The Sinful meets the Sinless

[0:00] John 8, verse 1-11. This woman was taken in adultery in the very act.

[0:36] Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him.

[0:50] But Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

[1:14] And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground, and they which heard it being convicted by their own conscience went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last.

[1:30] And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers?

[1:46] Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee.

[1:58] Go and sin no more. I want an account that grips our hearts. The scene is set in the sanctuary, in the sanctuary, in the sacred place, in the temple.

[2:11] It was in the temple. Verse 2. The sacred place. It paints a graphic picture here. Here were the people. And what a shocking encounter.

[2:26] A gripping object lesson. On sin, and grace, and salvation. It was a holy place, a holy lesson, a holy time.

[2:38] The people enjoyed sweet fellowship, sweet words, sweet communion with our Lord. Verse 2. And all the people came unto him, and he sat down and taught them the sanctuary, the holy place, the temple.

[2:55] Then, onto the scene burst the scribes and Pharisees, intent on trapping him, and accusing him. Verse 3. And the scribes and Pharisees, brought unto him, a woman, taken in adultery, and when they had set her, in the midst, they say unto him, Master.

[3:16] This woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Shocking. Brutal.

[3:29] Confronting. Meet the sinful. The sinful. The sinful. Here she was. Here was sin. Sin. Personified.

[3:41] Sin. Incarnate. Ashamed. Humiliated. Condemned. Consider the humiliation of this woman. Consider. The public shame.

[3:54] The accusation. The disclosure of her sin. The penalty. The death penalty. That she was assured. It was brutal.

[4:05] It was confronting. Stuck. The sin. The sinner. Sin was here. Sin. In all its ugliness, and shame, and reproach.

[4:16] Verse 3. The native stand in the midst. The native stand in the center of the crowd. The native stand in the midst of them.

[4:28] In the center of the bloodthirsty mob. You could picture it. As they were. Placing her on a stage, as it were.

[4:39] Placing her center stage. A graphic picture. Gruesome. Vile. The shock. The horror. The degradation. What a picture.

[4:50] Of sin's degradation. Of sin's defilement. Of sin's damnation. Here she was. Sin. There was no getting around it. There was no excusing it.

[5:01] There was no accommodating it. This was sin. It was recognized for what it was. It was pictured there. Right there in Technicoa. In front of them. Right there.

[5:11] In front of their eyes. Staring him. In the face. Sin. She was without excuse. She was without merit. She was without hope. In the very act.

[5:23] Caught red handed. Guilty beyond the question. Guilty beyond doubt. Without question. The verdict. Was guilty for her. Repulsive. Vile.

[5:33] Revolting. Sin. Sin. And yet. It's the universal blight. Of mankind. It's the universal blight. Of man. The universal curse.

[5:46] Is yours. And mine. The universal penalty. Is yours. And mine. Death. Death. Death. The wages of sin. Is death.

[5:56] There's no excusing it. There's no accommodating it. There's no hope. But one. The penalty is death. The curse. The blight.

[6:06] Of sin. She was at the mercy here. Of the mob rule. You can imagine. In America's day. They had lynching. Didn't they? Where the mob just grabbed people. And strung them up.

[6:17] On a tree. You know. They were out to. Take her. And destroy her. The maximum embarrassment factor. Was here. The shame job.

[6:27] If you like. That she was doomed. She was doomed. The sinful. They dragged her. In their hands. They dragged her. Perhaps in the other hand. They clutched a stone. They clutched that stone.

[6:38] With which they were going to strike her. They clutched that stone. That they wanted to wound her with. To hurl at her. To kill her. They cared nothing about this woman. They cared nothing about her sin.

[6:49] About her soul. About her eternal destiny. They wanted her blood. They wanted her blood. There was no excusing. What she had done. There was no excusing.

[7:01] What she was. Verse 5. They called her such. Such. Such a woman. This kind. What are you going to do with such.

[7:12] With a type like this. With a. With a. A sort like this. With a kind like this. She was labelled. She was boxed in. She was banished. Sin.

[7:24] Now we can do that. Can't we? We can be like the bloodthirsty crowd. We can be in their number. As we would point the finger. As we would hold the stone. As we would condemn.

[7:36] We could be in their number. As we might look at them. And see. Sin. For what it is. Here she was.

[7:46] Lost. Guilty. Damned. Hellbound. Soiled. Spoiled. Sinful. And they were dragging her. Dragging her there. To her sure destruction.

[7:57] To the judge. Of all the world. The almighty. In human skin. But. He has not yet taken up that office.

[8:10] Of the judge. He's not. Judge yet. Thank God. He's still saviour. He's still the saviour. And he has grace to pardon.

[8:22] And when they dragged him. To the judge. Of all the world. They were doing her a favour. Because they were bringing her to the saviour. To the saviour. To the only hope.

