Leave your life of sin

LEAVE YOUR LIFE OF SIN

John 7:58-John 8:1-11

January 7, 2024

Normally, I would tell you to open your Bibles for the reading of God’s Word. The funny thing is that today I am not sure where to send you because the passage of today may be found in different locations or even footnoted in individual Bibles. I need to do a bit of a required introduction. My Bible has us at John 8 and if you look at the small print at the bottom, you may see a disclaimer that says:

“Some manuscripts do not include 7:53-8:1-11; others add the passage here or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38.”

My challenge today is not on whether to cover John 8. My challenge is on location and authorship. I want to make you all 100% aware that I am NOT calling into question the accuracy of God’s Word. Remember, we covered “Why I believe the Bible” in a previous sermon series and if you want those messages just let me know I have them on YouTube. But allow me to explain why this section is in some of our Bibles here and others may have it in other locations or not at all.

The science of ensuring we have the very best and most accurate Bible we can get is called “textual criticism”. It looks at the oldest and most accurate copies and compares them to each other along with linguistics and authorship styles (a key issue with John 8). Yes, it is as complicated as I am making it out to be and a lot more. Here is the bottom line, John 8 is not included in the most accurate and approved writings of the Gospel of John called the Rylands manuscript. It is in the Textus Receptus (another Greek manuscript) that is not as old as the Rylands. However, that does not mean that this section is not inspired.

These are the reasons to question its authorship and placement. 1. John 8 uses vocabulary not used in any other portions of John. For example, John does not talk about the Scribes (he never mentions them like this). 2.The author’s vocabulary is more closely aligned with Luke (more fluid and precise Greek). 3 The flow of the text from 7-the rest of 8 is miss conjoined (I’ll show you later).3. The date of addition was after Ryland's manuscript.

At worst, this section may not fit here in John 8. According to experts, it could be an account of Luke that got moved to John later. In some English versions, it is moved to a footnote and is not written out while other Bibles put it in brackets with the note at the bottom making sure that the reader knows that there is some question about authorship and dating. The later manuscripts used to write our Bibles started to include John 8 and I feel like it is important to be very clear on why those brackets are in our Bibles.

Now, for the critic or for the one who is now scared that I called into question the entire Bible, hold on! John 8 and Mark 16 are the two sections that have these types of disclaimers. If you are rattled a bit, please lean in and hear these words, there is absolutely NO contradiction or change in doctrine associated with John 8 or Mark 16. There are no “new” or differing messages that contradict in any way supportive verses. I use God’s Word to explain God’s Word. This is called, “analogia scriptura” or analogy of scripture. It means the best interpreter of scripture and that scripture always agrees with scripture.

If anything, the transparency of knowing this should help us trust God’s Word. Remember why we believe the Bible is true.

“I choose to believe the Bible because it is a collection of historical documents written down by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses. They report to us supernatural events that took place in fulfillment of certain prophecies and claim that their writings are divine rather than human origin.”

Now, with that said, let’s open our Bibles to John 8 and read together this passage. When we read this passage, we need to remember where we left Jesus in John 7. I know it has been a while but when we last studied John, Jesus was speaking at the Feast of Booths, a major and required holiday for all Jewish males. They had to be at this yearly festival, and it was a 7-day event. Now, with our question of timing and authorship, we are left assuming that this is the final day of that festival, but we cannot be sure.

READ Text (exposit key points)

House: iokos is house or household (maybe another reason to question placement)

Jesus went to the Mount of olives: a further example of alone time with the Father in prayer

Temple: Jesus was in His Father’s house doing what He did: Preached

He sat, they stood: a sign of importance/maybe a way to keep people awake?

Scribes vs Pharisees: a scribe is a lawyer or profession. Pharisees is a group or class of religious purists that were so passionate about the return to the Law that they went over board and imposed extra laws and rules on the people.

A woman caught: no co-sinner? This was a setup. Some speculate that he could have been one of the Pharisees or of some importance.

The trap: If he said don’t’ stone her, He is guilty of breaking the Law of the Jews. If He commands her to die, He is breaking Roman Law and that is insurrection against Rome. It was a perfect trap, or so they thought.

The Penalty: They were actually getting going for the max and worst possible penalty. They went to “stoning” and were quoting Deut 22:22 but really wanted Deut 22:24 onto the situation.

