It's a delight to be here with
you tonight, and good to meet you for the first time. I've
known your pastor for some years, and we had, of course, the pleasure
of having him with us this last December. with Brother Eric Richards. It was a blessing to have him
preach to us there in different villages and in the church in
Merida. The church in Merida sends their
greetings to all the brethren here. Brother Scott was with
us about three years ago. Was it three years ago? Two years
ago. Okay, two years ago. I enjoyed
that very much also. Tonight, I would like you to
open your Bibles with me to John chapter 8. John chapter 8. And I would like to read the
first few verses Stop and then read some more verses. It says
in verse 1, Jesus went into the Mount of Olives, 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. He sat down and taught them.
What a blessing to be taught of God. to be taught of God. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal
Son of God, came into this world and He sat down and taught men
and women. What would He have been teaching?
It does not tell us in this passage, but it tells us in the whole
book what the Lord Jesus Christ taught. The Lord Jesus Christ
taught men what he is teaching today, what he is teaching today
by his preachers, by your pastor. If any man is sent of God, he
is teaching the Word of God. The Lord Jesus Christ taught
them how necessary it is that the Lord Jesus Christ teach each
and every one of us. If we only hear the words of
a man as he stands and preaches, It will be of no benefit to us.
But the Scriptures say, I was talking to your pastor earlier
and he said they are all going through Isaiah chapter 54. And
I read that again this afternoon, Isaiah 54. It says there, they
shall all be taught of God. Those whom the Lord Jesus Christ
came to save are going to be taught of God. How necessary
it is to hear God's Word to hear the Lord Jesus Christ speak. To Him to speak to our hearts.
To Him to teach us. And it says all that are taught
of God are going to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't
fail. He doesn't come on a... It's not a possibility salvation. He comes to save His people by
the preaching of His Word. It comes in power. And the Lord
Jesus Christ is teaching who He is. He is God. He's teaching what we are. What
we are by nature. Man has an idea by nature of
who he is. Good people. I'm a good person. Men have an idea that they have
something with which to come before God and please God. That
has to be dispelled. That has to be torn down. God
has to teach a person in His Word who we are by nature, and
what we are by nature, and what we need in mercy for God to do
for us. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ, no
one could teach or preach the gospel like Him. The Lord Jesus
Christ preached the gospel with more authority, more love, more
unction from the Holy Spirit than any man. He taught the very
words of God. He is the Word of God incarnate.
But he taught them. And he was, I would say, the
master illustrator. The master illustrator. gets
their point across a lot of times when they illustrate what they're
saying. I love to hear your pastor preach.
I love the illustrations he used. He told me one this afternoon
or this morning. What a blessing it was. But men
who are most effective teach with illustrations. And our Lord
Jesus Christ illustrated his teachings. Now, as he was teaching,
Like I said, he's not teaching anything different than what
men are hearing today through a God-sent preacher. As he was
teaching them, it says there, verse 3, "...and the scribes
and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery." Remember this, that nothing happens by accident.
This woman being brought in before the Lord Jesus Christ at this
time, and as it were, interrupting this lesson, this teaching, was,
I believe, an illustration. The Lord Jesus Christ is going
to illustrate that which was telling the people. These women bring in this woman,
taken in adultery. The scribes and the Pharisees
in the Scriptures, they are representative of the law. the law of God, the
holy law of God given to Moses on Mount Sinai. God's law is
holy law. It's just. And God is holy. And the law of God demands that
the soul that sins, it shall surely die. That is the condition
of every one of us by nature. It puts us in our place. Sinners. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. They are all gone astray. Everyone
has gone after his own imaginations. And the law of God, when it is
used by the Holy Spirit, when it is used properly, brings a
man and exposes a man for who he is. Up until that time that
the Holy Spirit strips us from our own righteousness, and strips
us from our own goodness, and shows us who we are and lays
us, as it were, naked before God. A man is going about justifying
himself. Even those who are not religious. When I was telling, I can't remember
who you were talking about, but I think I was talking to you,
Brother Clay, talking about this notorious Drug dealer in Mexico
and they interviewed him they captured him and they interviewed
him and he's guilty of all kinds of crimes and murder and he was
telling the reporter that he's not as bad as Others because
then he's not into kidnapping Men are going to justify themselves
and They justify themselves for I'm not so bad. I'm not as bad
as this other person But when the law of God, when
the Holy Spirit takes and uses the law of God and strips us,
the law was never given to save any man. The man tried to take
the law and say, okay, here's a recipe, here's instructions,
and I'll do these things and I'll come before God and He'll
accept me. You know, in Luke chapter 16,
this rich young man came up before the Lord and he said, What good
thing must I do? Let's look at that in Luke chapter
16. I'm going to have to look at it in my Spanish
Bible. I'm using the English Bible,
and nothing is in the right place. It's all in the wrong place. Well, it's actually Luke 18. Luke 18,
verse 18. Luke 18, verse 18. And a certain ruler asked him,
saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why
callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that
is God. Thou knowest the commandments.
