Just-If-I'd
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I’d like to share the story in the Bible that inspired the name of this blog – Just-If-I'd.
In John 8:1-12, Christ exhibits an amazing amount of grace and forgiveness towards a woman who was condemned to death. This story is a beautiful picture of the mercy, grace, and love we experience when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, and the freedom from sin we can have when we truly realize what He did for us as He died on the cross.
Just like the woman in this story, we can experience what it truly means to be Justified.
Please take a moment to read John 8:1-12. Right before this passage, we see that a group of Pharisees had just tried – and failed – to arrest Christ. They hated Jesus, and were willing to try anything to silence His teachings. But these Pharisees aren't the only people who had an important part to plan. There are four characters I'd like to point out here: the pharisees – haters of Jesus; the people in the temple whom Jesus taught; the woman who was justified; and – of course – Jesus Christ Himself. Each has a purpose in this story of redemption, and we can learn from them all.
The Pharisees
First, we have the Pharisees – the haters of Jesus. The
Pharisees as a group play a pivotal role in Israel’s history, and, if you’ve
never studied their purpose, I highly suggest you take a moment to do so. But,
for a short explanation, they were the religious law-keepers of Israel. In this
passage, we see the Pharisees first enter to bring this woman they have caught
in adultery – a sin that, according to the law, was worthy of death. They set
her in the midst of the temple and begin to address Jesus. They tempt Christ, and are
quite persistent in doing so. Even when Christ ignored them, they questioned
him again until He gave an answer. Suddenly, we see a change (v. 7b, 9). The accusers are convicted of their own imperfections and realize they
are utterly unqualified to cast judgement. Many times, we as Christians cast
judgment on one another without much hesitation. Even the Pharisees – who
believed their primary purpose was to cast judgment – saw their own
unworthiness when confronted by Christ. If you’ve ever been faithful to reading
your Bible, you know that the more we see Christ’s perfection, the more we see
our own imperfection. We must realize that our place is not that of judge or
even jury. God alone is a righteous judge, and only He is worthy to condemn the
wickedness of mankind.
The People
Next, we see the people – those that Christ taught while in
the temple. They don’t play a large role in this story, but… that’s kind of the
point. We only ever see them act as observers.
They just came to listen; and throughout this story, that is
exactly what they did. We don’t even see them mentioned again until Christ returns to teaching. Throughout this passage, we don’t see a single one of these listeners stand
for Christ, or even join the conversation. Sure, some of us aren’t like the
pharisees, dragging people down to the alter hoping that they’ll be convicted
whilst ignoring our own sin. But we are so fearful of judgment – either from religious
people or from this sinful world – that we act as these listeners and never do
anything at all. James 2:17 says, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is
dead, being alone.” We can't ignore the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts as He tries to use us to reach others with the truth of the Gospel. In Mark 16:15, we have the clearest commandment of how we are
supposed to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, in what some may know as the
Great Commission: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel
to every creature.” This is the last commandment Christ gave in His time on
this earth, and it ought be our primary focus as born-again believers today.
The Woman
Next is
the woman. Her condition was just as any of us before we come to know Christ –
she was a sinner in need of a Savior. We’re never given her name, only that she
was caught in an act of sin and condemned to die. How grateful she must have
been for the mercy and wisdom of Christ – He saved her life and pardoned her
from all sin debt! We see in John 8:9-11 that when Christ confronted
her accusers, they all walked away, leaving her alone with Christ. Just like us
at the moment of salvation, she had a personal encounter with Jesus, and He
forgave her sin debt. But before she left, He gave her one simple, yet profound
commandment: “Go, and sin no more.” I find it so interesting that we don’t hear
of what this woman did following that moment. All we know is that it was her
personal decision to either accept the freedom Christ granted her, or reject it
and return to her sin. Christ died on the cross to pay for all sin – past,
present, and future – and free all of mankind from the bondage that sin brings. However, salvation is a choice that each of us must make. We must come to Christ
personally and make a distinct decision to accept Him as our personal Savior,
and receive the gift of eternal life that He offers to all who believe.
