I am a believer in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the only way of salvation.
I am a believer in God’s Word, perfect, true and living.
I believe Him about what is sin and that His Holy Spirit convicts us when we do wrong.
I believe in confession, repentance and forgiveness as the Lord leads us into a relationship with Himself.
I believe in the power of the blood of Jesus Christ to cover us completely so that we, though we are all sinners, can come into the presence and fellowship of God.
I believe when Jesus taught us not to judge others, that He was serious.
The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees flung a woman down before Jesus. There was no question of her guilt; she was seized in the very act of adultery. The Law required she be stoned to death.
In voices of false concern and tinged with self-righteousness, the religious leaders asked Jesus “what do you say?” Their motive wasn’t a true spiritual question, but rather they wanted to trap and accuse Jesus. But our Savior always sees the heart.
The leaders and crowd stood with stones in their hands, ready to kill the sinner. Jesus, the only perfect judge among them, gave this response:
If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.
They all left one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left.
Then in a stunning act of mercy, the only One who could condemn her … chose not to do that but rather told her to “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Under the Law I would be an adulteress … since I was married and divorced.
In Christ today I celebrate 38 years of marriage to the man God gave me after forgiveness.
Under the Law I would be a murderer … because anyone who is angry with his or her brother is subject to judgment and anyone who calls another a name is in danger of the fire of hell.
In Christ the Holy Spirit has worked faithfully with me over many years on conquering anger. We are still working.
I could go on but you get the picture. I would be listed with those who are not allowed into God’s presence or eternal life.
But thanks be to God the Father who sent His own Son to be our salvation and His Holy Spirit to be our guide, my story will end differently.
I am still far from perfect. Confession, repentance and forgiveness are part of my daily life as I walk with God … a walk I don’t deserve but I am so grateful to continue.
Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur …”
Our identity when we are in Christ is none of the above.
Without Him, we all qualify.
Let’s stop calling out the sin of others, that is the job of the Holy Spirit and He does it best.
My prayer today is that we would allow others to enter that walk with Jesus. We have no right to stop them. We need to drop the stones.