Thankful for the opportunity
to be with you all this morning. Thankful for the opportunity
to visit last night. And Stan and Sherry for taking such good
care of us. Our text this morning will be
from John chapter 8. You want to turn over to John
chapter 8. While you're turning there, let
me read a passage of scripture from 1 Corinthians chapter 14. Paul writes this, he says, in
the church, I'd rather speak five words with my understanding,
that by my voice I might teach others also than a thousand words
in an unknown tongue. And that's my desire this morning. I mean, truly, I think every
man that stands in this place is to preach the word in truth
and in simplicity. Now again, our text is John chapter
eight, and the title of the message, even though we're looking at
John chapter eight, it's gonna come from this passage I read
from you from 1 Corinthians four. And it's this, five words, five
words. I pray the Lord would enable
us to see just five words this morning. And in seeing those
five words, see the Lord Jesus Christ, see more of our Savior. Again, our desire is certainly
that to preach in truth and in simplicity. Look here in John
chapter 8. Look at verse 1. Early in the
morning, the Lord had come into the temple. And we read in verse 2 that the
people, they came unto Him. And He sat down and taught them. You know, I try to envision this
to be taught, to be taught directly from the master, what that must have been like. And to think that he's pleased
to continue to speak to his people through this written word. But while he was teaching the
people, these scribes and Pharisees, They brought unto him a woman,
taken in adultery, and they set her just right in the midst of
him. The master speaking. You know,
you think of the, just the nerve of these men. Here the master
is speaking, and these men, you know, they bust through the door,
no doubt, and make a big racket and bring this woman and set
her down right in the midst of them. Right in the middle of
the congregation. For everyone to see her, but knowing the scribes and the
Pharisees and what we read, it was just as much about them being
seen. Because everything they did,
from what we read in scriptures, was to be seen of men. It was
to draw attention to themselves. We read about that, they made
their phylacteries broad and enlarged the borders of their
garments. They'd make those long prayers in the synagogue and
out on the corners of the streets. Again, for this reason. not to
exalt the Savior, not to glorify God, but to draw attention to
themselves. Look, look at me, look at me. And what's happening here is
no different in this portion of Scripture. And they spoke
to the Lord, and they said, this woman was taken in adultery. In fact, they said, taken in
the very act. Look at verse five of our text. Now Moses and the
law commanded us. Now here's my first point here. That such should be stoned. See those five words? That such
should be stoned. Now this woman, there's no question,
she had sinned. She had sinned, and the consequence
of that sin is death. Now the scribes and Pharisees,
they had no interest in justice here. That wasn't what this encounter
was about. They sought to discredit our
Lord. That was their intent here, to
discredit Him in the eyes of the people. You know, had they
truly been interested in justice, if that was their desire, if
that was their goal, they wouldn't have just brought this one woman. They would have brought the man
and the woman. Over in Leviticus chapter 20,
we read, the man that commiteth adultery with another man's wife,
even he that commiteth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the
adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
That's the law. But they only brought the woman. Maybe the man that they caught
her with was a friend of theirs. Maybe it was an acquaintance,
but they merely brought the woman. But listen, she had, again, she
had broken God's law. And that's true, not just of
her, But of all of us, we have all broken God's law. We've sinned, we've sinned against
God. Just as Adam, back there in the
garden, remember that God told Adam concerning the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, he said, in the day that you eat
thereof. Think about that. He'd give him
that garden to dress it and to keep it. with just one law, just
one rule. You know, people get worked up
about the Ten Commandments. Listen, we can't keep one. In the day that ye eat thereof,
thou shalt surely die. Spiritual death. Adam didn't
physically die. He began to die, but he died
spiritually. He'd sinned against God, and
again, Just as that was true of this woman, Adam sinned against
her. That's true of us. We have sinned
against Almighty God. We have broken His law. Now,
look at verse 5 of our text. This woman who had broken God's
law, Scripture says this, that such should be stoned. Five more words, that such should
be put to death. The wages of sin is death. The soul that sinneth, it shall
surely die, guilty and deserving of death. And you know, I don't
read anywhere in this passage where this woman tried to defend
herself. She offered no defense. I don't believe she had one.
You know, when we're taking in a fault, we typically do one
of two things. We make an excuse, and maybe
this is the same, or we blame someone else, just as Adam did
there in the garden. It's the woman. It's the woman
you gave me, right? But when we're truly guilty,
have you ever been truly guilty of something? I can remember,
Brady, you plug your ears here, but I can remember as a young
man, maybe of getting in trouble a few times, and my dad caught
me in those things. And there's times I tried to
make excuses. There's times I tried to give him a reason. But there
were times that I couldn't even open my mouth. Why? Guilty as charged. And that's
the way this woman was. And that's the way we are in
the sight of Almighty God. Guilty. Guilty as charged. No excuses. You know, Scripture
says our Lord was led as a lamb before shears. So open he not
his mouth. How could he not open his mouth?
Because all of our sin was on him. He bore our sins. Well, let's read on in the text.