Jesus Christ
Finally, I'd like to mention Jesus Christ Himself. He began this passage simply going about
His Father’s business – teaching people about the Age of Grace that was soon to
come. When the Pharisees came, despite their persistence, Christ did not
immediately react to their questioning. First, He took a moment to stoop down and write in the sand beneath their feet. There was a time in reading this
passage when I was caught up in trying to understand what He was writing
in the sand, but I failed to look to why He was writing in the sand.
There’s much speculation about the “what,” but the Bible never tells us. The
why, however, is made clear once Christ finally rises to answer. He stooped
down to write in the sand to take a moment and respond instead of react. This
gave Him time he may have needed to pray, seek His Father’s guidance, and take
a deep breath before answering. He then responded not answering their
question, but rather painting a picture of the Gospel. As Christians, we are to
be Christlike. And this is a part of Christ’s character I struggle
with often. It’s easy to have a quick, witty answer to every question or
comment a skeptic may make, but snarky quips don’t win people to Christ. We can
learn so much from this moment and start taking even the smallest bit of time
to pray and seek God’s face, striving to display the truth of the Gospel in any
given situation.
We find Christ’s answer in the latter half
of verse 7 – “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at
her.” And then he stoops back down to write in the sand again. This time,
giving the accusers time to consider what He had said. The wisdom and
discernment in His answer is shown in the response of the accusers – we see in
verse 9, “… they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went
out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left
alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” Christ knew the accusers were
aware of their own sin. As human beings, we are often most quick to judge when
attempting to avoid acknowledging our own imperfections. We try to distract
from ourselves by pointing out the flaws of those around us. Christ is
all-knowing, and He used His infinite wisdom to answer in a way that condemned
their sin from a heart of love. Finally, we see in verse 10 that Christ
addressed the woman, and gave her an opportunity to process the depth of the
situation she had just experienced. He asked her
where her accusers were, giving her the chance to fully realize that each of
them had sinned against their own conscience, and were thereby unworthy to
condemn her. This rolls right into verse 11 – no man on Earth had the right
to condemn her sin, save Christ Himself. But He didn't come to Earth to condemn, Christ came to Earth to bring redemption to all mankind. He said to her: “Neither to I condemn
thee; go, and sin no more.”
Finally, Christ brings attention
back to the main point. In verse 12, He turns back to the crowd, standing in shock and awe of what they had just witnessed, and says,
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life.” And He continues teaching. I highly
recommend reading the remainder of John 8, there is so much beauty in the
way Christ responds to those who did not believe on Him. He gives a perfect example of how we ought to conduct our conversations – especially those with contention. Christ’s goal
was always to share the truth of the Gospel, no matter what else needed to be
addressed. In His conversation, the Gospel was preeminent. When we give Christ
preeminence, allowing Him to control every part of our lives, we will find our
conversations always coming back to the Gospel, giving glory to God in whatsoever
we do.
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In John 8:1-12, Christ exhibits an amazing amount of grace and forgiveness towards a woman who was condemned to death. This story is a beautiful picture of the mercy, grace, and love we experience when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, and the freedom from sin we can have when we truly realize what He did for us as He died on the cross.
Just like the woman in this story, we can experience what it truly means to be Justified.
The Pharisees
First, we have the Pharisees – the haters of Jesus. The
Pharisees as a group play a pivotal role in Israel’s history, and, if you’ve
never studied their purpose, I highly suggest you take a moment to do so. But,
for a short explanation, they were the religious law-keepers of Israel. In this
passage, we see the Pharisees first enter to bring this woman they have caught
in adultery – a sin that, according to the law, was worthy of death. They set
her in the midst of the temple and begin to address Jesus. They tempt Christ, and are
quite persistent in doing so. Even when Christ ignored them, they questioned
him again until He gave an answer. Suddenly, we see a change (v. 7b, 9). The accusers are convicted of their own imperfections and realize they
are utterly unqualified to cast judgement. Many times, we as Christians cast
judgment on one another without much hesitation. Even the Pharisees – who
believed their primary purpose was to cast judgment – saw their own
unworthiness when confronted by Christ. If you’ve ever been faithful to reading
your Bible, you know that the more we see Christ’s perfection, the more we see
our own imperfection. We must realize that our place is not that of judge or
even jury. God alone is a righteous judge, and only He is worthy to condemn the
wickedness of mankind.
