Well, this time I want to express
my appreciation once more for this congregation and your love
for us. We're so thankful to be here
with you this morning, and we're thankful for the fellowship that
the Lord has brought us into, one family. And I bring you greetings. I wanted to save this for right
now. I bring greetings from the churches in Yucatan, the pastors
there in the churches in Yucatan, and my parents especially. My
mom and dad, they said, say hello. They're doing well. And right
now, Brother Jose Chula is preaching for me in Merida. My dad is preaching
tonight. But the Lord has blessed the
work there. We are so grateful for him sending
us to Mexico. What a great privilege, what
a great honor to be sent to preach his gospel to his people. Just like you were sent here
to Rocky Mount. What a great privilege and what
a great honor. God is bestowed, the Lord Jesus is bestowed upon
us to take his gospel and preach his gospel. And I thank you and
I thank your pastor and his wife, Brother Henry and Doris. So,
so thankful for, and all of you, so thankful for you. Now, this
morning, I want to deal with the question, how does God, how
does the Lord Jesus Christ save his church? How does the Lord
Jesus Christ save his church? The angel of the Lord said, You
shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from
their sin. How does he save his people from
their sins? How does he save his people from
the penalty of sin? From the condemnation of sin? How does he save his people from
the power of sin? And how will he save his people
from the very presence of sin? He saves his people from their
sin. Aren't you thankful he is a Savior? He is a Savior of sinners. true
sinners. Are there any true sinners here
today? I'm thankful. The Lord Jesus
Christ came to save sinners. I've got good news for sinners. Now, this we're going to see this
morning in John chapter 8 is a passage that many religious
people can't understand. In fact, some have even dared
to question it. But it's because they don't have
light. The Lord Jesus Christ, at the end of this passage in
John chapter 8, He said, I am the light of the world. If any
man is going to know how God can be just and justify the ungodly,
He's going to know it in Jesus Christ, in Him alone. That's
how God can be just and justify the ungodly. In John chapter
8, 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.
And as he was teaching them, it says here in verse 3, the
scribes and the Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had set her in
the midst, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken
in adultery in the very act. Now Moses and 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 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. When Jesus had
lifted up his eyes and saw none but the woman, he said unto her,
Woman, where are those thine accusers? 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. Then spake Jesus again to them,
saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Now,
the Lord Jesus Christ came to the temple as it was custom to
teach. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
teach. He came to preach. He's a preacher. He is the Word of God. But he
preached the Word of God. Though he spake as no man spake. He spake with authority. Because
he is the Word of God. But now these men, I want us
to see in a figure. I see myself. in this woman. I see the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ in this woman, taken in the very act of adultery. This woman was brought before
the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, let's consider
the fact that this woman was brought to the feet of the Lord
Jesus Christ by the Pharisees. The Pharisees and the Sadducees
represent the law. They represent the law. And the
law of God, all men by nature are sinners. We read there in
John chapter 3, the law is given to shut man's mouth. Whatsoever
the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law. And all
men are under the law. All men are guilty. All men are
sinners. When Adam fell, When Adam disobeyed
God, sin entered into the world, and death by sin, all men have
sinned. All men have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. All men are guilty and all men
deserve wrath. That's the only thing that we
deserve. We don't want to have anything
to do with God's justice outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. But
this woman represents every child of God, the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ, who's caught in the very act of adultery. Now, the man was not brought. The
man was not brought, though she was caught in the very act of
adultery. The man was not brought. Have
you ever wondered why the man was not brought? I believe in
the picture. It's showing how the Lord Jesus
Christ saves his people. And though all men are guilty,
not all men are brought to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those that are brought to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ
by the law are going to be shown mercy. It's a good thing. It's a wonderful
thing when God shows you you're a sinner. Because God is going
to show mercy. He came to save sinners from
their sins. This man was guilty also, but
he was not brought, neither did he hear from the lips of the
Lord, go and sin no more, neither do I condemn you. How wonderful. This woman heard the Lord Jesus
Christ say, neither do I condemn you. Well, how? How is it that
the Lord Jesus Christ does not condemn this woman. He is God. These men brought this woman. Then the law brings the church,
the chosen people of God, before the law. We're condemned. We're
guilty. Our mouth is stopped. Our mouth
is stopped, as it says there in Romans 3.19. Our mouth is
shut up. A man will not Come to the Lord
Jesus Christ, will not seek mercy, will not found salvation, as
long as he's blaming other people. As long as he's finding excuses.