Deut 22:22 22 “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. [1]

Vs

Deut 22:24 “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones,[2]”

Interesting how sinful people go for the throat. Imagine for a minute the willingness to destroy another person just to make your case or get your way.

Wrote in the sand: There is a ton of speculation here. What did He write? This is another reason many critics use this passage as a way to discredit God’s Word. But to do that is missing the point. It doesn’t matter what He wrote. What matters is the result. Whatever He wrote is not for us. I love what John Calvin wrote:

“When God closes His holy mouth, we should desist from inquiry.” In today’s words, it’s not for us to ask what He wrote.

“Let him throw the first stone”: Here is where the answer puts them in their place. Our Lord is LORD. Anyone who can turn the tables like this. By saying this He is making direct reference to the Law that they wanted to have Him follow.

Deut 17:6-7

“7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Jesus called them out! In other words, whoever caught her, go ahead and pick up the stone and have at it. Oh, but that means they would fall into their own trap. None of them had Roman approval to execute that judgment and they did not have approval from the ruling Sanhedrin. And by the way, if you caught her, why were you there in the first place?

Woman, where are they: Jesus’s question breaks my heart. He is getting ready to do what we as His followers must and should be willing to do. He is now going to show her salvation. By asking, where are they, He is directing her to Him. It’s just Him standing there, and that dear church is our condition, it’s just Him.

Of all the people who were accusing her, there is only one who is authorized, equipped, and able to stand there and judge her. Jesus, who has been given authority to judge and execute judgment:

Matthew 28:18

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

No one, Lord: We want to assume that since she said “Lord” she recognized Him as “LORD” but we cannot. She uses the word kyrios which could mean “LORD” or it could be as simple as “sir”. We don’t know for sure.

Neither do I condemn you: The one who is able, qualified, and authorized chooses grace. The One who had every right to pick up the stone does not. Jesus is laying out the entire plan of salvation for her and us. This is so important for us to see the offer and gift of true salvation. He is offering something that the system of religion, the practice of religion cannot do, grace upon grace. Mercy upon mercy.

HOOK:

After reading this passage I think that there are some serious applications to get from the author of these words. I have here a hamburger patty and a head of lettuce. Now, pretend that we are getting ready to feed a lion. I wonder, what would he prefer? The fresh meat? Or would he like to go for the lighter side and eat the head of lettuce?

You see, the nature of the lion will automatically direct it to the hamburger every time. It is designed and conditioned to always go to the meat over the lettuce. In our passage today, it is easy to forget that there is a natural bent in all of us to go after our nature. Both the Scribes and Pharisees along with the adulterous woman caught in the middle of this passage are bent by their nature. You see, they and us all go to our natural bent of sin. Now, today we see how our Lord responds to it.

1. We are all caught in sin.

The word “caught” is an interesting word. It assumes that sin can be hidden. I am here to say that the idea that sin is “hidden” is completely and totally a delusion. It is a lie of the devil. Sin will always be found out either publicly, or if a believer, will be addressed by your heavenly Father.

Proverbs 28:13

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.[5]

God does not miss sin. It’s not like He is away from the steering wheel or in the bathroom, so He doesn’t see. The word “caught” is a way that sinners use to downplay the weight of their sin. It is self-deception that could lead to the scariest words in all humanity (Matthew 7:23) “Depart from me, you worker of iniquity, I never knew you…” It is like substituting the word sin for “mistake” or “I messed up”. No, sin is rebellion, cosmic rebellion in the FACE of a Holy God. Sin, for the heart of the believer, is adultery away from God.

Just look at how God’s people are described in their rebellion in the OT. The children of Israel are accused of playing the harlot. God takes our rebellion very seriously but is rich in mercy to forgive when we confess and repent.

So, technically, you are never “caught” in sin. No, you and I are already IN sin. It’s our nature and our natural state. This is why, no religious act, no process of man can save us. It is 100% an act by our Savior to offer mercy and grace FIRST to fix this sin issue.

There is a specific order that I have to make sure that we understand. ORDER IS CRITICAL! For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace (1 Cor 14:33) If we miss this, we put ourselves in the first step and then it is all up to us to get us saved. The idea that I am responsible is idolatry.