[8:33] To the only one who could help. To the only one who could save. And they said of this man. Luke 15. 2. The Pharisees and scribes murmured. Saying.

[8:44] This man. Receiveth sinners. And eateth with them. This man. He receives sinners. Christ Jesus. He receives sinners. And verse 7.

[8:55] In the context here. So. They continued. Asking him. You know. They were persistent. Hounding him. Harassing him. They continued asking him.

[9:06] He lifted up himself. And said unto them. He that is. Without sin. Among you. Let him. First cast a stone. At her.

[9:17] There was not just one sinner here. There was not just one sinful here. The whole crowd. Was sinful. The whole crowd. The whole mass. The whole mob. The Lord showed them all to be sinful.

[9:29] He exposed them for their own sin. Their sin was hidden. But it was seen by his x-ray vision. It was seen by his eyes. Those eyes. That search the heart.

[9:39] And reigns. The very innermost of your soul. He can see the very sin. That lurks there. That sin that is hidden. And verse 9.

[9:50] And being convicted by their own conscience. They went out. One by one. Being at beginning. At the eldest. Even unto the last. They were convicted by their conscience.

[10:04] From the eldest to the last. And the accusers left. Ashamed. One by one. Guilty themselves. Their reputation was at stake.

[10:15] But they were sinful too. They were sinful too. You know. People today. We can make that mistake. Of being in the mob. That would condemn another. And yet not realise our own standing.

[10:27] Our own state. Our own need. Our own lack. You know. I was. I was surprised to hear someone. Explain to me. Of recent days.

[10:37] They were telling me. They like to be in a big church. They like to be in a big church. And I asked them. How come? How come you like to be in a big church.

[10:47] And not come to maybe a comparatively smaller church. Such as ours. And they were quite honest with me. And they said. Because they don't want to mix with those types.

[10:58] You know. They didn't want to mix with. You know. They wanted to be in a big church. So they could choose who they might sit next to. Or choose who they might shake a hand with. Or have a couple with.

[11:08] After the service. And maybe exclude certain types. Certain. Label certain people. Isn't that a shocking thing. To be so honest to say. As much as they were honest to say such.

[11:21] You know. We want to be a church. That cares for every soul. And not regard one above another. Or one regard one less than another. Because every one of us.

[11:32] Is needful of the saviour. Every one of us is needful. Of grace. And so much the more. Every one of us. Need to consider one another. And not have some kind of.

[11:44] Higher. Holier than thou. Or a higher than thou. Kind of attitude. Against another. That we. Each one. I pray God willing. That we as a church. Will have the love of Christ.

[11:56] That would care. For the woman caught in the act of adultery. That we would care for the woman. That was sinful. That we would care for that one. For such a one. For such a sort. For such a type.

[12:06] For such a kind. As she. And. The sinful. Was exposed. And it wasn't just the woman. It was the whole mob. And friends. Then we see the sinless one.

[12:18] The sinless one. He said. He that is. Without sin. He that is sinless. Let him first cast. A stone at her. Here was. Grace. Personified. We saw sin.

[12:29] Personified. In that woman. And now we see grace. Personified. Grace. Grace. Recognized. Grace. Received. And he wrote with his finger in the ground. You know.

[12:40] Commentators. Have struggled to. To analyze. And. Philosophize. What was it he wrote in the ground. And. Really the answer is. We don't know. We don't know what it was.

[12:51] But we know in the Old Testament. God wrote with his finger. Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not. Thou shalt not. He wrote with his finger on. On that.

[13:02] Tablet of stone. God in the Old Testament. I wonder what Christ would have written. In that ground. In that sand. In that dust. Of the temple floor. In the New Testament.

[13:13] Maybe God. As he wrote in the Old. He wrote the law. Maybe in the New. He wrote grace. He wrote grace in the ground. Who knows.

[13:23] I'm just surmising. But maybe God. In Christ. Wrote grace. On the ground. Maybe certainly. He gave grace. Didn't he? He extended grace. The sinless man among you.

[13:34] Let him. First cast a stone. At her. It was he. It was he. He was the only one. In his face. She found mercy. In his face. She found compassion. In his face.

[13:45] She found forgiveness. And to his lordship. She acknowledged. She gave acknowledgement. The sinful. Met the sinless. The one who wrote in the sand.

[13:57] Overcame the ones with the stones in their hand. The sinful condition. Found a graceful reception. And began to walk in a new direction.

[14:09] That's salvation. Brother and sister today. That can be your experience if you're not saved today. That's salvation. It's like someone has said.

[14:21] He didn't say. Go and sin some less. Go and sin some less. He said. Go and sin no more. Go and sin no more. He can help you to live a life that is true.

[14:35] A life that is in his will. He'll help you to overcome sin. Day by day. Moment by moment. And when you slip and slide and stumble. He'll pick you up again.