Do not commit adultery. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do
not bear false witness. Honor thy father and thy mother.
The Lord Jesus Christ is using of the ten commandments the second
five commandments. And this man, listen to what
he says. He said, All these have I kept
from my youth up. Did you see that? He said, All
these have I kept. The reason a man can say, All
these have I kept from my youth up, is because he has not seen
the spirituality of the law. The Holy Spirit has not shown
him who he is. He says, All these have I kept
from my... I'm not so bad. I'm pretty good according to
this. The Apostle Paul said this, that religious ruler. He said,
according to the law, I was blameless. No one can say to me, Paul, you
failed on this commandment. Now, that's a pretty strict obedience. But the Lord Jesus Christ said
this. He said, if your righteousness,
if your justice before God does not exceed that of the scribes
and the Pharisees, ye will in no wise enter into the kingdom
of God." Men by nature are sinners. They are sinners by nature, sinners
by practice, sinners by choice. And the scriptures say, we sin
like we drink water. We are just so full of sin. like a sponge that's dipped in
water. There's not a place on that sponge that's dipped in
water. There's not a place on that sponge that you cannot touch
and get water. Feel it. That's the same with
man. That's the same with man. We're
full of sin. We're full of sin. And unless
the Holy Spirit, by His sovereign power, God comes and in the preaching
of the gospel, exposes a man and convinces a man of sin. He'll never know he's a true
sinner. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save true sinners. What kind of sinners? True sinners.
True sinners. Real sinners. They can't do anything
but sin. That's all they do is sin. The Lord Jesus Christ was speaking
to these people, teaching them, and the Pharisees and the scribes
brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery, it says. These scribes
and these Pharisees apprehended this woman, and I'll speak in
a moment about the man. They did not bring the man. They
brought the woman taken in adultery. Adultery is one of those Ten
Commandments. I shall not commit adultery.
And a man may think, well, I'm not guilty of that sin. I'm not guilty of committing
adultery. Not knowing that all of us by
nature are idolaters, and God's people are spiritual idolaters. Did I say idolaters? Adulterers.
spiritual adultery. The physical adultery is when
a man is with a woman that's not his wife. And the spiritual
adultery is when God's people, who were given to Him before
the foundation of the world, who were espoused to the Lord
Jesus Christ, are ourselves united to one who is not God. We go
after false gods. And we unite our soul to that
false guy. And we're guilty of spiritual
adultery. And unless the Lord Jesus Christ
comes and convinces a man that he's guilty, he won't see it. You know, in John chapter 16,
the Lord Jesus Christ said this, when the Holy Spirit comes and
convinces men of sin, He's going to convince men of sin in this
respect. In John 16, verse 8 says, And when he is come, speaking
of the comfort of the Lord Jesus Christ and speaking of the Holy
Spirit, and when he is come, he will reprove the world of
sin and of righteousness and of judgment, of sin Not because
he stole a watermelon. Not because he did some kind
of thing. Some people usually have some
kind of great sin in their mind that troubles them and torments
them. But of sin with respect to this
point, you have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. You
have not come to Him. You have not joined to Him. You have not united to Him. You're
going about seeking false gods. You're going about worshipping
false gods, worshipping your own will. That's when a man is
convinced of sin. When God convinces him that everything
I am is sin. Well, the law was never given
to save anyone. The law was given to strip us,
to show us our need of a Savior, to know our need of mercy. Anybody that goes to the law
for salvation, the only thing the law can do is condemn you.
Cursed! Cursed is everyone that continueth
not in all the things that are written in the law to do them.