Let me be very clear. Salvation absolutely and positively STARTS with Jesus. NOT us. Let’s go through this together:

Foreknowledge/predestined/called: God knew from eternity past who He would call and save (2 Thes 2:13; Eph 1:3-4, Romans 8:28-30, Jude 1). GOD DOES THIS

The Gospel Call: The Gospel message is shared in the ears of the sinner (Romans 10:14-15) GOD DOES THIS Regeneration: God renews and makes new a person’s life. (John 3:3-8) GOD DOES THIS Conversion/Faith/repentance: Is a turning to God based on the gospel on the message (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23) GOD DOES THIS and US! We now exercise our “will” that is not held captive by sin. It is because of what HE did, washing and regeneration of our souls. Now, our will in inclined to God and HIS will. Conversion is a gift of repentance and faith! Even our contribution is a gift!

Justification: God’s freeing of one from the penalty of sin—the pronouncement of "not guilty" on a sinner (Romans 5:1-10) GOD DOES THIS

Adoption: As believers, we are heirs of God. We are in the family (Romans 8:15) GOD DOES THIS

Sanctification: God’s separation of one from the lure of sin. This is a process not complete until the final step (1 Thes 5:23-24) Verse 24 is key, He makes this step possible! It’s a gift from Him. GOD DOES THIS FOR US Perseverance: Christ keeps us in His Hand and will never cast us out (John 6:37) GOD DOES THIS

Glorification: God’s final removal of all sin from the life and presence of one in the eternal state (1 Cor 15:12-14 and Romans 8:23-25, 30) GOD DOES THIS

Some like to put their faith and repentance as steps one and two. Some like to say that they have to “do” something to get the “new birth”. That is not taught in the WORD of God and that makes YOU the center of your salvation. To do that is the purest form of idolatry.

A profession of faith without a possession is a dead faith. Let me ask, do you see God actively working in your life conforming you to the image of His Son?

When He is conforming you, that is a true faith and a demonstration of possession. Now, if anyone were to add steps, add any other action in the salvation process other than what is outlined by God’s Word, may he be accursed. Listen to the words of Paul:

Galatians 1:8,9

“8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. [6]

You may ask then "what do I do"? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with a broken and contrite heart, God says that heart He does not despise (Psalm 51) that is the condition of a heart that God saves.

Remember the Gospel is God's gospel, not our gospel. We are to proclaim it its fullest.

The reason I brought the hamburger is this point. You see, in our sinful nature, we would never choose this method of salvation. We just would not select it. We would build our own ideas of salvation. In our fallen state, from the beginning of time, we have done a great job building our own methods. I am telling you, the only way to get a lion to change it’s diet, is to change the lion himself. And that is exactly what God is in the business of doing. God changes the heart of a sinner. He does the saving.

2. Right judgment is His judgment.

I keep getting frustrated with our culture that is so afraid of the word “judgment”. In our efforts to mind the 11thcommandment that is NOT in the Bible “thou shalt be nice at all costs”, the word judgment is completely thrown out of our vocabulary. And, in some situations, it should be, but in others, I would argue a little judgment is not a bad thing. Let me explain.

Turn to Matthew 7:5-9

7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. [7]

This may be very valuable for some of us. We always get into the comparison game. “Well, at least I’m not as bad as those.” We may fall into judgmentalism when we are quick to not forgive, quick to look at the faults of others, and quick to distance ourselves from people who don’t act, think or speak like us. Or, maybe they are just not as smart as us or present themselves like us.

Look at how Jesus says this: “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged.” Church, this is heavy. As we struggle to forgive our fellow man for one or many sins against us, please church, remember, that you sin against God every minute. Your sins are just as red and just as vile as theirs. Imagine you and I being held accountable to our level of judgment to others. Oh, Lord forgive me here. I have no right! If we hold the position of judge then this parable is for us:

Luke 18:10

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” [8]

Church, may we be like the tax collector, recognizing our sins. Recognizing our need for salvation. Don’t be like the Pharisee! Be like the tax collector!

Now, does that mean that we should not address sin biblically? NO! What we as people like to do (especially in today’s churches) is say, we can’t judge at all. That is not the case. I would argue that being complacent to sin and being complicit to sin is the worst type of sin! We are allowing our brother and sister to walk into eternity in rebellion when we do not restore our brother or sister in truth and love.