But when his mouth is shut, that thou mayest be just when thou
judges. The Lord, when he shows a man
who he is, he stops blaming others. I was born this
way. God made me this way. They won't
even blame God. God made me this way. No. It's
my sin. I am the sinner. And no one is ever sent to hell
for Adam's sin. It's for my own sin. And this
woman, this woman is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. These
Pharisees, we know that they brought this woman, which tells
us what their motive was. Their motive was evil. Their
motive was to find fault and accuse the Lord. It says there
in our text, it says, And the scribes and the Pharisees brought
unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had set her in
the midst, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken
in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded
us that shut should be stoned, but what sayest thou? This they
said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. They
did not believe the Lord Jesus Christ was God. The Lord Jesus
Christ is God. Some men brought a man that was crippled on a bed one time. They
brought him in crippled and they set him. It was a big crowd.
They brought this man in crippled, set him in front of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and the Lord said, He said, Son, thy sins are forgiven
thee. And the people that heard it,
they thought, ooh, this man blasphemes. No man can forgive sins but God. And that's true. No man can forgive
sins but God. And the Lord, knowing their thoughts,
He said, what's harder to say? He says, what's harder to say? Take up your bed and walk or
your sins are forgiven you? Well, if you say take up your
bed and walk, you better back it up. Better back it up. To say your sins are forgiven
you. A person can say that, but it
doesn't mean it's so. Priests say that. Repeat these
prayers and your sins are forgiven. They don't have authority. There's
only one that can forgive sin. That is, he to whom sin is committed
against, God. And how does he do it? Because
he's a holy God. He's a just God. And God says,
and I'm getting ahead of myself, but how does he do it? How does he show mercy? But he
told those religious people around, he said, but that you may know. that the Son of Man has power
to forgive sins in the earth, he said to the man, take up your
bed and walk. And the man took up his bed and
walked. The Lord Jesus Christ has the authority to forgive
sins. He's the only one that can. He
is the judge of all earth. The Lord said in John chapter
5, The Father judges no man. He has committed all judgment
to the Son, that all may honor the Son as the honor. He that
honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father. He is the judge
of all earth. Well, they brought this woman
that was caught in the very act, and it says they did it for a
bad reason. They hated the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
He said, think not that I have come to destroy the law and the
prophets. He said this, I came not to destroy
the law and the prophets, I came to fulfill. I came to fulfill. The first thing that has to be
done is God's honor, God's law has to be honored. I came to
fulfill. They brought this woman, they
said, well, if he says let her go, we'll say he's not a prophet
of God. He said he's not honoring God.
And if he says stone her, well, we'll prove that he's not a friend
of sinners. They thought they had him, as
they say, in a hard place. Tempting God's wisdom. Tempting
God. He is the wisdom of God. Aren't
you thankful? In the wisdom of God, God found
a way that he can both be just and justify the ungodly. Well,
our Lord Jesus Christ did something. Did something. First of all,
these men said, what do you say? And the Lord Jesus Christ stooped
down. Now, the first thing that God
does in saving his people is identifying with his people,
stooping down, coming down from glory. The Son of God was made
flesh. The other time that this is mentioned,
God wrote on the ground was when he wrote the tables, the Ten
Commandments. He wrote it with the finger of
God. And the Lord, as I said, I got
ahead of myself, but he said, think not that I've come to destroy
the law and the prophets. I didn't come to destroy it.