Not to give them an understanding and say, well, I agree with it,
but to actually do it and do it Perfectly. That's what God
requires. Absolute perfection. Obedience. From the cradle all the way to
the day we die. Perfect obedience. Perfect love
to God. Perfect love to our brothers.
Perfect love to man. None of us have ever kept that.
The law was not given to save anyone, but to show us our need. The Apostle says the law was
our schoolmaster. What does a schoolmaster do?
He teaches you something. The law is our schoolmaster to
bring us to Christ. And when the Holy Spirit takes
the Word and convinces a man of sin, He brings him exactly
as this woman, who is a picture of all God's people given to
Him in eternity past. All of God's people who were
given to Him in election before the world began We are given
to Him as His bride. He is a jealous God. He is our husband, and we are
His bride. We are given to Him before the
foundation of the world, and we have all gone astray. And
we are all brought to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
right place, because He is the Judge. The Lord Jesus Christ
said, The Father judges no man, but has delivered all judgment
unto the Son. That is in John chapter 5, verse
25. The Father judges no man, but
hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all should honor,
honor their Son, believe on the Son, believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, receive the Lord Jesus Christ, even as they honor the
Father. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not the Father which is in him. The Lord Jesus Christ
is the judge of all universe. And the judge of earth will do
right. Will do right. They brought this
woman, taking an adultery, and brought her in front of the Lord
Jesus Christ and put her before the Lord Jesus. There's all the
people. All the people listening to the Lord teaching. And they
bring this woman in. And I believe they didn't give
her opportunity to dress either. There she was. Imagine, there
she is in her shame. There she is in her low. She's low and she's in her shame.
That's a tough thing, isn't it? To be exposed. Every one of us
by nature have a facade. We put a front. but to be exposed
before God who we really are. Who we really are. Imagine the
shame. And there she is in the midst.
And they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery
in the very act. This woman was taken in adultery
in the very act. Well, if she was taken in adultery
in the very act, And the law commands that the man and the
woman should both be stoned. That's what the law commands.
The man and the woman should both be stoned. But here, we
only find the woman. We don't find the man. It tells
us in the Scripture that these men that brought this woman,
they were seeking to discredit the Lord Jesus Christ. They seek
Him to put a trap, as in the question, how can God be just
and still forgive sin? That's a question that needs
to be answered. Well, let me first deal with
this issue. The woman was caught and brought
to the Lord Jesus Christ in adultery, not the man. I see here, as from
the beginning, this woman represents the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ. What we see here is God's sovereign mercy. God's sovereign
mercy to his people. You see, though all are guilty,
all are guilty and come short of the glory of God, though all
men by nature have gone away become sinners in Adam by practice
and choice, yet not all men are brought to the Lord Jesus Christ
in this world. Not all men are exposed. Just
ask around. Are you a real sinner? Oh, I'm
not so bad. That's because the law hasn't
brought them, the gospel hasn't brought them to the feet of the
Lord Jesus Christ. I see their sovereign mercy. He has mercy
on whom he'll have mercy. And he has compassion on whom
he'll have compassion. This man perhaps thought, I've
got away with it. Can you imagine? Imagine what
he might have thought. I've got away with it. And men
think in their evil doing that because a lightning bolt doesn't
strike them right then, I've got away with it. That's what
men think. I've got away with it. God's
not looking. But men's feet in due time are
going to slip. in due time. And listen, salvation
is to be brought before the Lord Jesus Christ today. If we are
found in this position before the Judge of all earth in that
last day, and He hasn't brought us to Himself in this day, we'll
hear a totally different thing. You'll hear, depart from me into
outer darkness. with the Lord Jesus Christ, this
one was brought to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ in this
day. Today is the day of salvation. Oh, that the Lord would speak
to someone here tonight and strip us of our own self-righteousness
and our own self-confidence and show us who we are by nature
and show us that we need mercy from the Lord Jesus Christ. The
question is, how can the Lord Jesus Christ say He said, think
not that I've come to destroy the Law and the Prophets. He
said, don't think that I came to do away with what's written
in the Scriptures. I didn't come to do away with
what Moses wrote. I came to establish what Moses
wrote. Religious people seem to think
that God in the Old Testament is an angry God, and God in the
New Testament, well, He's more lax because they come to this
passage. They say He dealt differently.