The People
Next, we see the people – those that Christ taught while in
the temple. They don’t play a large role in this story, but… that’s kind of the
point. We only ever see them act as observers.
They just came to listen; and throughout this story, that is
exactly what they did. We don’t even see them mentioned again until Christ returns to teaching. Throughout this passage, we don’t see a single one of these listeners stand
for Christ, or even join the conversation. Sure, some of us aren’t like the
pharisees, dragging people down to the alter hoping that they’ll be convicted
whilst ignoring our own sin. But we are so fearful of judgment – either from religious
people or from this sinful world – that we act as these listeners and never do
anything at all. James 2:17 says, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is
dead, being alone.” We can't ignore the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts as He tries to use us to reach others with the truth of the Gospel. In Mark 16:15, we have the clearest commandment of how we are
supposed to live as disciples of Jesus Christ, in what some may know as the
Great Commission: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel
to every creature.” This is the last commandment Christ gave in His time on
this earth, and it ought be our primary focus as born-again believers today.
The Woman
Next is
the woman. Her condition was just as any of us before we come to know Christ –
she was a sinner in need of a Savior. We’re never given her name, only that she
was caught in an act of sin and condemned to die. How grateful she must have
been for the mercy and wisdom of Christ – He saved her life and pardoned her
from all sin debt! We see in John 8:9-11 that when Christ confronted
her accusers, they all walked away, leaving her alone with Christ. Just like us
at the moment of salvation, she had a personal encounter with Jesus, and He
forgave her sin debt. But before she left, He gave her one simple, yet profound
commandment: “Go, and sin no more.” I find it so interesting that we don’t hear
of what this woman did following that moment. All we know is that it was her
personal decision to either accept the freedom Christ granted her, or reject it
and return to her sin. Christ died on the cross to pay for all sin – past,
present, and future – and free all of mankind from the bondage that sin brings. However, salvation is a choice that each of us must make. We must come to Christ
personally and make a distinct decision to accept Him as our personal Savior,
and receive the gift of eternal life that He offers to all who believe.
Jesus Christ
Finally, I'd like to mention Jesus Christ Himself. He began this passage simply going about
His Father’s business – teaching people about the Age of Grace that was soon to
come. When the Pharisees came, despite their persistence, Christ did not
immediately react to their questioning. First, He took a moment to stoop down and write in the sand beneath their feet. There was a time in reading this
passage when I was caught up in trying to understand what He was writing
in the sand, but I failed to look to why He was writing in the sand.
There’s much speculation about the “what,” but the Bible never tells us. The
why, however, is made clear once Christ finally rises to answer. He stooped
down to write in the sand to take a moment and respond instead of react. This
gave Him time he may have needed to pray, seek His Father’s guidance, and take
a deep breath before answering. He then responded not answering their
question, but rather painting a picture of the Gospel. As Christians, we are to
be Christlike. And this is a part of Christ’s character I struggle
with often. It’s easy to have a quick, witty answer to every question or
comment a skeptic may make, but snarky quips don’t win people to Christ. We can
learn so much from this moment and start taking even the smallest bit of time
to pray and seek God’s face, striving to display the truth of the Gospel in any
given situation.
We find Christ’s answer in the latter half
of verse 7 – “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at
her.” And then he stoops back down to write in the sand again. This time,
giving the accusers time to consider what He had said. The wisdom and
discernment in His answer is shown in the response of the accusers – we see in
verse 9, “… they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went
out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left
alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” Christ knew the accusers were
aware of their own sin. As human beings, we are often most quick to judge when
attempting to avoid acknowledging our own imperfections. We try to distract
from ourselves by pointing out the flaws of those around us. Christ is
all-knowing, and He used His infinite wisdom to answer in a way that condemned
their sin from a heart of love. Finally, we see in verse 10 that Christ
addressed the woman, and gave her an opportunity to process the depth of the
situation she had just experienced. He asked her
where her accusers were, giving her the chance to fully realize that each of
them had sinned against their own conscience, and were thereby unworthy to
condemn her. This rolls right into verse 11 – no man on Earth had the right
to condemn her sin, save Christ Himself. But He didn't come to Earth to condemn, Christ came to Earth to bring redemption to all mankind. He said to her: “Neither to I condemn
thee; go, and sin no more.”
