I did choose thee. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nybert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. One of the most well-known statements
of the Lord Jesus Christ is found in John 8, verse 7, when he said,
he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone
at her. Whether people know that those
are the Lord's words or not, that is a saying. I don't have
any stones to cast. I don't have any stones to throw. Now let's see what led the Lord
to make this statement. We read in John chapter eight,
verse two, and early in the morning, he came again into the temple
and all the people came unto him and he sat down and taught
them. And the scribes and Pharisees
brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. Now evidently they
caught her in this act physically. Were they setting it up? Perhaps. Probably. Maybe the man who was
committing the act was part of this setup. I don't know. But this woman was taken in adultery
in the very act. There was no doubt whatsoever
about her guilt. And when they had set her in
the midst, they say unto him, Master, This woman was taken
in adultery in the very act. There is no question with regard
to her guilt. She was unfaithful to her husband
and she committed adultery with another man. Now, try to also
while I'm reading this picture in your mind, if you would have
been a witness to all this, if you would have been standing
there watching what takes place, Now here is their question to
the Lord. Now Moses in the law commanded
us that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him
that they might have to accuse him. They thought we've got him
in an unwinnable position. If he says, let her go, we can
say, don't you have any respect for the law? Don't you believe
what Moses said is true and what God commanded Moses to do through
the law is what we ought to do? Don't you respect the law? If
he says, let her go, we can say, you have no respect for God's
law. And if he said, stoner, we could say, well, you're talking
about being merciful and being the friend of the sinners. It's
just hot air. It's just talk. It's not real.
They thought These men, these religious men, these wicked men,
thought they had the Lord in an unwinnable position. They thought, we've got him now. But Jesus stooped down. I can picture this in my mind. He just stooped down, dropped
down on his knees. He stooped down and with his
finger wrote on the ground. You can be sure he wasn't doodling.
With his finger, he wrote on the ground as though he heard
them not. And you can imagine how offended they were by this.
So when they continued asking him, He continued to be silent,
so they continued asking. You can't plead the fifth on
this. We want to hear what you say. They continued asking him. He lifted up himself and said to them, I can see him
looking at this crowd, and he made this statement. He that
is without sin among you. And he's not talking about sin
in a generic sense. He's talking about this sin. This sin of adultery. That you're bringing this woman
up and wanting her to be stoned and trying to put me in this
position. Okay, if you've not committed this sin, throw the
first stone. I think it's interesting. He
didn't tell them not to throw the stones. He didn't tell them
to throw the stones. He said, if you're without this
sin, you cast the first stone. Some 400, 1450 years before this
took place, we had the giving of the law, the 10 commandments. God said, you'll have no other
God before me. There's a commandment against idolatry, not making
any likeness of God at all. Then there's the command with
regard to taking his name in vain. His name is so holy that
to even use his name irreverently in your speech is a sin worthy
of damnation. He said, remember the Sabbath
to keep it holy. Even in the law, we learn something
about the rest in the gospel. I realize people make a work
out of not working, but the Sabbath is given to teach us to rest
in Jesus Christ. And then there's the law concerning
honoring your father and mother. And the law, thou shalt not kill.
The law, thou shalt not commit adultery. It was wrong then,
it's wrong now. The law with regard to telling
the truth. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not covet. The eternal
law of God. Somebody says, well, was it before
the giving of the law were those things sin? Yes. Yes, 400 years
before it was written, God said to Abimelech, Behold, thou art
but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast is another man's
wife. Abraham's to be exact. It was wrong then. Now, people
who have never heard the Ten Commandments have this law written
in their hearts. You're born knowing it's wrong
to lie. We're born knowing it's wrong to steal. We're born knowing
it's wrong to murder. We're born knowing we shouldn't
be covetous and jealous and envious of what other people have. It
just seems unclean, doesn't it? We're born to know that sex outside
of marriage, coveted marriage, is wrong. Everybody knows that.
I realize the society we live in today might say, well, there's
nothing wrong with it. Yeah, there is, in God's sight.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. Adultery is a horrible evil,
to be unfaithful to your spouse. How much evil has come from homes
being broken through this horrible sin, the way children have suffered,
the suffering it's brought on our society. The intimate act
between a man and a woman in marriage is a token of the goodness
of God. God created this, but men have
perverted it by their fallen natures. Adultery is a great
evil, and adultery is something that you and I have committed. Did you hear that? Adultery is
something you and I have committed. Somebody says, I've never committed
adultery. Well, listen to the words of the Lord in Matthew
5, verse 27. You've heard that it was said
by them of old that thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say
unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her
hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. There is not a man or woman who
is not guilty of adultery. Now I hope you see that that's
true. Whether or not you see it, it's
true anyway. That's what the Lord said. Now let's go back to this scene.
And early in the morning, verse two, and early in the morning,
He came again into the temple and all the people came unto
him and he said and taught them and the scribes and Pharisees
brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. Now, what I wonder
about is where was the man? He was committing adultery just
like the woman was. How come he wasn't brought up? Perhaps he was the one that set
this up. I don't know. I feel quite sure
that the Pharisees set this up because how could they have been
there looking, waiting for it to happen so they could come
and drag her before everybody? Look what they say in verse four.
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in
the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should
be stoned. Now, wait just a minute. What
did Moses say in the law? They were both to be put to death. They were using a half a scripture.
And this is what false religion always does. They use the scripture
to maintain their position, and it's always half the truth. And
a half a truth is a whole lie every time. They were abusing
the scriptures. This man should have been stoned
right along with this woman, but he's not there anywhere. Now, I repeat, in the society
we live in today, adultery is not really even looked upon as
that great of an evil. I mean, it's almost looked natural,
but it is in God's sight. It is. And you and I are guilty
of this sin. These men were guilty of this
sin. If not physically, they certainly
had done it many times in their heart, just like you and I. have. And if someone denies that,
I've just got to say, you're lying to yourself. You and I
are adulterers, spiritual adulterers as well. But let's go on reading. Now Moses in the law commanded
us that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou? This they
said, tempting him. that they might have to accuse
him. We've got him now. Any answer
he gives, we can condemn him for. They thought that they had
really come up with something to entrap the Lord in his words. And I love the way this scripture
says, but Jesus stooped down. And there's great significance
to that. As a matter of fact, there's great significance in
every detail of this story and everything else in the Bible. Jesus stooped down and wrote
on the ground and did not