Turn with me to John chapter
8. It's delightful to be here. It's been
a long while. Shirley asked me if I was nervous
this morning. I said no. I've been here a lot. Let me read these first 11 verses. Jesus went unto the Mount of
Olives, and early in the morning, earliest early in the morning,
He came again into the temple. And all the people came unto
Him, and He sat down and taught them. Our Lord sat down teaching
people. And as He's doing that, the scribes
and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery. And
when they had set her in the midst, they say unto Him, This
woman was taken into adultery in the very act. 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. But Jesus stooped down and
with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them
not. So when they continued asking
him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without
sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again
he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard
it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one
by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last. And Jesus
was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. And when
Jesus had lifted himself up and saw none but the woman, he said
unto her, Woman, where are those thine accuser? Hath no man condemned
thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus
said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. You know, when you look how many
times the Pharisees and the Sadducees got together to tempt the Lord,
And it says there they wanted to accuse him. They wanted to
accuse him. But how do you find an accusation
against the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God manifest in the flesh,
holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners? But you can always
tell, and these folks are seeking to be justified by the law, and
using the law against the Lord Jesus Christ. But it's easy to
find out who these people are. because they find sin in others
and justify themselves by that. Our Lord said, you know, He spake
a parable that they, which are seeking to be justified in righteousness
by the law, they despise others. They despise others. When you
find somebody despising others because they are better than
they are, then you found a Pharisee. You found a Pharisee. So they
bring this woman, taken in adultery, to the Lord Jesus Christ. And
they had no understanding. They had no pity. They had no
feelings of sorrow for her. But they delighted in putting
this lady on the spot, this woman on the spot. They think by pointing
out the darkness in others, they can cause their own light to
shine just a little bit brighter. But our Lord Jesus Christ said
He was the light of the world. And the Lord is teaching. He's
sitting down in the temple. And he's teaching, and he's rudely
interrupted. They interrupt our Lord Jesus
Christ. They rudely interrupt him. And
they say this, and this is what they said in verse 3, they brought
a woman, taken in adultery, and he's got all these people around
him, and he's teaching them, sitting down. And they walk right
up, and they interrupt him, and they bring this woman, sit him
right in front of him, and everybody else around them. She'd get through
this crowd of people, and they'd gather around here, and they'd
take this woman, take an adultery, and set her right in the middle
of all these people. And, oh my, and they say unto
him, Master, he's teaching, and they interrupt him. They say,
Master, this woman was taken in an adultery in the Barak.
And they said, Now Moses commanded us. Moses commanded us that should
be stoned, but what do you got to say about it? What do you
got to say about it? What do you got to say? What
do you got to say? This is a problem. They put to
our master, the scribes in Ferreti, who sought to attempt him, and
it says there in verse six, they sought to attempt him that they
might have accusation to hold against him. Now, the law of
Moses, He was actually right. But oh my, they came and they
knew, they knew the gentleness and graciousness of our Lord
Jesus Christ. He shall not cry nor lift up
to cause His voice to be heard. But these fellas, they didn't
care. They thought they could compel
Him to condemn Himself and find fault with him by opposing the
law of Moses. Now, here's the problem. If you
don't stone this woman, and if you don't stand up for the law
of Moses, and you don't stand up for all the rituals and ceremonies
and the commandments of Moses, what are you going to do? What
are you going to do? And, oh my, God help us to learn something
here. Here we have the claims of the
law. And the workings of grace and
grace in the Lord Jesus Christ come face to face right here.
Now, it's the truth. It's the truth. She is a sinner
under the law. Oh, she's a sinner. You can't
deny it. She is taken in the very act of adultery. And the
law did command her to be stoned to death. And that's another
terrible fact that cannot be denied at all. But it also tells
us, as far as the law was concerned, she was guilty. She was without
hope. She was without anything at all
that could do anything for her. Now, we know that whatsoever
things the law says, whatever the law says, it says to them
that are under the law. And these fellows are under the
law. They brought this woman under the law. It says, every
mouth may be stopped, and the whole world become guilty before
God. But here's the reason the law
was given, by the law is the knowledge of sin. And they brought
her to the law, and the law said, yes, you're a sinner. And when
you go to the law, the law says, yes, you're a sinner. You're
a sinner. And I tell you, where there's
guilt, whether you feel it or not, the law can't do nothing
but condemn you and find fault with you. That's all he can do.