Finally, Christ brings attention back to the main point. In verse 12, He turns back to the crowd, standing in shock and awe of what they had just witnessed, and says, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” And He continues teaching. I highly recommend reading the remainder of John 8, there is so much beauty in the way Christ responds to those who did not believe on Him. He gives a perfect example of how we ought to conduct our conversations – especially those with contention. Christ’s goal was always to share the truth of the Gospel, no matter what else needed to be addressed. In His conversation, the Gospel was preeminent. When we give Christ preeminence, allowing Him to control every part of our lives, we will find our conversations always coming back to the Gospel, giving glory to God in whatsoever we do.
Application
Each character in John 8:1-12 had a unique perspective
of the situation at hand. As Christians, I believe we experience every one of these viewpoints throughout the course of our lives – we’ve all been the judgmental pharisees, the idle
people, the sinful woman, and maybe we’ve even acted with the wisdom and grace
of Jesus Christ. How can we apply this to our lives? There must be scripture we can turn to to learn more about justification.
Take a moment to turn
to the book of Romans 5:13, and the beginning of verse 20. In these verses, we see a reflection
of the Pharisees’ standpoint. Scripture states, in verse 13, “For
until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law”
and verse 20a includes, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound...”
These verses point out that mankind is inherently sinful,
and the law is not to be ignored or cast aside as if useless ruins. The law
existed that man may fully realize his sinful, helpless state, and realize the
world’s need of a Savior. The Pharisees held fast to the law, and were
constantly striving to live perfect and holy lives for the sake of their own
souls. They were stuck in the idea that their own works had to bring them
worthiness to enter into the kingdom of Heaven, and were unwilling to accept
the gift of salvation through the blood of Christ. They didn’t want things to
change, and desperately grasped for any opportunity to keep the law updated and
relevant. We see this today not only in religions that believe in a works-based
salvation, but we see it in the Christian church. How many times are we quick
to uphold the law, free of the mercy and grace, free of the gift of salvation,
failing to acknowledge the truth and power of the Gospel. Why do we uphold our
standards? Is it to honor Christ? Or to condemn those who do not share our
convictions? Is our true goal and purpose to share the love of Christ and bring
the Gospel to every creature? Or to tote ourselves as “holier than thou”, to
act as prosecution, judge, and jury to those who simply need to see and feel
the love of Christ?
Personally, there have been more times than I'd like to admit where I
have thought of myself better than another for whatever reason. I know there
are those who can relate to the feeling of catching yourself thinking poorly of
someone else – especially a brother or sister in Christ. Sometimes, it can be
easier to get along with people who are not Christians. When they act
selfishly, it’s not surprising. We don’t uphold them to a higher standard
because they don’t have Christ in their life. But, when we are dealing with
fellow Christians, we have expectations. We hold a set of unrealistic rules and
regulations that, if broken, result in some of the greatest hurt I’ve ever
known. We have to realize that every person requires the love of Christ – from
the professing Christian to the lost sinner. Our grace cannot end when we walk
through the doors of our church. We see the church is commanded so clearly in Ephesians 4:32, “Be ye
kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for
Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
In John chapter 8, I like to think of the Pharisees as representing
the Law – condemning the woman to death as the law condemns sinners to an
eternity in Hell. Then, when I look at the woman, I see myself. I see my soul
condemned for past, present, and future sin – captive to a life not worth
living, shriveled, silent, and ready to die. Look to Romans 5:12 & 19,
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” and verse 19, “For as by
one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous.” We are sinful creatures – born enemies of God – and
Christ came to earth, lived a sinless life, took on all our sins, and shed His
blood on the cross to pay the penalty we owed. Then, He rose from the dead
three days later, housing victory over sin for the justification of all
mankind. This woman, by Christ’s mercy and grace, was pardoned her sin, and
justified by Christ. We can be justified just as this woman was – salvation is
a free gift already paid by Christ Himself, reaching out His hand just waiting
for us to take it.
Just as the Pharisees represent the condemnation of the law,
and the woman represents our sinful souls, Christ represent His own imparted
grace. We saw the law in the beginning of verse 20 in Romans 5, but let’s look
at where it leads to: “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound.
