: That’s right. Amen.
Speaker 2: You don’t have to give your opinion in every situation. In fact, there are some times when it’s okay to say, what do you think about… I don’t want to answer that question. I don’t have a dog in that fight. I think you’re trying to put me in a situation where you’re trying to pin me against certain people. You’re trying to make sure that I give you a quote that you can use against me. So why don’t you just take a hike.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: You’re a liberal, you know what? Call me whatever you want. This is how Jesus lived his life. He didn’t answer every question. Look, you don’t have to answer every question. You don’t have to give your opinion for every situation. And by the way, Jesus who’s gotten the flush didn’t feel the need to give his opinion in every situation. You’re not that smart. I’m not that smart. So sometimes look, even a fool when he holds his tongue is counted wise.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: So sometimes the best answer is no answer at all. Go back to John chapter eight. Let me give you the third lesson from this story. The first lesson was we saw the balance between the scriptural long cycle of government. What’s the balance? The balance is this. We don’t enforce old Testament law, but we do not condone what God condemns. Then we saw the balance about speaking in every situation and here’s the balance. Sometimes we stand up to be counted. Sometimes it’s okay to not give an answer. In fact, sometimes the right answer is no answer, at all.
Speaker 2: Let me give you the third balance we see in the story and it is this, the balance between salvation and sanctification, because these are two different doctrines that balance themselves in the Christian life. You see, I don’t understand what those doctrines mean or what those words mean. Let me help you with it. Notice John chapter eight verse nine. And they which heard it, because remember he said he that is without sin go at it. Cast the first stone and by the way, he stoops down and he starts writing in the sand. There’s a lot of talk about and discussion about and arguments about whether or not or what it is that Jesus wrote on the sand. We don’t know what he wrote in the sand. The Bible doesn’t tell us. We’ll have to get to heaven and ask him. I don’t know what he wrote, but whatever he wrote must’ve been good because notice what the Bible says in verse nine, and they which heard it being convicted by their own conscience.
Speaker 2: He says, look, he that is without sin, cast the first stone. And then he’s writing in the sand. I don’t know what he was writing. I wonder if he was writing… I don’t know what he’s writing. You know, he might’ve been writing the names of all the women that those men committed adultery with. I don’t know. Maybe he was writing a list of all the sins. Maybe they hadn’t committed adultery, but all the sins. I don’t know what he wrote, but whatever he wrote, notice a response, verse nine. And they which heard it being convicted by their own conscious when out one by one beginning at the eldest, even until the last and Jesus was left alone and the woman is standing in the midst. And when he had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, “Woman, where are those nine accusers?”
Speaker 2: Have no man condemn thee. And as verse 11 she said… I love these words. “No man, Lord.” And Jesus said unto her, that’s what he says. “Neither do I condemn thee,” he said. What did we learn from that? You know what we learned from that? That is a perfect illustration of salvation. This woman was guilty, no doubt. She was caught in the act. The law had spoken. She deserved to die, but Jesus forgave her. He said, where are the nine accusers?
Speaker 2: He says, where are those nine accusers that no man condemn? She says no man, Lord. Neither do I condemn thee. You know what salvation is? Salvation is this you are a sinner and you deserve to die and go to hell, and before you get a little self righteous about, well, she committed adultery you know what? Whatever sin you’ve committed has condemned you to hell and he chose to forgive her so you know what we get? We get this perfect picture of salvation. What is salvation? What is salvation say? Salvation says this. Salvation says, your sins are forgiven. Salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ saying, I have the right. I have the authority, I am the one without sin. I have the lot at back of me. I have the long gone to condemn you and send you to hell, but I won’t.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: But I will not condemn you. I will forgive you. In fact, I will take my sins upon you and I will take your punishment. Go to Romans chapter number eight. You say, what is salvation? Salvation is this. You can basically just sum it up in Romans chapter eight verse one. Notice what Romans 8:1 says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. There is therefore now no condemnation. He says, neither do I condemn thee.
