Grace Gives us a fresh start

Intro

Do you all have a time in your life where you got caught doing something that you knew you shouldn’t have done. For me it was sneaking a video game into the house I wasn’t allowed to play. I was serious homeschooled rebel. But that feeling of getting busted, of despair, knowing that you are caught and have no defense. It causes you to rely on the judgement of others like nothing else. Today we are going to meet a woman who was in that exact same situation, and we are going to see how Jesus responded to her, and how he responds to us when we are caught in our sin and are placed before him with no defense.

John 8:1–6 NIV

but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

The pharisees loved to put Jesus in what they thought was a no win situation. This one was extra tricky because if he refused to uphold the stoning he would appear light on the law. He would be sending a message that he didn’t think the law mattered, and he would be considered a heretic. This would also cause the Romans to not be happy with Jesus. but if he did uphold it, he would have been discredited in the eyes of the common people who made up the bulk of his supporters. To our eyes he is in a tough spot and there is no way out of this situation. They thought they had him in a no win situation.

But Jesus in this situation proved something that he also proved when they tried to trap him by asking what’s the greatest commandment, healing on the sabbath, paying taxes, even when they killed him on the cross and they thought they had won, in all of these situations Jesus proved one thing. With Jesus there is no such thing as a no win situation.

This woman also thought she was in a no win situation. She had made a big mistake. But what the religious people did to her was also a big mistake.

1. Jesus Saw the Woman, While Others Only Saw the Sin

The religious people who were responsible for shepherding this woman’s relationship with God. refused to see her has a person needing the grace of God they only saw her as a representation of the sin she committed. They were not looking out for her they were looking to get her. A stoning like the one they were suggesting was actually incredibly rare in Jesus’ time. Most of the time there would just be a divorce.

It is very possible they set a trap for this woman for the purpose of presenting Jesus with what they thought was a no win scenario. The person they were supposed to care for they instead used as a tool to try and win an argument.

They did not care about her. They slapped the label adulteress on her and saw her as pawn to be used to win rather than a person to be cared for.

But Jesus saw her differently. He saw beyond her label, beyond her sin, he saw a child of God in need of the grace of God. They wanted to make her a public spectacle, but Jesus showed her compassion. Jesus didn’t overlook her sin. It was there and it was ugly, but he didn’t reduce her to it.

How often do we do the opposite. We label people based on their mistakes. Like what they were on their worst day is all they can ever be? We reduce them to their sin. Rather than people who need God’s grace just like you.

I am so thankful that God does not label me and reduce me to the sins I have committed. Aren’t you glad he doesn’t label you and look at you as just the sin you have committed. So why do we do that very thing to other people? Jesus never overlooked sin. No one understands the severity of our sin like Jesus. Our sins put him on the cross. He felt the severity with every strike of the hammer, with every lash of the whip, with every drop of blood leaving his body. Jesus never overlooked sin or acted like it wasn’t a big deal, but he never overlooked people either.

Jesus didn’t overlook the woman at the well despite her sins, he didnt overlook Zacheaus despite his sins, he didn’t overlook this woman despite her sins, and he hasn’t overlooked you despite your sins. Follow the example of Jesus that we see as we continue through this story, don’t look to label sinners, look to liberate sinners through the grace of God.

John 8:7–9 NIV

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

They came in with this elaborate plan. They had their religious clothes all clean showing everyone how righteous they are, they had their chests puffed up full of pride, they were probably walking in with a bit of a strut. And Jesus shut them down with one sentence.

2. True Grace Exposes False Righteousness

People love to speculate on what Jesus was writing, The truth is we have no idea it could have been the sins of the men standing there it could have been a drawing of a snowman we don’t know and if we guess it puts us in fan fiction territory, which is ok for your favorite movie franchise, but it is dangerous when it comes to scripture.

What is in the text is that Jesus turns the table back on them. He actually gives them permission to stone her. He’s like hey go for it, and they got to think we got him! but then Jesus says just make sure whoever is without sin throws the first stone.

They got the uno reverse card played because it causes them to have to judge themselves instead of the woman, It also puts them in a no win situation. Apparently no one was self righteous enough to claim to be perfect. This reply upheld both Jewish and Roman law and exposed the sin of the accusers. Jesus redirected their focus from outward hatred to inward reflection. and what they saw when they looked inward was their level of righteous did not justify killing this woman.

We need to keep this in mind before we approach any person or situation with self righteous attitude.

hatred of a sin is not a good motivation for reaching the lost. Jesus came and died not because he hated sin, even though he does, Jesus came and died because he loves us. We should share the Gospel news of the grace of God with people not because we hate the sin their known for but because of our love for them.

