Religion may condemn you, but there is now no condemnation for those IN CHRIST. Romans 8:1
John’s Gospel has an interesting account of a woman caught in adultery, John 8:1-11 (these verses are not in most reliable manuscripts). Jesus was in the Temple Courts teaching the people. What an experience to have sat listening to the Lord Himself! The people gathered around Jesus, they wanted to hear Him. However, Jesus was interrupted by teachers of the Law and Pharisees, with the woman caught in adultery. Suddenly the whole focus of the gathering had changed. Some of us may have been to meetings where the direction has been hijacked. On this occasion it moved from words of life to words of death, couldn’t have been more serious! The underlying intent was to trap Jesus, the teacher from God before the people.
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. John 8
Jesus didn’t answer their accusations about the Law directly, nor did He confront the woman’s accusers. Instead He stooped down; I imagine the scene was fairly heated as the religious intruders tried to force the issue. Eventually Jesus stood up and uttered one single statement;
7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’
Jesus changed the whole basis of the argument right then. The accusers had been blaming the poor woman for her failing (where was the man who’d been with her?). Jesus forced them to look in their own hearts and no one could meet the condition to cast that first stone, every one of them were sinners too. Interesting that the eldest left first, they’d lived longer and knew beyond doubt that they were just as guilty.
10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’
11 ‘No one, sir,’ she said.
‘THEN NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU,’ Jesus declared. ‘GO NOW AND LEAVE YOUR LIFE OF SIN.’
Jesus didn’t condemn a woman caught in the adultery. In God’s eyes the issue may not be the guilt of the accused but also of the accusers. Those who are throwing stones or insults and accusations may open themselves to the judgement of God.
Jesus, forgave her, but told her, ‘to leave her life of sin’. He extended God’s forgiveness, but told her to repent and change her way of life.
Romans 8:1 tells us that those in Christ are no longer under condemnation, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, but we too must turn away from known sin.
The example of the outstretched hand with the pointing finger of accusation comes to mind. The one finger on the hand points at the accused, but the other three fingers, point back to us. We may have more to be judged than those we’re accusing.
God bless and keep you today.