Speaker 2: We see those perfect picture of salvation in the story. What is salvation? Salvation is you deserve to die. You deserve eternal punishment. You deserve to go to hell, but Jesus says, I forgive you. Go to Romans chapter five. Romans chapter five look at verse 20. Romans chapter five verse 20 says this. Moreover, the law entered… The law condemns us. The law judges us guilty. The law says, you are guilty. You deserve to die. The law condemns you to hell. He says, moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound. What does that mean?
Speaker 2: The law came into accuse me. The law came in that my offenses, that my sin, that it might be exceeding sinful, that the offense might abound, but we’re sin abounded. Grace did much more abound. Aren’t you thankful for that? Hey, for by grace, are you saved through faith. So what does that mean? We’re sin abounded. Grace did much more abound, here’s what it means. It means God has more grace than you’ve got sin. It means that God can forgive your sins. God can forgive all your sins. God, you say, I’ve done some terrible things. Or, like David who committed adultery. God forgave him. Or, like Moses who killed the man. God forgave him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I’ve done some sins that they’re just unforgivable. Look, we’re not talking about unnatural sins becoming a reprobate, we’ve already covered that, but look where sin abounds. And the Bible says grace did much more abound. Verse 21 that as sin had reign unto death. Even so my grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. So you know what we learned in this story? Keep your finger right there in Romans. Go back to John chapter eight. You know what we learned in this story? We learned about the balance between salvation and sanctification, why? Because salvation says, neither do I condemn thee. Salvation says, I forgive you and I will take my sins upon you, but you know that salvation is not the end. It is only the beginning. Didn’t we learn that when the story of Nicodemus. He calls salvation being born again. Why? Because salvation is just the start.
Speaker 2: God then wants you to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and savior. So look, salvation says, listen to me. Salvation says, you are forgiven. Your sins are forgiven. Sanctification says go and sin no more.
Congregation: Right.
Speaker 2: So you know what the liberals want? They want to tell you, Jesus looked at this woman and he said, neither do I condemn thee. And yes, that’s what he says, but you know what Jesus all sinners that come to him in faith for salvation. He says, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. That’s sanctification. Salvation is this where sin abounded. Grace did much more abound. You know what sanctification is? Go to Romans chapter six.
Speaker 2: Here’s what’s interesting. Romans five the end of Romans five he says, the law entered in, that my offense might abound and he says, and we’re sin abounded. Grace did much more abound. Romans six verse one he says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Oh, he already told us, if you continue in sin, grace will abound, because where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. He says, salvation saves you. Salvation forgives you. Salvation does not condemn you. There is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. He says, but shall we continue in sin that grace may abound. God forbid.
Congregation: Amen.
Speaker 2: How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer there and see when God saved you, he not only took away the condemnation of sin, he took away the power of sin on your life. You don’t have to live in bondage to sin. You don’t have to live addicted. You don’t have to live the way you lived before, and Jesus looks at this woman. He says, “Where are thine accusers?” Because you know what Jesus does to the law. He dismisses it. She says, non Lord. Non Lord is another do I salvation. But then he says, go and sin no more, sanctification. In the Christian life we have this balance. Salvation forgives you. Sanctification cleanses you. Salvation says, I don’t condemn you for your sin. Sanctification says, but don’t live in sin.
Speaker 2: Salvation says, we’re sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And sanctification says, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. So we see this balance. What is it? You see a balance between scripture, law and secular government. We see a balance about speaking out in every situation and we see a balance about salvation and sanctification in this little eight first story of the woman caught in adultery.
Speaker 2: Let’s bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, Lord, we love you and we thank you because the truth of the matter is that no matter how good we are, no matter how righteous we are, we all deserve to die. And we all deserve the same hell and the same punishment that this woman caught in adultery, caught in the very act deserved. Lord, I pray you to help us to live in this new identity you’ve given us in Christ, that we are forgiven. That we are not condemned. We can work through the guilt and we can work through the shame and we can work through the pressures of our sin. And we realize that sin has its consequences a