No, he hasn't. God has always dealt one way
with sinners. His people in Christ Jesus. If a person is not in Christ
Jesus, the wrath of God is going to fall on him. They said, this woman was caught
in the very act. Now, Moses and the law commanded
us that such should be stoned, but what sayeth thou? What do
you say? They surely thought that they
had the Lord Jesus Christ, wisdom incarnate, as if it were with
his back against the wall. Okay, how is he going to resolve
this? He said, I came to seek and save that which is lost.
He is called the friend of sinners. Look at him. He is eaten with
publicans and sinners. Well, if he says stoner, we will
discredit him there. And if he says, let her go, we'll
say, uh-huh, he's not honoring God's law. Thinking, as it were,
if they're going to somehow or other stump God in his wisdom. But they're speaking to the wisdom
of God. You know, God's law is holy,
just. And God's law must be honored. God is holy. It does not contain
stipulation of mercy. God's law says do and live. Do this and live. You want to
live by the law? It's perfect. It's holy. It's
just. If you're going to come before
God in the doing of the law, it must be perfect. And none
of us have ever kept the law of God. But it's perfect. The weakness is not in the law,
the weakness is in us, our flesh. None of us could keep that law. But the Lord Jesus Christ, He
is going to show how He can be just and justify His church. Just and justify His people. They said, what do you say? Now
it says here, they said this tempting him, verse 6, this they
said tempting him that they might have to accuse him. But notice
that little word right there. It says, but Jesus. But Jesus. How wonderful it is
to hear that word. Notice in Ephesians chapter 2,
you know the text well. It says, And you who were dead
in sins, you happy quickened, who were dead in trespasses and
sins, were in times past ye walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among
whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others, but
God. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love with where he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
are you saved. It says here in our text, but
Jesus. But Jesus. The angel said, Ye
shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from
their sins. That's what he does. How does
he save his people from their sins? How can he save someone
like me, this woman who is caught by the law of God, who is exposed
for who I am? How can he save me from my sins? The penalty of my sins? The condemnation
of my sins? the penalty of my sins? How can
He save me from the power of sin? How can the Lord Jesus Christ
do that? Well, it says right here what
the Lord Jesus Christ did. But Jesus... Now remember, I
believe this is an illustration. I believe this is an illustration
of how He saves His people. They brought the woman, laid
her there in front of Him, and she is guilty. Waiting for the
stones to fly. Guilty. Knowing that any moment,
the sentence is going to pass and she's going to die. Notice
she didn't say anything. Notice she didn't say anything.
And that's exactly what God's law does when it gets a hold
of you. Whatsoever is written in the law is written that every
mouth may be stopped. Stop your mouth. Stop making
excuses. I am the way I am because I was
born in this family. I am the way I am because I was
raised this way. I am the way I am because it's
always blaming somebody else. The very first thing Adam did
when he fell was blame his wife. And that's how we're doing every
time. We're blaming somebody else. Not my fault. People like
to hear that. Not my fault. I was reading this
when Todd came down. reading this magazine had all
this problems and towards the end it said uh... it's not your
fault i felt so good it wasn't my fault you feel so good when
it's not your fault somebody else's fault well as long as we're blaming
somebody else we cannot We will not be saved.
We are not coming before God as who we are. We are going to
come before the Lord Jesus Christ as who we are. He is going to
expose us. And it says here, But Jesus stooped
down. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior
of sinners, he shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save
his people from their sins. He did work out salvation. You know, all the works of God
are His doings. But when He spoke the world into
creation, He spoke it. He spoke it by His Word. But
when He worked the work of salvation, the Word became flesh. The Word became flesh and dwelt
among us. The Word became flesh, and in
that humanity, he did the work of salvation. It says here, he
stooped down. What a stoop! This woman is on
the floor, all these accusers are standing around, and the
Lord stoops down and identifies with this woman. He gets down
on the ground with this woman and identifies with her. What
a wonderful thing. The Lord Jesus Christ identified
with His people. The eternal Son of God, the Creator
of all things, He who made the worlds. In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And
it says there in John 1, verse 14, And the Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us. the eternal Son of God, the everlasting
I Am, He came into this world and was made a man. He was made a man. He identified. You know, when
the angels fell, when the angels fell and they followed Lucifer,
Satan, and the rebellion, the Scriptures tell us they don't
have a representative. He didn't identify with them.