[14:46] And dust you off. And get you back on the track again. Amen. Go and sin no more. There was a conversion happening here. No merit of forgiveness. No value of human reckoning.

[14:58] Such a type. Such a sort. Such a kind. No hope of forgiveness deserved. She was guilty as sin. Yet like Noah.

[15:08] She found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Thank God. You can still find that grace today. Amen. You can still find grace in the eyes of the Lord like Noah did.

[15:20] Like she did. And sin's condemnation was here. Sin's conviction amongst the mob as they dispersed. And sin's conquest was here. Sin was overcome.

[15:31] The conscience was stabbed of the crowd. The condemning ones were condemned. They left condemned. But the guilty one was not condemned. The guilty one who stood in the midst.

[15:43] Who looked at Christ and said, Lord. She was not condemned. Thank God the sinless one showed grace to her. And verse 10. When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman.

[15:57] He said unto her, Woman. Where are those thine accusers? Have no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee.

[16:11] Go and sin no more. John 3.17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

[16:21] It wasn't that Christ excused her sin. Or overlooked her sin. Christ forgave her sin.

[16:33] Christ gave grace to her. He gave her a new direction. As she left, I trust she walked in newness of life. Space was given to her for repentance.

[16:48] Our tender and compassionate Saviour. Showed grace to her. And he still shows grace today. She came into his presence as a condemned sinner. But she left his presence a changed woman.

[17:03] With a new lease on life. And Romans 2.4 it says, The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.

[17:14] Friends today, God's grace is all sufficient. It's amazing grace. It's abundant grace. It's all sufficient grace. And it's available grace.

[17:26] Sin was overcome that day. Time was given for the goodness of God. To lead her to repentance. And friends today, there will be no sin in heaven. There will be no sinners in heaven.

[17:37] Only saints. And you can be created a saint today. Not having to wait for the Roman Catholic Pope to make you one as much as he cannot. God can make you a saint today. God can make you a saint today by faith in Christ.

[17:50] And the good news is that the sinful can become saints. And the one who will be judged is still the saviour today. Amen. He's still the burden bearer. He's still the saviour.

[18:01] He's still the advocate. He's still the mediator. He's still the redeemer. Still the saviour. Trust him today. Be like that woman. As I trust that she did trust him.

[18:13] She called him Lord. She cried out Lord. And the Bible says that if we confess with our mouth, if we believe in our heart, call him Lord.

[18:25] Trust him as Lord. Pardon is still possible. And Jesus still receives sinners today. Amen. The door is still wide open. The grace door is still open.

[18:37] Who knows how long we've got. Well, that door is still ajar. Maybe it's not long before it will be. Then over. Because one day grace will be over. One day judgment will take over.

[18:48] And there'll be no opportunity then. There'll be no opportunity to say at the last minute to trust him. You've got to trust him now. Trust him now. Grace is still offered to the wretched, to the vile, to the wicked, to the graceless, to the woman caught in the very act of adultery.

[19:07] How undeserving is that? How undeserving is she? Who could, in human terms, reconcile that philosophy, that this one could receive grace, could receive pardon, in the very act?

[19:20] What a vile and shameful state she was in. Yet Christ gave grace to her. Christ looked on her with grace. And he still offers that to the wretched.

[19:32] Will you come to him and take his gift? Will you come to him and trust him for his grace today? Well, there's still the opportunity. You are guilty too.

[19:43] I am guilty too. Just as that mob, that bloodthirsty mob, as they were wanting to heave those stones and hurt and kill that woman, they were just as vile and guilty as she.

[20:00] Any sight. Though their sin was maybe more hidden, we are guilty too. And our only hope is to flee to him. Friends, today, can you trust him?

[20:13] Amen. Can you call him Lord? And not just Lord, Lord, but that he is Lord. That he is truly Lord. Truly Lord. That you are truly his.

[20:23] And really, this is a message that's urging the lost to trust him. But it's also a message to the saved. That you've got a saviour who cares for such as this.

[20:34] For such a woman. And there's people such as her in our streets today. There's people such as her. Men and women such as this.

[20:48] That you would think they're hopeless. They're trash. They're ferals. They're vile. You could label them all kinds of human terms to put on a man or woman.

[21:02] But they are lost souls for whom Christ died. They are precious, precious souls for whom Christ shed his holy, precious blood for. And you must care for those Christless ones.

[21:15] Those graceless ones because grace is still available to them. If they'll but receive it. You must be his messenger. You must be that messenger of that message today.

[21:27] Don't label another soul for whom Christ died. As worthless, as vain. Take the time. Take the time to put yourself out.

[21:38] Friends, today, it's for every one of us to consider that we are really unworthy of ourselves. every one of us has nothing to commend himself or herself for in his sight.

[21:53] All we have is his grace to trust. And I trust you'll trust that grace this morning. Amen.