Verse 5, look at the end of the verse 5 here. Here we see a little
more about what these men were up to. They asked the Lord, and
this was someone they had no interest in what he had to say,
but they say this, what sayest thou? What sayest thou in this
matter? for this purpose, that they might
accuse him. No interest in the truth. What
sayest thou that they might accuse him? And you know, if he just
said, stoner, the people would have been turned against him,
wouldn't they? Or if he would have said, let
her go, then the people would have said, he has no regard for
the law. But listen to what he said. Nothing. He said nothing. You reckon we
could all learn, just stop there for a minute. You reckon we could
learn something there? He said nothing. Why? There's times I wished I could
go back and have said nothing. He said nothing. Instead, he
stooped down. He just stooped down and wrote
on the ground. Now there's a lot right there
just in those, he stooped down. The Lord Jesus Christ stooped
down. Was there ever a one who stooped
down like he did? Huh? Listen, he came down. He came down from heaven. He
came down from the presence of the Father. He came down, he
was, Scripture said he was made flesh. What that must have been
like to be holy, huh? And he came down to this world
and he was, Scripture said, he was made flesh. Now he was without
sin, but still he took that robe of flesh upon himself. Scripture
says he took upon the form, he who created the worlds and everything
in it, he took upon himself the form of a servant. He stooped
down. He stooped down all right, didn't
he? And with his finger, he wrote on the ground. That same finger
that wrote on those tables of stone back there in the Old Testament,
the law, that law given to Moses, turn to Romans 3. Look at verse 19 of Romans 3. Scripture said, We know that
whatsoever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the
law, that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world
become guilty, guilty before Almighty God. He wrote that law
with his finger, and now he writes on the ground. The finger that
back there in Daniel wrote to King Belshazzar and said, you've
been weighed into balance. and found wanting. And now, again,
he writes here on the ground. And we don't know what he wrote.
We have no idea. Some think maybe he wrote maybe
a few dates and maybe a few facts about these men that were making
accusation against this woman to maybe remind them of who and
what they were. But we don't know that. But we
do know that they continued asking him, what sayest thou? And look
at verse 7. So when they continued asking
him, he lifted up himself and he said unto them, here's five
more words, he that is without sin, he that is without sin,
let him cast the first time. Now we've established, I believe
we've established this woman is a sinner. No question about
that. But is it just true of her? Here
in that gathering, was she the only sinner present? We're going
to find out here, aren't we? He that is without sin. You know
outward sins, sin can be easy to see on the outside. It can
also be easy to be hid on the outside from what we see there.
But he said, he that is without sin among you, let him cast the
first stone. Among those scribes and Pharisees,
those so-called religious leaders, were there any? without sin?
Is there any without sin? You know, in Matthew 23, our
Lord spoke to a group of scribes and Pharisees and he said this,
woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you're like whited
sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, on the outside
they look, but are within full of dead man's bones. Y'all been
to the cemetery, you've been to the graveyard. Those caskets
that they make are just beautiful. But what's inside is death and
decay. He said outwardly, you appear
righteous, but within you're full of hypocrisy and iniquity,
full of iniquity. transgression of God's law. These
scribes and Pharisees, don't be fooled by any. In our day,
don't be fooled by any. We're sinners, dead in trespasses
and sin. Romans 3.23 declares this, that
all, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And
our Lord in Matthew 12, he referred to the Pharisees as an evil and
adulterous generation. Yet, they're ready to condemn
this woman. They're ready to... Now the point
here is this, all have sinned. All have sinned. Not just some,
all. All have transgressed God's holy
law. all are deserving of death and condemnation. And you know,
knowing that, I think if we truly knew, wouldn't we maybe have
a little kinder spirit and attitude toward others, knowing the pit
that we've been dug out of ourselves? Maybe a little more forgiving?
Well, Paul, in the Galatians, he said, brethren, and he was
speaking to believers here, he said, brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fall, Ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit
of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Well,
in Ephesians 4.32 says this, be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven
you. Well, let's move on here. He
said that such should be stung. The wages of sin is death. He that is without sin, all have
sinned. He that without sin, let him
cast the first stone at her. And again, verse eight, he stooped
down and rode on the ground. And they which heard it, verse
nine, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one
by one beginning from the oldest even to the last and Jesus was
left alone and the woman standing in his midst. And when Jesus
had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, Listen, just
two people here, a savior and a sinner. Just these two. And it says, think about this,
I don't know how many people may have been in that crowd or
gathered around, but it says, he saw none but the woman. He saw her. Back there in Ezekiel
16, Remember that child, that little infant cast out in the
open field, left out there to die? The Lord said this. He said, when I passed by, and
what did he say then? When I saw thee. And I saw what
kind of condition you were in, polluted in your own blood. He saw her, and he loved her. Despite her terrible condition,
he loved her. You know, it's awful. There's
no excuse for what this woman had done, this sin that she had
been taken in. And the Lord certainly didn't
justify her in her sin. He didn't deny the justice of
the law in condemning her. You just think about this, think
about what that would be like today. I mean, here we are gathered
together to worship, and if somebody just drug somebody in here and
just sat them down in front of us and made this statement. And
again, I think about that. I think, would you ask yourself,
what good, what good could possibly, what good could possibly come
from this? I think that's horrible, but
I ask myself that from time to time. Even though we know, Scripture
says we know, all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. Things
happen. Am I the only one that just says,
what good could possibly come from it? Again, this woman was taken in
the very act of adultery, drug into the temple, brought before
the Pharisees and everyone gathered, brought before the Lord. But you know good's gonna come
from that. He saw her. She's brought before the Lord
himself. Back there in the Old Testament,
Joseph, think of all the the wickedness, those terrible things
that happened to Joseph. And there at the end, remember
what Joseph said to his brethren? He said, what you did, you meant
it for evil. Ain't no question about that.
