Jesus straightened up and asked her [the woman caught in adultery], "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
—John 8:10-11
For my own walk, there aren't many Scriptures that top Jesus' actions here in John 8. It is a passage of Scripture that can also illustrate the lives we live today. As Christians, we have a bad habit of pretending we don't sin. Don't worry, it's ok, I won't tell anyone! Promise! (lol)
Because of this paradigm the church holds, we become so judgmental towards others when they get "caught" in their sin, or if they are brave enough to confess we look down our religious noses. Obviously this does not apply to all Christians, yet I'm sure many of you are familiar with what I'm describing.
We do this because it's our sub-conscious (or conscious) hope that others will focus on someone else's sin instead of our own. This is where we find the young woman caught in adultery in John 8. Jesus was being tested by the religious of his day.
To answer their test, Jesus asked the one without sin to cast the first stone. Jesus was the only one qualified to judge her, yet He let her go in her repentance with the order to sin no more. It was then the religious who were rebuked as they were confronted with their own sin.
Today, I want to encourage you. The only thing that separated the religious present in John 8 and the broken woman at Jesus' feet was that one of them came in repentance. That one left with the love of Christ wrapped around her. That's the type of God you serve.
Rev Deuce Windham,
Staff Pastor, Increase Church
Jesus straightened up and asked her [the woman caught in adultery], "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
—John 8:10-11
For my own walk, there aren't many Scriptures that top Jesus' actions here in John 8. It is a passage of Scripture that can also illustrate the lives we live today. As Christians, we have a bad habit of pretending we don't sin. Don't worry, it's ok, I won't tell anyone! Promise! (lol)
Because of this paradigm the church holds, we become so judgmental towards others when they get "caught" in their sin, or if they are brave enough to confess we look down our religious noses. Obviously this does not apply to all Christians, yet I'm sure many of you are familiar with what I'm describing.
We do this because it's our sub-conscious (or conscious) hope that others will focus on someone else's sin instead of our own. This is where we find the young woman caught in adultery in John 8. Jesus was being tested by the religious of his day.
To answer their test, Jesus asked the one without sin to cast the first stone. Jesus was the only one qualified to judge her, yet He let her go in her repentance with the order to sin no more. It was then the religious who were rebuked as they were confronted with their own sin.
Today, I want to encourage you. The only thing that separated the religious present in John 8 and the broken woman at Jesus' feet was that one of them came in repentance. That one left with the love of Christ wrapped around her. That's the type of God you serve.
Rev Deuce Windham,
Staff Pastor, Increase Church