The wages of sin is death. And so here these fellows, these
accusers are coming, clamoring for her death. But where's the
adulterer at? They got the woman, but where's
the adulterer at? You know, it says that if you
catch, you know, there's got to be two people in adultery.
But they just brought the woman. They didn't do anything about
the man. And I'm going to tell you why. I think it's probably
one of their fellows, the leader of their synagogue, most likely.
But according to the law, they both must be stoned to death.
Both of them do. Where was the man at? And oh,
why were they so anxious to get the Lord to condemn this woman
and weren't concerned for her companion in sin? That's all
religion can do. All it can do is condemn you,
find fault with you. And all the law can do is condemn
you. And I'll tell you the reason why they weren't concerned for
her companion in sin. Because man is guilty, he's got
a prejudice, he's willfully ignorant of any ability that unfits him. He does not have the ability,
he does not have the right, not only to obey and keep God's law,
but he's got ability to administer justice to a fellow man without
the right motives. That's what happens. I'll tell
you, you know, our Lord said it like this, Judge not lest
you be judged. He said with what measure you
meet, you're going to get measured the same way. You got a bushel
basket and you want to measure people by your standard, then
God's going to turn around and measure you by that standard
that you judge other people. And that's what these fellows
done. They didn't care about Him. But they cared about her. And that shows that they don't
have the ability whatsoever to administer the law or justice
at all. And oh, God help a man. God help
a man who wants to go around condemning everybody. But what
a terrible, terrible lot the accusers under the law are. The
self-righteous Pharisee. Oh, and I'll tell you, all of
us has been there. All of us has been there. God
help us not to go back. But oh, what an awful lot the
world is. Oh, the world is awful accuser. And the flesh, this old flesh,
this old fallen nature of ours, what an awful, awful lot it is
to accuse us. And then the devil and the self-righteous
Pharisee. Oh, all these things are accusers
to us. But now, oh my, she's guilty.
She's a sinner under the law, as all of us are. But look what
happens now. Oh my! The law says stoner. Ain't that
what they said? Now Moses under the law, verse
5, commanded us, commanded us that such should be stoned. What
do you say? What do you say? Oh, look back
over here in John chapter 1. Keep John 8 now. Look in John
chapter 1. Look in verse 17. Oh, there was
a sinner under the law. There was a sinner under the
law. You know, the law is a horrible,
horrible taskmaster. All you can do under the law
is sin. The law, all it can do is condemn
you and find you guilty. But, oh my, thank God that Grace... Look what it said here in verse
17. The law was given by Moses. And that's right, God used the
law as given by Moses. But listen to this, but grace,
free grace, eternal grace, sovereign grace, electing grace, enabling
grace, all-powerful grace, came by Jesus Christ. And not only
that, but truth, absolute truth, perfect truth, glorious truth,
eternal truth, came by Jesus Christ. Oh my, ain't you grateful
that grace and truth came by him? Oh, the law says stone her,
but what do you say? And here's they got him, said,
now this is what they thought. If you don't stone her and you
let her go, then you're against the law of Moses. So how in the
world are you going to deal with this woman and deal with the
law at the same time? You know, they found so much
fault with our Lord Jesus Christ because they said He's a friend
of publicans and sinners. But what a contrast here. The
law commands us. And you, what a contrast here. Now, we know that the law is
holy, it's just, and it's good. Oh, my. It says, condemn. What
are you going to say? What are you going to say, Lord?