I came to fulfill the law. In order for God to justify a
sinner, in order for the Lord Jesus Christ to save his people,
God's holy law must be established. He came into the world to establish
righteousness. Righteousness. He came to honor
God's holy law. And that's what he did. From
the cradle to the cross, all the days of his life, perfectly
obeying God's holy law. That law, not only from actions,
but also from the thoughts and imaginations. He is the holy
one. Separate from sinners. The one
that did not sin. Could not sin. Holy, holy son
of God. As a man. As a man. And as a man, he humbled himself. When it says here in What I said
is the Lord Jesus Christ did something. The Lord Jesus Christ
did something. He identified himself with this
woman. Can you get the picture? Now, I know this woman was brought
and I don't believe that she was dressed. I don't believe
these religious men allowed her to dress. I believe they cast
her in front of the Lord. and shame. And when the law of God reveals
to us who we are, it strips us from all dignity. It strips us
from all dignity and puts us in the dirt. That's the proper use of the
law. The law is our schoolmaster to
bring us to Christ. to shut our mouth and that we
may become guilty before God. And until the law of God is understood,
and I'm not saying, I'm talking about when the Holy Spirit convicts
of sin. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin.
When the Holy Spirit comes in the preaching of the gospel,
convicts of sin because you have not believed in me. And when
we see ourselves in the light of His holiness, when we see
ourselves in the light of Jesus Christ, He is the Holy One. And when we see ourselves, when
He shows us ourselves, we see in ourselves enmity. God haters. I've never believed God. I've
never trusted on His Son. Everything I do is against His
honor and His glory. And God strips us from all our
self-righteousness. And this woman was put before
the Lord Jesus Christ there in her shame. And the law brings
us to an understanding of who we are. And the Lord Jesus Christ
stooped. In Philippians chapter 2, In
Philippians 2, verse 5, we read this, Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation, and took upon himself the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man. And being
found in the fashion of man, he humbled himself and became
obedient unto death. even the death of a cross. What
we see there is a stepping down, a humiliation, an identification
with God's people. What a great condescension that
God, the creator of all things, should be made flesh. Now, when
we think of God being made, if I think of God being made a man, I think of a worm. The Lord said,
I'm a worm and no man. What a condescension. What? What a humbling himself. If you
look at a worm, you think of the next time you see a worm,
think, would I take the place of that worm? Would I take the
place of that worm? And I know your aunt. No, I won't
want to take a place of that worm. I don't want to take a
place of that worm. And you know, when you think of the difference
between this man and that worm, it's not a big jump. It's not
a big jump. We're both creatures. We're both
creatures. But when we think of the eternal
Son of God, being made flesh. In the fullness of
time, God sent his Son, made of womb, made under law, that
he might redeem us. He humbled himself. And when
he humbled himself, he became obedient. There's a great condescension
in the Son of God being made flesh, but there's even a greater
condescension in that the Son of God became subject to the
law that He gave. He became subject to the law
that He gave for one purpose. God's law must be established. God's law must be honored. God
is holy. God is holy, and if anybody is
going to be in God's presence, they must have the righteousness
of God. Our God is a consuming fire. A consuming fire. He is light,
and in him is no darkness at all. A man, sin cannot be in
his presence. Sin cannot be in, and that's
all we are, is sin. We drink iniquity like it's water. That is, we don't even think
of it. I drink a glass, I drink some water. I don't think of
it. That's how man is iniquity. Iniquity. But God is holy. And the Lord Jesus Christ came
down to establish that law, to honor that law. And that's what
he did in his obedience. That's his obedience. He humbled
himself and made a righteousness. Now, that righteousness is the
righteousness that's imputed to his people. That is the robe
of righteousness that his people are dressed in. That righteousness
that is unto all that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
then it says here that he stooped again. purposely omitting, or
not speaking of, these men that the Lord Jesus Christ, I want
to put that aside for a moment, the Lord Jesus Christ stooped
a second time. He stooped a second time. So
not only did he come and establish righteousness, but then he went
to the cross and paid the sin debt for his people. He went
to the cross and paid the sin debt for his people. I was just
thinking about that as we sang that song. Five bleeding wounds
he bears, received and calvary. They pour effectual prayers. They strongly plead for me. Forgive
him, O forgive, they cry. Nor let that ransomed sinner
die. Nor let that ransomed sinner
die. He went to the cross and paid the debt for his people. This is the Father humiliated. It says there in Philippians
chapter 2, having become obedient unto death, and the death of
the cross. If this was the command of God
the Father, he came to give his life. He said, no man takes my
life from me. No man took his life from him,
he came to give his life. He came to lay down his life
for his sheep. No man takes his life from him.
