John 8:2-6 Now early
in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him;
and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees
brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the
midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught
in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded
us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they
said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to
accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground
with His finger, as though He did not hear.
Last Sunday, Pastor Kyle
continued in our Sermon series through he book of John. He said that physical
exercise is a big part of fitness, but diet is a bigger part. What are we
feeding ourselves physically, mentally and spiritually, so be careful what you
take in because garbage in leads to garbage out. Have you noticed how social
media now allows our mistakes and mishaps to be immediately broadcast far and
wide? And we live in a world today that is good at drama and not good at grace.
It was also true in the time of Christ’s visitation as Jesus’ enemies looked
for situations where, either way the Lord answered a question or took a
position on a subject, He would be condemned by the governing officials and/or
the people at large. Over and over again, as in our Bible passage above, they
tried to find a “catch 22” circumstance where he would be guilty of a crime no
matter which way he went. But, God incarnate countered them at every step on
the road of His redemptive mission. Our omniscient Creator is not surprised by
the rejection and sin of fallen humanity. The Lord never says: Wow, I never saw
that coming!” Sin, by definition is: the
voluntary departure of a moral agent from a known rule of rectitude or duty,
prescribed by God; any voluntary transgression of the divine law, or violation
of a divine command; a wicked act; iniquity. Sin is always, ultimately,
against God.
Psalm 86:15 “But You, O
Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and
abundant in mercy and truth.”
But, God sees our sin and
loves us anyway. The Lord desires forgiveness, reconciliation and restoration
of His creation and creatures. In Ephesians 2:1-5, the Apostle Paul
tells Believers, “You He made
alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were
dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have
been saved).” He confirms this in Romans
5:8, “But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.” We are not
generally sinful, but specifically sinful in our planned and plotted thoughts,
words and deeds. We are all caught in the act. Through our sins, we let
self-righteous ourselves down, we let others down and, centrally, we let God
down. But, God seeks our salvation.
Let's continue Pastor Kyle's message on Sin and grace in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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