Can you say, live? When the law says die, Lord,
can you say, let this woman live, and the law says die? Can you
do that? And how our Master, how our Lord
Jesus handles this question is of vital, vital interest to us. First of all, it in some measure
reveals His own character. Secondly, His attitude towards
the law. Thirdly, to these accusers. And
fourth, it reveals how he deals with this miserable, guilty sinner
taken in the act of adultery. So how's he going to deal with
this? How's he going to deal with it? Oh, what a mystery. How our Lord answered this question,
what says that? You know what the first thing
He did? Look what it says. They said in verse six, tempting
him that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down with
his finger and wrote on the ground and listened to them as though
he didn't hear a word they said. He ignored them. He ignored them. Now, you know, let me ask you
a question. How many here knows how many
times God spoke, writing with his finger? He did it twice. He did it at
Belshazzar's big party. He wrote on the wall, Thou art
weighed in the balance and are found wanting. And the first
time he wrote, he wrote the law with his finger on those ten
commandments and gave them to Moses. So our Lord stooped him
down. Now let me tell you what that
means. That means when our Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth
the first time, He came down in humiliation. Our Lord died
on the cross. That's the reason He came into
this world. But for Him to be identified with us, for Him to
become flesh, for Him to become a human being, for Him to become
a man, do you know how humiliating that is? For Him to become a
man in this world? That God Himself, who inhabits
eternity and measures the waters in the haul of His hand, who
declared the end from the beginning, the God Almighty who cast the
stars in the heavens and calls them by name, that God Almighty
would come down here and assume a body like ours. Do you know
how far down He had to come? And He stooped down. What a stoop
it was for our Savior to come into this world. And I tell you
what, these people, when they saw Him, they saw just a man. And the only way you'll see Him
as God manifest in the flesh is for Christ to make Himself
to know that, you to know that. But, oh my, He stooped down.
He didn't say a thing to them. He never answered them. He got up out of where He was
sitting, and He stooped down and started writing with His
fingers. Wonder what he wrote. Wonder what he wrote. Well, I'll
tell you what I think. I'll tell you what I think he
wrote. I think he wrote, Love God with all your heart, mind,
body, and soul, first commandment. And that's what he come down
to do. We weren't able to love God, but he was able to love
God enough for all of us. He obeyed the law. We never did,
but He obeyed the law for all of us. You know, I've never loved
God like I should and never will love God like I should until
I get to glory. But Christ, because He stooped
down and became identified with me, He was able to do everything
He did and identified with us that what He did, we did. He
loved God, we loved God. He obeyed God, we obeyed God.
When He stooped down, we come down with Him. And I tell you what, you remind
me of the law, I'm the one that wrote it. You remind me of the law, I'm
the one that wrote this law. And that's why I said, listen,
I didn't come to destroy it, but to fulfill it. And oh, look
what it says in verse 7. Now, he's stooping down. He's
ignoring me. He ain't said a word to him.
Look what he says next. They continued asking him. You're
going to listen to us whether you like it or not, what they're
saying. You're going to have to pay attention to us. You're
going to have to listen to us. We're not going to let you get
by without that. And, oh my, so when you know,
he stooped down as though he heard them not in verse 6. So
they continued asking him. Listen, we're not going... That's
like, you know, a parent talking to the kid. Now, you're going
to listen to me, one way or another. That's what they're saying to
Christ. You're going to hear what we've got to say, and you're
going to deal with this situation we've presented to you. We've
got here, and we're going to show you how wrong you are, and
we're going to show you. But, oh, He answered them not.
Oh, they thought, well, we've got Him where we want Him. He's
trying to figure out a way to answer this question. And then the scripture says,
he lifted up himself. Lifted up himself. Oh my. And look what he says
next. Verse 7. That's what I tell you. He wrote down there, love God
with all your heart. And look what he said. He that's
without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. He wrote down there, love, wrote
love. He might have wrote just what
was said in Daniels. But anyway, it says he rose up,
got up, and he said, listen, if you don't have any sin, you
pick up a rock and you throw the first one at her. You throw
the first one. There was one person in that
whole group that could have thrown a stone at her and been perfectly
right in it, and that's the Lord Jesus Himself. But He said, you
that are without sin, go ahead, pick your rocks up. Pick your
rocks up. And oh my! And while they were
doing that, He stooped down again. Stooped down again. You know
what I think He said this time? Love your neighbor even as yourself. And he's dealing with heart issues
here. He's dealing with heart issues
here. And oh, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And
oh, listen, when he said, you without sin cast the first stone,
and he stooped down and wrote on the ground, and they which
heard it, they heard it, that you without sin pick up a rock. And look what it says now. And
being convicted, being convicted, Oh, my. Oh, my. He turned the white light of
God's law on to him. You think you know something.
