JOHN 8:10–12
“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life”
(John 8:12).
When the Pharisees surrounded the adulterous woman, stones in hand and poised to kill her, Jesus said that only those who were without sin in their own hearts could cast the first stone. The elders in the crowd, probably being the wisest, were the first to lay down their stones; then the others followed, being convicted by the truth of their own sinful condition.
The tense moment has passed, but not entirely. The adulteress remains before Jesus. The irony here is that if anyone had the right to condemn, it was Jesus. He was God, therefore, He certainly had the right to judge this sinner. Yet, He did not exercise His privilege that day. Instead, He showed her mercy. Just as He had done with the sinful woman in Luke 7, He forgave this woman and set her free.
Here we see a poignant example of Christ’s edict that He came to save, not condemn. He will return one day to judge the earth, to condemn those who are already under condemnation. But when He stands before repentant sinners, He forgives and saves.
Notice how Jesus dealt with the woman’s sin. He first forgives her by not condemning her. She is declared “judicially innocent” before God. Christ does not stop there, though. He tells her to go and sin no more. From that moment on, she was expected to live by a higher standard, to be conformed to holiness, and to live as a child of God. Jesus did not say, “Go and do what you want. You’ve been forgiven so it doesn’t matter now how you live.” He commanded her to sin no more.
This, in a nutshell, is the way of the Christian life. We are forgiven of our sins, declared holy in a judicial sense, and covered by the righteousness of Christ. But then we are to walk in the ways of Christ, to bear the fruit of righteousness, to set our minds on what the Spirit desires, not on what the flesh desires. Anyone who tells you that a Christian can continually live in unrepentant sin needs to read this passage. Only when you accept Christ’s forgiveness and emulate Him in the pursuit of holiness can you “Go in peace.” Do not be deceived by the evil one who says that you can go on sinning so that grace may abound.
CORAM DEO
2 Kings 15–17
John 6:1–21
WEEKEND
2 Kings 18–22
John 6:22–71
Read Romans 6–8. In your own words, how do these passages describe the duties and blessings of the Christian life? Confess any areas you have been “letting slide” because of a false idea of grace to God today, knowing that he who forgives empowers His people to change.
For further study: Luke 7:36–50 • James 2:14–26 • 1 John 3:4–9
WEEKEND