Sinners in the hands of a compassionate God part 2

The claim of Christ to be equal with the Father was validated by His ability to deal with sinners in a Godly fashion.  Following this example allows others to see true Christianity as it is modeled in the Bible.  How then should we deal with sin and sinners?  John 8 reveals the answer.

Here's a little snack:  Everything they said about her was correct- they did not lie.  She had, in fact, been caught in the very act of adultery.  According to the Law of Moses, she could have been put to death. Again, the truth of her situation was accurate and potentially fatal.  However, the accusers made one crucial mistake.  They had not considered the obvious: they were all guilty of sin... which made them equal to prostitutes and adulterers.

John 8:7 says, "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".  Here we see directly the way that Jesus dealt with sinners.

Chances are this woman had never seen such compassion.  She was convinced that she would be taken to the outskirts of town, stripped of her clothing and killed by these brutal men.  Death by stoning was not only painful, but also enduring.  In her mind, this was her inevitable fate.  So you can imagine the extreme relief when she heard the thump of the stones as they pelted the dusty clay beneath her fetally positioned body.  As she lifted her head off the ground she spit the dirt out of her mouth. All she could see were the bottoms of men’s sandals as they walked away from her in disgust at the words of Jesus.

The first principle in dealing with sin is potentially the most difficult.  Compassion is not easy.  The word “compassion” means: “with suffering” or “to suffer with”.  It goes against our depraved nature to suffer by choice.  By instinct, we as humans shun pain and grief.  So, to suffer with or on behalf of another is not done as a reflex.  Therefore, if ever we are to express compassion it must be expressed by an understanding that this same mercy has been extended to us by the grace of God for already condemned men and women.

Think about it, there was nothing that these men or Jesus could have done to condemn this prostitute any more than she was already condemned.  By the shear fact that she was born of the seed of already condemned man insured her inevitable death.  Stoning her would only speed the process.  This is why Jesus told her in verse 11, “…Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” Based on the question that they asked concerning the Law of Moses, Christ’s only option was to send her away,

Galatians 6:1 tells us the mode of our heart when restoring a fallen brother or sister. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”

Pastor Mike Carmody