You think you can stand inside of God's law. You think you can
face God's law. You can face it for her. But
what about you? You want to condemn her, but
what about your condemnation? Well, you won't deal with her
sin. Let's deal with your sin. That's what our Lord's doing
here. And oh, my. They had no right. They were
sinners themselves. And now, Lord Jesus Christ is
the only one who can administer the law. They saw the ugly, ugly
mote of uncleanness in this woman's eye, but not the beam of hypocrisy
and self-righteousness and envy and pride and malice in their
own. It's easy to see somebody else's
sin, but the Lord deals with our sin. Our sin. Oh, my. Everybody, I remember
years ago, and people still say this, you know, God's got to
give everybody a chance. And I remember, well, everybody
say, well, if you all believe in election and you believe in
God's sovereignty and everything, and what about all these people
live in India and what about people in China? We're not talking
about, we're talking, we're preaching to a congregation we're dealing
with. I'm not preaching in China. That's what our Lord deals with.
He deals with people that He's facing. And that's what these
fellas are doing. He lifted Himself up. And I'll
tell you what, and He deals with our sin. All of you fellas that
are here right now, I brought this woman. If you don't have
any sin, you throw a rock. And all die. And I'll tell you,
whose sin here was greater, hers or theirs? Self-righteousness has to beat
the horriblest sin that a human being commit. Self-righteousness,
and you know what self-righteousness does? It takes its righteousness
and pits it against Christ's righteousness. You know, there's
only one righteousness in this universe that God will accept
a man on, and that's the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
for a man to have his own righteousness, and pitted against God. You're
talking about the high, that's like a fella, that's like a fella
taking the lid off of a sewer and crawling down in that
sewer and getting all that stink and all that rotten and all that
stuff on him and then get down and say, boy, don't I look good,
don't I smell good, ain't I wonderful? And that's what it is in the
sight of God for a self-righteous person to stand in the sight
of God. God said, it's a stink in my nostrils. That's a horrible... You think about self-righteousness.
Self-righteousness. Oh, it's a horrible, horrible
thing. Oh, to pit yourself. And another
thing, too, freewillism. That's the highest treason you
can commit against God Almighty. To think that your will has enough
power to stand against God, to say that I've got rights, to
say that I've got power, to say that I've got a choice, to say
that I'm free to do... Listen, that's the highest treason
you can have against God Almighty. My will's more powerful than
your will. My righteousness is better than
yours. My strength is greater than yours.
Oh, what an awful thing it is. Free will is self-righteousness. It's a horrible thing. But oh,
my. Our Lord came, and I'll tell
you what He said, He lives without sin. Our Lord came to deal with
sin. And what is sin? It's a nature.
You know, a man don't become a liar when he tells a lie. He
tells a lie because he's born a liar. And a man ain't going to become
a thief when he steals something. He steals because he's a thief.
And God deals with the issue that causes you to do what you
do. You know, everybody wants to cut the limbs off the tree
and all that, you know, but Christ goes to the root. Sin. It's a nature. We do what we
do because we are what we are. And God deals with the what?
He deals with this thing called sin. And I tell you what, it's
like Job. Oh, Job said, Lord, I heard about
you. And everybody else, oh, listen, I know God. I heard about
you. Oh, my, I see you. Oh, God, I've
seen you. What's the matter? I hate myself. I abhor myself. And I repent
in dust and ashes. When God makes you to know your
own sin, you yourself, right then and there, you say, Oh God,
how in the world, how in the world can you save a wretch like
me and stay holy and just and righteous? How can you do that?