But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned
unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life
by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection grants us
access to eternal life with God in Heaven. Chapter 6 verses 14 and 23, “For sin
shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under
grace.” And verse 23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We no longer need to live in
bondage to the sin which once held us. We are free to serve Christ and give our
lives over to Him. Free to live as we were created to be!
We see in Romans 5:20-21 and in Romans 6:14, 23 that we are no longer in bondage to sin. Some see this as liberty to live their lives as they see fit instead of submitting to the will of Christ. But let’s look at what God’s Word says about this, in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Grace does not permit the presence of sin. We see back in our passage, John 8:11, Christ gives the woman one final command. One we should all adhere to: “Go, and sin no more."
Take a moment to turn
to the book of Romans 5:13, and the beginning of verse 20. In these verses, we see a reflection
of the Pharisees’ standpoint. Scripture states, in verse 13, “For
until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law”
and verse 20a includes, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound...”
These verses point out that mankind is inherently sinful, and the law is not to be ignored or cast aside as if useless ruins. The law existed that man may fully realize his sinful, helpless state, and realize the world’s need of a Savior. The Pharisees held fast to the law, and were constantly striving to live perfect and holy lives for the sake of their own souls. They were stuck in the idea that their own works had to bring them worthiness to enter into the kingdom of Heaven, and were unwilling to accept the gift of salvation through the blood of Christ. They didn’t want things to change, and desperately grasped for any opportunity to keep the law updated and relevant. We see this today not only in religions that believe in a works-based salvation, but we see it in the Christian church. How many times are we quick to uphold the law, free of the mercy and grace, free of the gift of salvation, failing to acknowledge the truth and power of the Gospel. Why do we uphold our standards? Is it to honor Christ? Or to condemn those who do not share our convictions? Is our true goal and purpose to share the love of Christ and bring the Gospel to every creature? Or to tote ourselves as “holier than thou”, to act as prosecution, judge, and jury to those who simply need to see and feel the love of Christ?
Personally, there have been more times than I'd like to admit where I have thought of myself better than another for whatever reason. I know there are those who can relate to the feeling of catching yourself thinking poorly of someone else – especially a brother or sister in Christ. Sometimes, it can be easier to get along with people who are not Christians. When they act selfishly, it’s not surprising. We don’t uphold them to a higher standard because they don’t have Christ in their life. But, when we are dealing with fellow Christians, we have expectations. We hold a set of unrealistic rules and regulations that, if broken, result in some of the greatest hurt I’ve ever known. We have to realize that every person requires the love of Christ – from the professing Christian to the lost sinner. Our grace cannot end when we walk through the doors of our church. We see the church is commanded so clearly in Ephesians 4:32, “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
In John chapter 8, I like to think of the Pharisees as representing the Law – condemning the woman to death as the law condemns sinners to an eternity in Hell. Then, when I look at the woman, I see myself. I see my soul condemned for past, present, and future sin – captive to a life not worth living, shriveled, silent, and ready to die. Look to Romans 5:12 & 19, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” and verse 19, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” We are sinful creatures – born enemies of God – and Christ came to earth, lived a sinless life, took on all our sins, and shed His blood on the cross to pay the penalty we owed. Then, He rose from the dead three days later, housing victory over sin for the justification of all mankind. This woman, by Christ’s mercy and grace, was pardoned her sin, and justified by Christ. We can be justified just as this woman was – salvation is a free gift already paid by Christ Himself, reaching out His hand just waiting for us to take it.
Just as the Pharisees represent the condemnation of the law, and the woman represents our sinful souls, Christ represent His own imparted grace. We saw the law in the beginning of verse 20 in Romans 5, but let’s look at where it leads to: “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection grants us access to eternal life with God in Heaven. Chapter 6 verses 14 and 23, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” And verse 23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” We no longer need to live in bondage to the sin which once held us. We are free to serve Christ and give our lives over to Him. Free to live as we were created to be!
We see in Romans 5:20-21 and in Romans 6:14, 23 that we are no longer in bondage to sin. Some see this as liberty to live their lives as they see fit instead of submitting to the will of Christ. But let’s look at what God’s Word says about this, in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Grace does not permit the presence of sin. We see back in our passage, John 8:11, Christ gives the woman one final command. One we should all adhere to: “Go, and sin no more."
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Thank you for sharing!