GIVE THEM GRACE

Not Hel-icity

John 8:1–11 ESV

1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Sermon: "Don't Give Them Hell-icity; Give Them Grace" (John 8:1-11) I have a question for you tonight: What ever happened to good old-fashioned grace? Grace, as you know, is God's unmerited favor—His gift of forgiveness and mercy, even when we don’t deserve it. We, as saints of God, are the recipients of divine grace. But there’s also something called human grace. As God offers us forgiveness, love, and mercy, we are called to extend the same to one another. In the likeness of God, we can give others love, forgiveness, and mercy, even when they don’t deserve it.

Whatever happened to a world where humans give one another grace?

What happened to the idea that we can respect others, even when they don’t respect themselves?

What became of acting appropriately, even when someone behaves inappropriately toward you?

What happened to the wisdom that not every harsh word or action directed at you requires a response? Sometimes the best response is no response at all.

We’ve been conditioned to stand our ground instead of seeking common ground. We gravitate toward confrontation over collaboration and retaliation over reconciliation.

Politicians spend more time attacking each other than debating the issues. There’s been a resurgence of racism and discrimination, bold and unapologetic, reminiscent of the dark days of Jim Crow.

We saw it play out on a national stage last night—one candidate hurled insults and engaged in name-calling rather than addressing the real problems. Social media, once a platform for good, has become a battleground of mean-spirited criticism, personal attacks, and adolescent-like bullying.

We live in a time where the prevailing mentality is to give them hell-icity. That’s right—we’re in a “give them hell-icity” society. But may I offer you an alternative? The title of my sermon this evening is "Give Them Grace, Not Hell-icity." As recipients of God's divine grace, we are called to be distributors of human grace.

ENCOUNTERING THE TEXT I thank God for this text tonight. We find a story in John chapter 8 where grace speaks louder than guilt, and mercy overshadows messiness.

The Scribes come to Jesus, giving a woman caught in the act of adultery pure hell-icity. Problem number one: they brought only the woman, but it takes two to tango. These men were experts in the law, and they knew that according to the law, both the man and the woman caught in adultery were to be held accountable.

Leviticus 20:10 says, "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." How dirty can you get? How low can you go?

The woman was caught in adultery, not fornication. Adultery is sexual relations between a married person and someone who is not their spouse, while fornication is between two unmarried individuals.

They were engaging in trickery. The punishment for adultery was death under Jewish law. If Jesus had vindicated the woman, they would have accused Him of violating Jewish law. If He had consented to stoning her, He would have been in conflict with Roman law, which did not allow Jews to carry out capital punishment.

Jesus was placed in a legal and moral dilemma. He was doomed if He did, doomed if He didn’t, and the scribes and Pharisees were trying to trap Him. Yet, He responded with divine wisdom. But this also means at least one of them was married, and both were guilty. Yet, they only brought the woman. Where was the man? It was a Bible-day double standard. But don’t be deceived—there are still modern-day double standards. When people in power misuse and mistreat the disempowered by making them play by a different set of rules, it is a double standard.

It was a double standard when harsher sentences were given to Blacks for the possession of crack cocaine, while Whites received lighter sentences for powder cocaine, made from the same drug.

It was a double standard when the allegations of sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh and Donald Trump were met with divided reactions, while there was uniform condemnation of Bill Cosby for similar acts.

It was a double standard when Hillary Clinton was scrutinized for her use of a private email server while Donald Trump’s engagement in the same acts was largely ignored. It was a double standard when Brock Turner, a white Stanford student, received a six-month jail sentence for sexual assault, while Corey Batey, a Black Vanderbilt football player, was sentenced to 15 to 25 years for a similar crime.

We live in a world where some people receive hell-icity while others remain unscathed. But I stopped by tonight to encourage you to give them grace! The Bible says that our conversations should be "seasoned with salt" (Colossians 4:6).

But what does salt do?

Salt enhances flavor.

Make sure your words contribute to uplifting and improving others, rather than diminishing or harming them.

You can speak the truth, but speak it in love. You can be firm, but gentle in your approach. You can correct someone, but do it with compassion. You can be meek without being a doormat. I’ve learned it’s always best to have a little talk with Jesus before I have a big conversation with man. Let’s talk to God before we talk to man.

HOW TO GIVE THEM GRACE: PRAY You gotta pray. Notice, just before they bring this woman to trap Jesus, He had been in prayer. The Mount of Olives was a place where Jesus often withdrew for solitude and prayer. He visited the Mount of Olives during His final days in Jerusalem to teach His disciples and when the cross was getting close (Luke 22:39-41).

And as soon as He got up from His knees, the devil showed up. It takes prayer to do right by somebody who means you wrong. Maybe y'all are more sanctified than I am, but when I know somebody is up to no good, something stirs in my flesh.

If I don’t pray at the moment, when they give me hell-icity, I am tempted to give them something better. You’ve heard the expression, "give as good as you get." I can get ‘em and get ‘em good, but I’ve learned, rather than giving them hell-icity, to give them to God in prayer.

Pray when you’re tempted to give them some Sunday words.

Pray when your patience runs thin, and seek God's strength to hold your tongue.

Pray before you lay your religion down and give them a piece of your mind.

Jesus was prayed up when they showed up, up to no good. In order to give them grace, you have to stay prayed up.

HOW TO GIVE THEM GRACE: STOOP Let me suggest that to give them grace, you have to learn how to stoop. Notice Jesus stoops—He gets down on His knees, not once, but twice during this encounter. The Pharisees are standing tall, full of accusations and judgment, but Jesus bends down, He stoops and draws in the dust.