Oh my! So Christ deals with sin. He said, Thou shalt call his
name Jesus, for he shall, shall save his people from their what? Sin. He deals with the nature,
and this is what I love about the gospel. The gospel tells
us how God can be just and put away our sin and stay just and
righteous and save us all in the same stroke. I love that. Oh, listen. He came, grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ. And oh my, and you know, and
that's this hard issue that God deals with, is He gives us a
new nature. He brings into existence a person
who never existed before. That's what happens when He deals
with sin. He puts sin away by the sacrifice
of Himself. He put sin away. He died under
sin once, but He lives under God. And we died under sin in
Him. And we make partakers of the
divine nature. And when He saves us from our
sin, He makes us conscious of sin from then on in a different
way than we ever looked at it before. And He gives us this
new nature. And He brings into existence
a person who never existed before. And that new nature, is the one
that commutes with God, relates to God, can understand the scriptures.
It's a spiritual nature. And if he don't give you that,
you'll never understand a thing in the world God ever done. Ain't
that right? Oh, my. Then look what a conviction
they had now. Look what it says in verse nine.
Now, he said he's without sin. And look what it said in verse
nine. And they which heard it being convicted. That word conviction
means convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt. And you know, if
a fellow gets convicted of a crime, they put him in jail. Well, God
convicts us of our sin. And look what it says, by their
own conscience. By their own conscience. They
went out one by one. And all the eldest, the oldest
one there, he says, oh my. He had more sense than the rest
of them. The last one to go was the youngest. But anyway, they
went out one by one. Instead of standing as accusers,
they find themselves accused. Instead of judging, they find
themselves judged. And they went out one by one. They didn't all leave at once.
One left, and another said, Boy, he's leaving here. He knows something. He heard something. I believe
I'll go with him. Another said, I believe I'll
go with him, too. And the next thing you know, there ain't nobody
else standing there. And I'll tell you what, where
was their courage now? Where was their boldness now?
They could face her sins, but they can't face their own sins.
They wanted to deal with her sins, but they can't deal with
their own. Here's where the wisdom of man,
God makes foolishness the wisdom of man. Here's a perfect illustration.
Right here is the wisdom of God making foolish the wisdom of
men. These fellas thought, boy, we're
wise, we got Him. But the wisdom of God makes foolish
these men. And oh, my. And I tell you, look
what the confidence. Oh, they went out one by one
by one. And you know, when it says here
they were convicted by their own conscience. Now, this wasn't
Holy Ghost conviction. If they'd have been convinced
of their sin, They would have come to Christ, fell right before
Christ, right then and there at that very spot. But their
conscience bothered them, and that's the only thing that ever
bothered them. And let me tell you something about that. Don't
never trust your conscience. Just trust the Word of God. Your
conscience will lie to you. Your conscience will let you
do things that you shouldn't do, or it will condemn you for
something you ought not to do. Just like you read this morning. The law of the Lord is perfect,
converting the soul, making wise the simple. Oh, my. And that's the whole Word of
God. Oh, my. Look what happens now in verse
9 again. He stooped down and again, and
they left all from the eldest to the last. And listen to this. And Jesus was left alone and
the woman standing in the midst. And just two people left. The woman in Christ. What a wonderful place to be,
along with the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's the way God deals
with us, one at a time, over our sin and where we're at. Oh, and I'll tell you what, the
law can show you your sin, but by being along with Christ, Can
your sin be put away? And you know, the real use of
the law is to really bring us to Christ. And what a wonderful,
blessed position to be in. They all left, but she never
made a move. She stood still. She knows she
is guilty. Knows she is guilty. And oh,
the love of Christ constrains us. And look what happens now. Look what happens. And when Jesus had lifted Himself
up. Now let me say a thing or two
about that. The first time I believe He stooped,
was like I said, He came to stoop. He lifted Himself up, because
He is the one who fulfilled the law. He upheld the law all the
days of His own life. When He stooped down the second
time, that was typical of a picture of Him going to the cross. And
when He lifted Himself up the second time, He had already been
to the cross. He's standing on resurrection
ground. And oh, this is what happens now. And when Jesus had
lifted Himself up and saw none but the woman. Oh my, you know when Christ looks
at you, and He sees you, you know right then and there, He's
the only one who sees you. And when He sees you, look what
He says now. Woman, where are those unaccused? Where's
everybody that brought you here and, you know, wanted to stone
you? Where's all them people that
wanted you to die? Where are they all at right now?