But that didn't always say it. He said, God meant it for good. Think of all those that were
delivered as a result of that, and how God was pleased to use
Joseph to deliver the people. God meant it for good. He saw
none but the woman, and listen to what he says here. Here's
five more words. Where are those nine accusers? Is there no one to take up a
stone to cast at you? Is there no one else free from
sin? Is there no man to execute the sentence against you? You
know, the law required that there be two or three witnesses, and
usually the witnesses were involved in carrying out the execution. In fact, yeah, they would assist
in that, but listen, there wasn't a single witness left. that all left. And again, this
woman, there's nothing to indicate she'd done anything to offer
up an excuse or a defense for her actions. We just read a minute ago that
every, the law for this reason, that every mouth may be stopped. and the whole world guilty before
Almighty God. Where are those dying accusers? Is there none to condemn thee?
And she said, no man, Lord. Lord. You know, they called him,
the Pharisees, they called him Master, and you know, they gritted
their teeth when they were saying that. She says, Lord. No man, Lord. That publican, what'd he say? Lord, be merciful to me, sinner. That thief on the cross, Lord,
remember me. The leper, that leper that was
full of leprosy, what'd he say? Lord, if you will. That's his
name. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. She calls on the name of the
Lord. Scripture says, whosoever shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Well, let's read
on here, verse 11. Five more words. Look here at
verse 11. Neither do I condemn thee." Can
you imagine the relief that just filled her soul, the joy that
filled her? Neither do I condemn. Listen, he's the only one there
who could condemn her. He is the only one without sin. And he says, neither do I condemn
thee. Worthy of death, standing before
the judge of all the earth, Hebrews 4.13 says, neither is there any
creature that is not manifest in his sight. All things are
naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. He's all knowing, he's all seeing,
and he says, the Lord says, neither do I condemn thee. How is that possible? How is that possible? Over in
John chapter 3, we read, God sent his son not into the world
to condemn the world, but through him that the world might be saved. How? How can she not be condemned? Because listen, he's a just God
and a savior. Neither do I condemn thee. Turn to, well, let me just read
this for sake of time. Romans 8 verse 1, there is therefore
now. When is that? Now, right now. No condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the spirit. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ,
he bore the penalty. He bore the judgment, the condemnation,
for not just this woman's sin, but the sins of all his elect. Every one of his sheep. Scripture
says, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being
made a curse for us. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. Chastisement of our peace was
upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. Neither do I condemn
thee. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? How is it he can say, neither
do I condemn thee, to her, to any of his people? Because there's nothing to accuse
him of. We've been justified. He has delivered us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us. He bore our sins
in His body on the tree. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
is He that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather,
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. The Lord Jesus Christ He
came into the world to save not the righteous, not those out
on the street drawing attention. He came into the world to save
sinners. Neither, neither do I condemn
thee. Well, quickly, one more thing
here, five words. He tells this woman, go and sin
no more. Let me ask you again, is that
possible? Is that possible to sin no more? Listen, we've barely
been in here 30 minutes and we can't go that long without a
sinful thought, a sinful act, a sinful deed. Probably in the
time I've read that sentence, no doubt we've, listen, Consider this woman's way of
life, the situation she'd been taken from, maybe her friends
and companions, the tenor of her life. Don't go back to that. I believe that's what's being
said. Don't go back. Think about Lot's wife. Remember that? There weren't even ten righteous
people there. And as they were leaving Sodom, what did she do?
She turned and looked back. turned in a pillar. That's where
her heart was. That's where her desire was. And listen, let me
ask you this. The Lord's delivered you. Lord,
do we have any desire to go back? Then our heart probably answered
that yes. But we're kept, we're kept by the power of God. Go,
go and sin no more. Well, he said, I'd rather speak
five words, five words with the voice of my understanding that
I might teach others also. You still have John 8, just quickly.
Look at verse 5, that such should be stoned. The wages of sin is
death. Verse seven, he that is without
sin, that covers all of us, doesn't it? All have sinned. Verse 10,
five words, where are those thine accusers? Can Satan accuse you? He's been conquered. Can the
law accuse you? Christ has fulfilled the law. Can judgment? Christ has been
judged. God's justice, his holy justice
has been satisfied. Verse 11, neither do I condemn
thee. Could there be any sweeter words
in scripture for a sinner? One condemned to death, one under
condemnation, Neither do I condemn thee." And then five more words,
go and sin no more. We read, these things have I
written unto you that you sin not. Well, I pray we can find
five words of comfort here, five words of instruction, five words
revealing God's mercy to sinners and take rest in Him. All right,
you're dismissed.