God has kept, they fell, they are reserved in chains of darkness
until the day of judgment. And there is no representative
for them. God did not identify with them. God judged them and
says, into outer darkness. But when man fell, but when that
which is a lower creation of the angels, what is man, David
said, that thou art mindful of him? Let the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Eternal Son, become flesh. I've used this illustration several
times. You know, if you think of a, you have these springtime,
worms are coming out. Or is it springtime that worms
come out? All these worms. Just pick a worm. Any worm. John,
pick a worm. Look at that worm and think,
would I take the place of that worm? Would I come down And if
you could, would you take the place of that worm? I dare say
none of us would do that. We think we're a higher order
of creation. But did you hear that word creation?
Both of us are creatures. That's not a big jump. That's
not a big leap. The worm is a creation, and we're
creation. That's not a very big leap. But
for the eternal Son of God, to become man, what a condescension
that he should be made bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.
He came down and it says he stooped down, he identified with her,
and notice he did something. And with this finger wrote on
the ground as though he heard them not. Here's the law represented
by these men demanding a sentence of death. She is guilty. There is evidence. And he stooped
down and he writes on the ground as though he heard them not.
The only other time we have in the Scriptures where God wrote
with His finger was on the Mount when the Lord gave the Ten Commandments
to Moses. The law must be established. In order for the Lord Jesus Christ
to save any man, that law must be honored. God's law must be
honored, must be obeyed. And the Lord Jesus Christ, as
a man, He is God, but He is truly man. As a man, He obeyed that
holy law. He obeyed that holy law perfectly. Every jot and every tittle. Jot
and tittle. I like to think of that jot and
tittle. You know, in Spanish you have a bunch of accents Little
squiggly lines on the letters. And those squiggly lines and
accents on the letter are very important. Because if they're
not on that particular letter, the word means something different.
And the Lord Jesus Christ, He came to fulfill the law exactly. Exactly what God requires. Not
only from the outward, but from the inward. From the heart. So
much that God the Father said, this is my beloved son in whom
I'm well pleased. He's the only one that has the
right, had the right to walk in the glory and take possession
of heaven. That law must be honored. And
listen, that law must be honored because we need that perfection. In order for God to receive you
before you have to have the righteousness of God himself. Our God is a
consuming fire. He is holy, holy, holy. And no sin could be in His presence.
He is a consuming fire. We must have the righteousness
of God Himself. And the Lord Jesus Christ gives
us that. His name is Jehovah Zidkenu,
the Lord our righteousness. So that law must be established. I came not to destroy the law,
but to fulfill the law. Now, it says here, this they
said, tempting him. So verse 7 says, So when they
continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said to them,
He that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at
her. And again he stooped down and
wrote on the ground. Well, two things are required. Two things are required for any
man to be in God's presence. First, you must have a righteousness
that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees.
That righteousness is only the Lord Jesus Christ. You must be
in Christ Jesus. If any man be not in Christ Jesus,
he is lost. But secondly, we must have no
sin. Our sin must be put away. And
the Lord Jesus Christ, that perfect, perfect man. The Lord Jesus Christ,
when the hour was come, he came into this world not only to live
a perfect life and establish righteousness, but then to go
to the cross and die in the room instead of his people. In the
room instead of his people. He laid down His life for His
sheep. He's the Good Shepherd. The Good
Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. That is, there has to
be the satisfaction of God's holy law. Death. Without the shedding of
blood, there can be no remission of sins. He came into the world
and not only established righteousness, but it says in the Scriptures,
He who knew no sin was made sin for us. That is, God took the
sins of His people and He took our own sins in His own body
on the tree. He was made sin for us who knew no sin. And when He
was made sin for His people, God's justice fell on Him. God's
justice fell. Just as the man's death, He died
the death that I owe. He stooped again. You see, He
stooped the first time when He came into this world, but He
not only stooped when He came into the world, He was obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. What an ignominious
death! He did no evil, but yet when
God took the sins of His people and laid them on Him, He became
guilty. before God's holy law. And that
is why he died. But listen, he didn't die as
a victim. He said, I came to do this. I
came to do this. This is the will of the Father
that sent me. He said, no man takes my life
from me. He's not a victim. I put my life down. In Ephesians
chapter 10, Verse 5, it says, Wherefore,
when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldest not. What's he talking about there?