Where are they at? Where's all them people that
accused you? Where are they at, Lord? Where are they at? Oh,
my. Where are your accusers? Oh,
my. Oh, my. Hath no man condemned
thee? He says, you know, looked around.
He said, where's all them fellows that condemned you? And that
word condemnation here means it's the same word as judgment.
Where's all those people that passed judgment on you? Where's
all them people that condemned you? What's going on with them
now? Where they all at? Where they
all at? And, oh my, we're those not accusers. And it's the Lord we have to
deal with. It's the Lord. Nobody else. You don't have to
deal with the preacher. You don't have to deal with one
another. We have one person to deal with, and that's the Lord
Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you what, when
the Lord Jesus Christ says, we're those not accusers, when the
law comes, to accuse us. Can it? Without Christ, it certainly
can. Oh, my. You know, look what he said. She said, Lord, no man, Lord. That's the first thing she called
him, Lord. Those folks never called him
Lord. But she says, no man, Lord. No man, Lord. Oh, my. Truly, truly, the Lord Jesus
is the friend of sinners. You know, salvation, pure salvation,
look what He said in verse 11. And Jesus said unto her, neither
do I judge thee, neither do I condemn thee. Oh my. Let me show you something in
Romans chapter 8. Let me show you something. You know, Romans 8 says this,
There is therefore no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
Look here with me in Romans 8.33. This is where we're at in Christ. And oh my, there's nobody here
to accuse me, Lord. There's nobody. You know, you
imagine what she felt like when they brought this woman You know,
oh my goodness, she said, I'm going to die today. That's the
first thing she thought, I'm going to die today. They're going
to kill me today. They're going to stone me to
death today. She went there thinking that this was the day she'd die. This would be the day she'd die.
That the law would absolutely destroy her and those self-righteous
Pharisees would destroy her. But look what it says in Romans
8.33. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's Christ that died. It's God
that justified. It's God that justified us. And Christ justified this woman. Who is he that condemneth? That's
what he said. Is there anybody here to condemn
you, Lord? Anybody here to condemn you? And oh, here's the reason
there ain't no condemnation. It's Christ that died. Christ
had died. Huh? Yeah, rather, not only like
that, but He's risen again. And that's even at the right
hand of God. So listen to this. Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation do it. Persecution
do it. Peril do it. No, no. And look, go back over in John
11 with me. And look at this. She said, Were thine accusers,
lady? Were thine accusers, woman? And
you know, we don't have any idea who her name is. It don't make
any difference. She said, No, man, Lord, there's not a man
here nowhere that's accusing me now. There's no accusation
against me. Nobody's condemned me. And I,
Lord, said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee. I don't judge
you. I don't find any fault with you.
I don't do it. And he says, Go and sin no more.
And it was after he lifted himself up, he's standing on resurrection
ground. And I'll tell you what, he's
risen. That's why he was delivered for our offenses. But he is raised
for our justification. The law can come to me and can
find no fault with me. You know why? Because Christ
fulfilled it. You know, and Scott Richardson
said something years and years ago, and it was just like a lightning
bolt out of heaven for me. He says, when you've got a conscience,
a screaming conscience, wanting your conscience to be satisfied,
and religion can't satisfy it, church membership can't satisfy
it, living right can't satisfy it, keeping the law can't satisfy
it, and when your conscience starts screaming, Wanting satisfaction,
you know, the only thing that can quieten your conscience is
a perfect sacrifice. And when you get a perfect sacrifice,
you'll never ask for nothing else. And you know where that
perfect sacrifice is? It's in Christ. And my conscience
cannot accuse me because my conscience has been satisfied. It can't
ask for nothing else. It asks for Christ. Christ answers
my conscience. He sprinkled, you know, He sprinkled
our conscience from dead works with His own blood. The Holy
Spirit comes and He sprinkles us, and the Holy Ghost does.