The saying many of us have grown up with is love the sinner hate the sin. I want to tell you today that we should love the sinner, hate our own sin. The sin you hate the most should be your own.

Think about it if you hated your sin with the same intensity that you hate other peoples sin what would it lead you to do? It would remind you every day of how much you need God’s grace. and would cause you to follow him closer.

Truly experiencing the grace of God iradicates self righteousness. You cant depend on God’s grace and think you made yourself righteous at the same time.

Grace causes our pride to disappear just like each one of the woman’s accusers did. Lets see what happens after they have gone and the woman comes face to face with Jesus

John 8:9–11 NIV

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Every one of the accusers slowly leaves one at a time. I imagine a stage play where every accuser leaves one by one silently to stage right and stage left until it is just Jesus and the woman standing there alone with the spot light on them. Jesus asks has anyone condemned you? she says no. without witnesses willing to throw the first stone she could not be condemned. Jesus said neither do I condemn you.

If this story ends here the message of this story is Jesus turns a blind eye to sin. sin isn’t a big deal to Jesus. We can just receive God’s grace and keep sinning. But the story doesn’t end there. Jesus said said go now and leave your life of sin.

3. No Condemnation does not mean no Conviction.

If we aren’t careful we can mistake God’s love and grace for the false belief that he affirms and celebrates sin.

Shane Pruitt puts it like this. “The goal of the Gospel is not to affirm you, celebrate you, or empower you to do whatever you want to do. The goal of the Gospel is to rescue you, transform you, and empower you to do whatever God wants you to do.”

It is true there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus came not to condemn but to save, praise God for that. But he doesn’t save you to leave you as you are. He did not save this woman and say just keep being true to yourself, ignore the hate, you got this.

No he said go and leave your life of sin. Jesus saves you and then he changes you. The Holy Spirit convicts us when we step into sin. Conviction is like those lines on the side of the road. You guys ever driven over those they make the car rumble and make a loud noise.

Anyone ever driven over them on purpose and yell when someone is sleeping in the car on a road trip?

The reason those lines are there is to warn you when you are veering off the road and approaching danger. When we feel conviction it is warning us, hey you are heading towards something that is going to harm you or others, because off the road there are light poles, ditches and pedestrians. Stay on the road.

Jesus loves you when your in the ditch. Jesus loved this woman when she was in the ditch, But he loved her too much and loves you to much to leave you there. He pulls you out and sets you on the road following him, and gives you lines of conviction to keep you moving towards him.

He loves you the way you are but too much to leave you that way.

This woman was brought to sudden conviction of her sin. She knew she was guilty, and yet Jesus did not condemn her he delivered her. This brought an admiration of her deliverer, and a willingness to be guided by him. She was so overwhelmed with gratitude for the grace that she had been given that there was no way her thought was, great no I can go back to sinning, her thoughts instead were I am never going back to who I was.

If your response to the grace of God is now let me get back to who I am and not I am never going back to who I was, you have never come face to with the grace of God.

When you understand that the grace of God takes our no win scenario of being unable to save ourselves from our sin, and that Jesus saw you as a person and not just the sin you’ve done. and after he saw you instead of condemning you, which he could have he instead extended His grace to pull you out of that ditch and give you a new life, and a fresh start. There is no such thing as a no win situation when Jesus is involved.

When you experience that it does the same thing for you that it did to the woman in this story. it gives you a never ending admiration of your deliverer and a willingness to be guided by him for the rest of your life everyday moving farther away from the person you were enjoying the fresh start that his grace gives you every day.

Conclusion.

As we come to a close today. I want to point out how this story calls us as Christians to respond. We need to follow the example of Jesus not the pharisees. See people not their sin. You are more than your mistakes that means the people around you are more than their mistakes. They are people who need God’s grace just like you. Christians aren’t perfect but we are forgiven. Seek people out with a purpose to bring the hope of God’s grace to people rather than condemnation.

Who is it in your life that you’ve struggled with seeing them as more than just their mistakes, who needs to see the grace of God in you? Who’s the person that would never expect you to show them grace? If you go to that person with the purpose of showing grace. It is going to bring so much glory to God, Go and show someone this week that a fresh start is possible because of what Jesus has done in your heart.

This week also look at what you hate more. Do you hate other people’s sin or your own sin more? Take that finger that you’ve been pointing at others and saying they need to fix that, and turn it back around on yourself and say I need to listen to the rumble of conviction that i have been ignoring and say I need to fix this through the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you are here today and you are not a follower of Jesus. Come down and receive the grace that he made possible through his death on the cross. Soon after this story Jesus would pay the penalty for the sins of the woman and her accusers. and he also paid the penalty for you. Come and put your faith in him to bring you out of the ditch, and give you a fresh start to go and sin no more.