All the sacrifices that were offered in the Old Testament,
the lambs slain, the bullocks, all the blood that was shed in
the Old Testament, they never took away one sin. This is how the gospel was preached
in the Old Testament. And the people who were saved
before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ were saved when
they heard the gospel preached in those types and believed God
concerning the land that was to come. And we today are saved
when we hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and believe
God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God has come. Everybody that is ever saved
is saved by believing God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And no
one is saved apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He
said, verse 5, When he cometh into the world, speaking of the
eternal Son of God, He said, Sacrifice an offering thou wouldest
not, but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. What does that mean? He's had
no pleasure. God's got to be satisfied. God's got to be satisfied. If any man is going to come before
God, God's got to be satisfied. And the reason hell is forever,
separation from God is forever, it's punishment. Down there in Mexico where we
live, Roman Catholics believe that you could pay for your sins
with your punishment. But there's always separation
from God for eternity because God never gets satisfaction against
this holy nature of those sins. Every sin is committed against
God who is holy. It's infinite and requires an
infinite payment and can never be satisfied. He never says,
I have enough. When you go buy something, when
you purchase something, and they say, well, that's going to be
$21.50. If you were to put that $21.00 out and had $0.50 of the pennies, When you've got to counting 1,
2, 40, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, there's still no satisfaction. It's not there. But when that
last one goes down, there's satisfaction. That's the price. I have enough. The only satisfaction God is
ever going to get is the blood of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's not satisfied with the death of wicked. There is never enough. Always separate. Thou hast had
no pleasure in the sacrifices in the Old Testament. They never
took away one sin. Then said I, says the Lord Jesus
Christ, lo, I come in the volume of the book that is written of
me to do Thy will, O God. This volume of the book is talking
about the book of God's purpose from eternity past. It is written
of me. I come to do Thy will. What will? By which will are we saved? By
the will of God. It says here, let's see, I come to do thy will, O God.
Above, when He said, Sacrifice and offering, and burn offering
for sin, thou wouldst not, neither hast pleasure therein which are
offered by the law. Then said He, Lo, I come to do
thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that
I may establish the second. By the which will? By God's will.
We are sanctified. We are made holy. God's people
are made holy. We are sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. It had to
be holy. It had to be a perfect sacrifice.
In order to be accepted before God, it has to be a perfect sacrifice. And the Lord Jesus Christ, that
perfect, holy man, the one who did no sin, who knew no sin,
He was made sin for us. And He went to the cross and
bled and died. He humbled Himself again. This
is how He delivers His people from the curse of the law, from
the condemnation of it, from the penalty of the law. Now,
notice here in this text, it says in our text, He wrote again
on the ground, And they which heard it, being convinced of
their own conscience, went out One by one, beginning at the
eldest, even to the last, and Jesus was left alone, and the
woman standing in the midst. Do you see the power of God to
restrain these men? They were quick at the trigger.