He does not draw attention to the woman’s shame. He does not make a scene. He deescalates the situation. He stoops. They came to give her hell-icity, but He gives her grace. Do you realize that it takes more strength to walk away from a fight than it does to engage in one?

Humility doesn’t mean weakness; it means you’re wise enough to know that sometimes the best way to diffuse a situation is to lower yourself. I’ve learned the hard way—you can’t argue with a fool. Save your breath. You can’t reason with the devil.

Jesus stooped because He understood that love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). So next time...Don’t send that inflammatory email—stoop.

Don’t get on the phone to tell everybody what they did—stoop.

Don’t fight fire with fire—stoop.

Don’t give them hell-icity—stoop and give them grace.

HOW TO GIVE THEM GRACE: STAND UP But hold on, lest you assume that I’m advocating doormat doctrine and turn-the-other-cheek theology. Jesus stoops in the text. But don’t miss this—when it was time, Jesus stopped stooping and stood up. When they pressed Him with questions, trying to trap Him, He stood up and spoke with authority.

Church, there is a time to stoop and a time to stand up. Don’t misinterpret meekness for weakness. After stooping to minister to the accused woman, He stood up to deal with the accusing men.

He stood up, back straight, looked them in the eye, and declared, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

The Holy Spirit will let you know when to stoop and when to stand up. Sometimes the Spirit will tell you to speak your peace; other times, He will tell you to hold your peace.

Have you ever been tempted to tell someone off, but then the Holy Spirit made you hold your tongue? Then you found out why—you didn’t know the whole story, and if you had spoken, you might have spoken too soon.

God will give you "divine discernment" to engage in graceful confrontation. You see, the devil can act ugly, and no one says a word. That’s what you expect from the devil. But if God’s people act ugly, the devil will use it against us. Kamala never called Trump a name or got out of character. She didn’t stoop; she stood up and spoke the truth.

And the Bible says they began to leave one by one, from the oldest to the youngest. You know why the old men left first? Because the older you are, the more sinning you’ve done in this life. I didn’t come to front or perpetrate—I’ve done my share of sinning. You’ve done your share of sinning. All God’s children have done some sinning.

Now, the word hell-icity, as I explained, means something goes in the direction of the spin. But you can also go in the opposite direction of the spin.

When the world twists your reputation, don’t give them hell-icity. Give them grace. When the world distorts your actions, turning your good into something bad, don’t respond with hell-icity. Give them grace.

When people misjudge your intentions, seeking to bring you down, don’t match their negativity. Offer them grace.

When others try to provoke you, resist the urge to retaliate. Choose grace over hell-icity. You’ve heard the expression, "give as good as you get." Well, I believe I can do that—because my God has given me grace, I’m going to give as good as I have gotten.

The Lord has been good to me. He woke me up this morning. He made my enemies my footstool. He died for my sins. He gave me grace I didn’t deserve.

I don’t know about you, but from this Jesus, I’ve gotten pretty good. So, I believe that I’m going to give as good as I’ve gotten. Because my God has forgiven my sin, I’ll forgive those who have sinned against me.

Because my God has shown me mercy, I’ll give mercy in the same measure that I’ve received. I don’t deserve His grace and mercy, but He gave it to me good anyway. I’ll never be able to repay the price He paid, but He paid me good anyhow.

Because I serve a God who stooped for me in glory, I can stoop for others here on earth. He stooped when He gave up the comfort and convenience of heaven to come down to earth (Philippians 2:5-8). He stooped when He who knew no sin became sin for us, so we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

He stooped when He washed the feet of His disciples, showing the heart of a servant (John 13:5). He stooped when He rescued me from the pit of despair, placing my feet on solid ground (Psalm 40:1-2).

He stooped when He extended His hand of grace and pulled me from my lowest point, raising me to new life in Him (Ephesians 2:4-6). He stooped when they placed the cross on His back to walk up Calvary's road. He stooped when they mocked Him, placing a crown of thorns on His head, yet He never said a mumbling word. He stooped when they whipped Him and tore His flesh, but He endured the suffering for our sake.

He stooped when they nailed His hands and feet to the cross, choosing to bear the pain for our redemption. He stooped when He cried out, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," offering grace to His executioners.

He stooped when He hung between two thieves, offering salvation to one who called out in faith. He stooped when He felt the weight of our sins, carrying them all to the cross so we could be free. He stooped when He surrendered His spirit and said, "It is finished," paying the price for our salvation.

He stooped when He was buried in a borrowed tomb, conquering death and the grave for us. He stooped on Friday when He stayed in the grave. He stooped on Saturday when it looked like all was lost.

But there is a time to stoop, and there is a time to stand up. After stooping in humility in the grave on Friday, after stooping in lowliness in the tomb on Saturday, early, early on Sunday morning, He stood in authority!

There’s a time to stoop, but there’s also a time to stand. He stood in authority so that I might have authority over the troubles of this world. He stood with power in His hands, so I can have power through prayer. He stood to give us victory over the devil. He stood with authority over the world. He stood up so that death no longer has dominion over us. He stood up to declare that sin and shame have no hold on me. He stood up to open the gates of Heaven, so we could walk in the freedom of His grace.

Jesus stooped in humility, but He rose in power and authority, and because He stood, we can stand too.

Stand when you feel like giving up.

Stand when it looks like all hope is gone.

Stand when the devil is on your back.

Stand when the bottom falls out.

Stand when the journey gets tough, the night gets long, and problems get worse.

And when you’ve done all you can do to stand, stand anyhow.

When you’re feeling like giving up, stand anyhow.

When the battle feels too heavy, stand anyhow.

When the road seems too long, stand anyhow.

When the storm rages, stand anyhow.

Because He stood for you, you can stand in Him.