The word “complacent” means: to be “satisfied with”. As a brother or sister in Christ, please do not be “satisfied” with sin in the life of your loved one.

The word “complicit” means the state of being an accomplice. Meaning, if we are complacent and complicit, we are actually HELPING them rebel against God.

To me, this is the worst possible thing we could do. This is why we at Melba Bible Church have added the paragraph in our bi-laws that we stand by. Our stance on approaching a brother and sister in Christ is Biblical:

“We believe church discipline is biblical and exemplified for the purpose of

protecting and strengthening the church, restoring the sinner to a right walk with God, and renewing fellowship among the church members (2 Cor 2:6-10, Titus 2:15, 2 Thes 3:14-15, Rev 2:2, 2 Cor 10:8). Discipline is exercised only out of love, toward a member for outward, unrepentant sin (Cor 5:13). Matt 18:15-20 outlines the process, always starting private first, and the goal being reconciliation and forgiveness with God and; believers. (2 Cor 2:7-9, Psalm 103:8, 2 Cor 13:5).”

We must be obsessed with our own sanctification and highly concerned with our brothers and sisters. Notice the word concern. We are not in charge of running other people's race, we are in charge of running our own. However, if we see our brothers and sisters jumping off the track and running a different race, or worse yet, one that is injured along the way, we who are in the same race MUST be willing to help restore our brother and sister.

3. LEAVE YOUR LIFE OF SIN (HP)

John 8:11 is in my opinion our application for us today. This is the take-home. This one verse is where we find our “so what” and is the most important point for you and me to keep today.

If I would ask you, “Who you are in this story”, don’t say Jesus.” (Pat in Kindergarten) Tell the story of Pat.

If in Christ, sin cannot be how we are described. We should not be eating the burger, we must be eating the salad. For a lot of us, we would say, but Pastor the lettuce is nothing more than a garnishment to the burger! You are 100% right in what you say and how you and I act. When we are justifying our sins in life, we like to take the healthy stuff, (Sunday morning, maybe a prayer to God from time to time) along with the sins we are comfortable in. We like to pick and choose our religion and make it our own.

Brothers and sisters, God does NOT play that game! If that is you, you are in fact acting like the Pharisees. We want the good to justify the bad. We want enough of the good to cover the festering cancer that is in the heart. The issue with the Pharisees was that they were into the horizontal comparisons. “Well, at least I am not as bad as them.” Many of us fall into this trap and it is a well-used tool from the Devil to distract us from the glaring issue of sin in our lives.

If we are naturally prone to do this type of comparison, may I suggest that we compare to another standard than your brother and sisters? How about comparing ourselves to Jesus? Now does that look? Maybe a little different? It should drop us to our knees. The sad truth, as believers, we all struggle with this issue.

Now, some may be here saying, Pastor, I have never wanted the good, but I want to hear Jesus say, “Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on sin no more.” If that is you, oh dear brother and sister, you would never be able to say that unless God, being rich in mercy, has in fact done the work of regeneration in you! He alone, in His love is calling you to repent, calling you to come to Him in humble submission and cry out to Him. Do not delay! Do not put off what should be done now for tomorrow. For tomorrow is for the Devil, today is for you. The Devil wants you to wait! Do not wait. Come unto the Father, HE will never cast you out.

Look back at verse 11: Go and sin no more

Maybe you’re here and you are saying you expect too much. You, pastor, are saying I have to be perfect. Jesus, He did NOT say be perfect. No, He said, go and sin no more. Meaning, eat the salad, be different, be made new. He, the only one who could offer the ability to do that was instructing her in obedience. You want to know that you are saved, we “judge” our own lives. We judge our own heart.

1 John 2:1-6

2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

This verse speaks of Christ's current role. He is our advocate for WHEN we sin. Will we sin, yes, but it cannot define us. Our repentance is His expectation. But He is with us during the entire process. Do not let the fact that you sin from time to time interfere with the FACT that if you are in Christ, you are saved, now act like it.

CONCLUSION

We, as believers, are being taught some key principles in this text. It is from God that we learn that we are all “caught” in sin. It’s Him who is the only right judge of that sin and His calling is that we leave our life and sin and be the new creation that He has created. Do not pursue the things that defined us when we were not followers of Christ (burger) rather pursue Him and Him alone.