
WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE:
There
is a lot said in these few words. The Jews {the church of that day} has
brought a women to Jesus caught in the very act of adultery and broad
casted her sin not only to Jesus but to everybody else that was there.
They wanted her punished and Jesus saw their evil hearts. As Jesus
wrote on the ground I can see the crowd gathering. Sinners were most
likely gathering also and they were watching what the outcome would be.
The people that brought her to Jesus had not the love of Christ in
their hearts. There was no love there. If they were really trying to
uphold their laws they would have brought the man also, but they did
not. Did you every stop to think why they did not bring him.
For
a long time I always wondered about that. To accuse the women and not
the man when they were caught in the very act {that means they were
together} was wrong. The Bible does not say why the accusers did not
bring the man but I wonder if he could maybe have been someone of
importance and the women was not. Could that have been the reason? With
Jesus everybody is important. The law said that both should have been
stoned. By these facts it tells me that the accusers of this women had
another motive in mind for bringing this women alone to Jesus and not
the man. That is just about on the same level as half truths. Being
half right.
Jesus just plainly told her to go and sin no
more. He did not say to her sit in the back of the church, He did not
say you can not sing in the choir, He did not say you can not ride on
the church bus, He did not say you can not be in the prayer group, He
did not say your name is coming off the church books, He did not say
you can not have fellowship with me. Jesus just simply said go and sin no more.
There
are a lot of Christians in our churches that will do the same thing to
other Christians today as the Jews did to this women that have fell by
the way side and cause even more damage to that Christian's walk with
the Lord before they can ever be restored to fellowship. It is true
that we need discipline in the church but we need the love of Jesus
more. When the sin nature causes a person to sin he is weak and needs
the prayers of the brother and sisters of the body of Christ to pray
for them, talk to them, and do what is necessary to bring them back
into fellowship with the saints. This is scripture, we must do this,
but in some churches it does not happen.
The Christian that
has fell is most of the time put out of the church and then looked down
on. This is a great wrong. People who live in glass houses need not
throw stones. The church members need to remember that we all have
sinned and was saved by God's amazing grace. They should also remember
that they could fall from grace and need that same prayerful support
and brotherly love that they should be giving. No one is above falling.
That is not to say we are not to cry aloud and share not. The
scriptures say that there will be a great falling away and the Church
world in general cares very little about that falling away, because
most of the church world is falling away from the truth of God’s Word.
I
remember years ago that a well known preacher who preached the gospel
all over the world fell from grace and almost right away he was put out
of the domination that he preached in and was considered a out
cast.That preacher stood before his large congregation and the TV
audience and asked their forgiveness and asks publicly forgiveness from
the Lord. He truly, very humbly, repented with tears streaming down his
face. Now we know, according to the scripture, that the Lord forgave
this preacher, but the church world, as a whole has to this day has not
forgive this man. They gashed at him and tried to destroy him and came
close to doing it. Not only did the world try to make a big joke out of
him but the church was right in there with them.
I believe
that it was jealousy that caused them to do that and not the sin he
committed. Jealousy will get the Christian no where. We must remember
that we all have a calling and a place in the body of Christ and we
need not covenant someone else's position in the body of Christ. The
church world only used the excuse of the sin to do their dirty work.
The truth be known they were already out to get him. This preacher is
now back on his feet, his sin forgiven and covered by the blood of our
Savior. He is preaching the gospel and telling the truth. It is the
truth that sets you free! His ministry is now growing again by leaps
and bounds. I love this brother and listen to him every chance that I
get. Now I want to make it clear he did sin, he did repent and also I
want to make it clear not all the church world turned on him. There are
many brothers and sisters that did the right thing. They held him up in
prayer. The closer walk that you have with the Lord the more a person
wants to do the right thing. How close are you walking with the Lord?
We all, including myself, need a closer walk, I need a closer walk with
the Master.
What is the right thing? We do not have to go
very far to answer that question. In the book of James we are plainly
told that there is only one lawgiver that is able to save and destroy,
who are you to judge another? in others words: "Who do you think you
are?" This is the same deal as the women caught in adultery. They tried
to destroy her also, but because of the love of Jesus she was saved
from her accusers and so was this preacher of whom I spoke. Our mission
as Christians in this world is to be like Jesus, to seek out the lost
and love them, bring them back into the fold, not try to destroy them.
Jesus gave many parables concerning this subject. He also asked in one
of the Gospels who would have one lost sheep that has gone astray and
would leave the ninety and nine and go after the one that was lost?
Listen my friend, Christians who fall away are not throw aways. They are loved by the Lord and we must go after them and help them to become keepers. Keepers of God’s word and over comers of the weight that so easily besets them.
However
casting stones seems to be part of the church world anymore. Not for
all of it but for the most of it. We do not need stone throwers in the
church. We need people who has compassion for the lost and a genuine
love for Christ in their hearts. Let me go just a little further with
this. Judas betrayed the Lord and sold Him for thirty peaces of silver,
but Jesus did not cast him away. Jesus did not say you are going to
betray me so therefore you will not eat this last meal with me. Judas
was one of the twelve. If you will carefully read the scriptures Jesus
gave Judas the chance to repent even though Judas did not repent. Jesus
loved him and would have forgiving him instantly of that great sin if
Judas only asked forgiveness. The bottom line here is my brothers and
sisters we need to be more forgiving as Christ was and still is and not
so bent on sending our fallen brother or sister to hell. We are to
speak out against sin,tell the world what sin will do to them. We are
to hate the sin, but we are to love the sinner and yes even our fallen
brother or sister. Look at these verses;
FROM THE BOOK
Gal 6:1
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.
Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
2Ti 2:25
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God
peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the
truth;
Tit 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men