They were ready to stone her. They were self-righteous. But
nothing can touch one of God's people. Nothing can touch one
of God's people. There is no condemnation. Not
one accusation will land. And he says here, he was left
in the midst, and when he had lifted himself up, when he had
lifted, the Lord Jesus Christ stooped, and notice what he did. And here's this woman, she hasn't
said a word. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't
ask her to believe in Him and He would save her. He didn't
ask any of that. He just did. And this woman is
looking at what he did. Is watching him. If you'll ever
see what the Lord Jesus Christ did, you'll do just like this
woman. If He shows you, you'll do just like this woman. When
the law of God convicts us and shuts our mouth, it says here,
when He was lifted up, when He lifted up, that is when we see
our sins have gone. When we see that the Lord Jesus
Christ, that perfect, holy Son of God came into this world,
established righteousness, He went to the cross and died. Oh,
but He didn't stay dead. When God had received satisfaction,
He was lifted up from the grave on the third day. He's raised,
it says in Romans 4, 25, He was delivered for our transgressions,
for our offenses, and was raised for our justification. We're
justified. When He died, I died. When he was buried, I was buried. And when he rose again, it says
in Ephesians, we're seated together with the Lord Jesus Christ in
the heavenlies. That's my salvation. It's what
he did. It's who he is and what he did. When he lifted up himself and
saw none but the woman, where were those accusers? Where were
those that were accusing him? They had evidence. Didn't they? They had evidence. But they were
gone away. They could not land one accusation. Notice what it says in Romans
chapter 8. You know the text well. But in
Romans chapter 8, the Apostle Paul says this. He says, And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. Now, it might not have seemed
good to this woman at the time that she was there on the ground
that all things work together for good. But if a man is going
to be saved, he is going to be brought low. If a man is going
to be given life, he is going to be killed. All things work
together for good who are called according to His purpose. For
whom he did foreknow, that is, love and eternity, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to his image of his Son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called,
them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified." It's who did it? He did it. He called. He says there in verse, he loved. He foreknew them. He predestinated
them. He conformed them to the image of His Son. He called them. He justified them. And He glorified
them. Yes, He did this. This is what
we are seeing in this picture. He did this. He did this. Well, if you ever see that, if
you ever see that in the Lord Jesus Christ, what can you say? If God is before me, If God before
me in Jesus Christ, if God was for me when He sent His Son,
if God was for me when He established righteousness, if God was for
me when He took my sins away in the body of His Son, if God
was for me, then who's going to be against me? He's the judge.
He's the judge. He's the giver of the law. He
is to whom defenses are committed. What shall we say then of these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared
not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall
He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect? Who can lay anything to
the charge of God's people? Who can lay anything to the charge
of God's elect? It is God in Christ Jesus. that justifies. It's God that
justifies. Whom is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died. He came into this world and gave
his life. Yea, rather, he is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession
for us, for his church. Oh, who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril of the sort,
as it is written, For thy sake are we killed all the day long.
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor heights,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of Christ which is in Christ Jesus. Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Woman, the Lord
Jesus, when He stood up, there was this woman, there is the
Lord Jesus Christ, and all the accusers are gone. When Jesus
lifted up Himself and saw none but the woman, He said unto her,
Woman, where are those unaccusers? Hath no man Can no man condemn
you? How about Satan? Can he condemn
you? Can he lance an accusation that
will stick? Not if Jesus Christ paid for
my sin. What about our conscience? Our
conscience accuses us, but not if we are in Christ Jesus. We
know that in Christ Jesus we have a perfect righteousness.
He has put away our sins. She said, Notice how she addressed
him, Lord. No man, Lord. She knew who he
was. She knew what he had done for
her. And she called him Lord. You are my Lord. You are my Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither
do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. That is salvation. When God does not condemn you,
then there is no condemnation. There is no more condemnation
than to them in Christ Jesus. No judgment to them during Christ
Jesus because He was condemned. He was made a curse for His people. Neither do I condemn thee. Go
and sin no more. He delivers from the power of
sin. He delivers His people from the power of sin. When the Lord
Jesus Christ reveals Himself, reveals who we are, and reveals
Himself and what He has done for us. He says, Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Believe on Him. And
the Lord Jesus Christ, when He redeems His people, when He reveals
Himself, He says, Believe and don't be unbeliever. His people
from then on believe because they cannot but believe. He is
not saying to this woman, You reached another state in which
you are not going to sin in this world. He is not saying that.
Apostle John tells us that we are sinners. Not until this flesh
is put into the ground are we going to be free from the presence
of sin. But we are free from the power
of sin. There was a time when I could
not believe. And now He has freed me. Now
I can believe, and I do believe, and I continue to believe. And
I come to Him today, and I see the same salvation for my soul,
my guilty soul. The Lord Jesus Christ, He died. He redeemed me. There's no condemnation. He's the one that says, I don't
condemn you. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Neither do I condemn thee. Now, then in verse 12, I'm going
to close with this. He said, Then spake Jesus again. unto them, saying, I am the light
of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of light. He that believeth
in me, I am the light. I am the light or understanding. If a man is going to have understanding
about how God can save sinners, I am the light of the world.
I am the light. He that believeth in me will
not walk in darkness. The person that comes to the
Lord Jesus Christ will have the light of life. May the Lord bless
His Word. It's good to be here with you.
I appreciate your support. I appreciate your prayers. God
bless you.