That's what happens. That's why our conscience is
satisfied. Don't bother us. The law can
come and say, Oh, you've done this. No, I didn't. Christ died
to do deal with that issue. And the Holy Ghost comes along,
and this is what happens when you hear the gospel. And 1 Peter
chapter 1, it says this, that He sprinkled our conscience. And He takes the Holy Ghost,
comes and takes the blood of Christ and sprinkles our conscience.
And that's why when sin is put away, your conscience cannot
ask for any more. Huh? Does your conscience, when
the law comes, it can't find no fault with me. It cannot. I've kept all the commandments. And if there's a washing that
has to be done, I was washed in the blood of Christ and cleansed
by the Word of Christ, and He has perfected forever them that
are sanctified. Now, how can you be any better
than perfect? And you're completing him, the
head of all principalities. How can you be more complete
and perfect than being in Christ? Oh my. And he lifted himself
up. Oh my. Tomb has been made. The blood has been shed. And
listen to what he says to her. And go and sin no more. Now you
reckon he is telling her, now listen, you're going to go away
and you're going to have sinless perfection. No, no. What he said
is, don't go and do that same thing again. You know, the only people, the
only people in the world who knows what sin is, and you know,
we don't go out here and just openly say, well, listen, I'm
going to disobey Christ. I'm going to go out here and
do all this. And that's what he's telling her, saying, don't
you go and do this sin anymore. Don't you go and get yourself
in this situation anymore. I put your sin away. And that's
why, that's why our conscience, I mean, even when we sin, you
know where we go? We go to the same place this
woman did. We go to Christ. I don't have
to tell you my sin. I don't have to tell you what
I've done. I don't have to ask you what
you've done. I know who you are and I know what you've done.
How do I know? I'm just like you. That's why you don't have to
stand up and tell me how bad you've been. I know how bad you've
been. You don't have to stand up and
tell me what you've done in your past life. I know exactly what
you did in your past life. And you don't have to stand up
and tell me how good you are. And I tell you what, if you're
good, it's because Christ made you good. Huh? Oh, my. Oh, and what he's telling her
is, live to the glory of Christ. Live to His glory. Honor Him. Bless His holy name. Don't go
out here and live a life apart from Christ. Oh my, sin won't,
and what he's saying is sin won't be your master no more. Sin won't
have dominion over us. You know why sin don't have dominion
over us? Sin wants to have dominion over us. You know why sin don't
have dominion over us? Because we're not under law,
but we're under grace. And where sin abounded, what
happens? Grace did much more about. Oh, he said, go and sin no more.
And you know, he didn't say go and sin no more and I'll not
condemn you. That was no condemnation. There's no condemnation in Christ
right now. And this is what I love about
the Scriptures. Every time you read that word now, it means
now. It don't mean tomorrow. Every time you read it now, No
condemnation. Now! No condemnation. And every time I read that, that
means right now. Right now. Huh? Oh my. I've been where that woman's
been. I certainly have. And there was
nobody left but me and Christ. And that's a wonderful place
to be. And you know where we all want to be? We all want to
be. And right here this morning,
every one of us, has been alone with Christ and we had to hear
what Christ had to say to us and how he dealt with us in this
situation today. Today. And bless his holy name. Being alone with him. Being alone
with him. Nothing like it in this world.
The gospel. Our Father. Blessed be the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for your abundant mercy
and grace given us in him. Thank you for all the blessings,
spiritual blessings you've given us in Christ our Lord. Thank
you for allowing me to come here today and preach the gospel.
Thank you for the attention that the dear saints here gave me.
And Lord, bless their preacher, their pastor, as he goes and
labors in the gospel down in Danville. Keep him safe. Put a hedge about him. Keep him
safe till he can come back and worship again with his dear saints
of God. Bless these people. Cause them
to flourish and grow. Cause this church to grow in
numbers and cause it to flourish and bring forth fruit to your
glory. And Lord, we need you. Oh God, we need you. And as we
need you, oh Lord Jesus, we want you. We really, truly want you
for Christ's sake. Amen and Amen.