And in this, when he paid the price by his precious blood,
he took away the sin of his people. That's how he justifies sinners. Now, look in the text again in
John chapter 8. What I see here in this passage
where these men were saying to him, What sayest thou? What I see there is the power
of God to say. These men were very fast at throwing
a stone. They were very ready to throw
the stone. They would have thrown a stone They did that all the time. They
were ready to throw the stone. But none, none can harm one for
whom Christ is representing. Not one. It says here that they
went out one by one. I see the power of God to restrain
these people. Restrain them. He stooped down
and wrote on the ground. When he wrote down on the ground,
I believe it had reference to, as the Apostle Paul said to Philemon
about Onesimus. He said, Philemon, if he owes
you anything, put it to my account. And the Lord Jesus Christ says
to God's holy law, God's justice, all that he owes, Put it on my
count. Put it on me. And that's what
happened. That's what happened. The Lord
Jesus Christ bare the sins of his people when he was made sin
on the cross. Well, he stooped down. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ, when
he died on the cross, It says there in Romans chapter 4, 25,
He was delivered for our offenses, but raised for our justification. If the Lord Jesus Christ only
died on the cross, if the Lord Jesus Christ only lived on the
earth, there would be no salvation. And there would be no hope if
He only died on the cross. No satisfaction. But God is satisfied
with the payment the Lord Jesus Christ made, a ransom for his
people. When God's justice could demand
no more, he said, let him go. I have enough. I have sufficient. And he let
him go. And he's now risen from the grave. And when he rose from the grave,
all his people were justified in the Lord Jesus Christ. all
for whom he died, that is my death." If you are brought by
the law of God before the Lord Jesus Christ to see that all
that the Lord Jesus Christ did for you, He did for you. He came
into the world, He established righteousness, He went to the
cross and paid the debt, and now He has risen on high. When you see that, this woman,
it says here in our text, this woman, when the Lord Jesus Christ
raised up and there was none around, the Lord Jesus Christ,
what He did, He did away with the accusers. He satisfied law. He satisfied God's justice. And
the Lord said, where are thine accusers? Where are thine accusers? And this woman said, are there
none that accuse you? And this woman said, none, Lord. Now, this is what God's people
see. That in Christ Jesus, when He
died, He justified us so that there's no condemnation. In Romans
chapter 8, the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 8, What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? What can we say? What could this
woman say? What could the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ say? Who has brought before the judge,
brought her to the right place. He's the only one that can condemn
her. He's the only one that can justify her. But what can we
say to these things? If God be for us. If God be for
us in Jesus Christ. If God sent His Son into this
world. If God chose us from before the
foundation of the world. If God loved us with an everlasting
love in His Son. If God sent His Son because He
loved His people. to give his life or ransom for
his people. If God sent him to the cross
and died on the cross because of his love for his people, if
God raised him from the dead, if God exalted him on high, if
the Lord Jesus Christ intercedes for his people, what can we say
to these things? If he's for you, if he's for
his church, who can be against his church? If God be for us,
who can be against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, his people, his church, he delivered
him up. How shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that does it. Who could
lay anything to the charge of that woman? Her justifier was
right there. Her justifier was right there.
The one who loved her and gave himself for her was standing
right there. The one who was going to honor
that law and satisfy the demands of that law was right there.
He's the judge and he's the advocate. He never lost a case. Who could
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? He that spared not
his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not
with him freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. It is God that justifies. Who justifies? God. Who is he that condemneth? Who is he that condemneth? It
is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even
at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us. You know, this woman was very
conscious of the fact that she was brought before the Lord because
she was guilty. But she knew that there was nobody
that condemned her. Nobody left that condemned her.
She knew she was guilty. She was guilty. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ, which is in Christ Jesus? And it says here, the
Lord asked this woman, he said, when he lifted up himself and
saw none but the woman, he said unto her, to the woman, where
are those that are accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She
said, no man, no man, Lord. No man, Lord. She hadn't said
a word until then. She hadn't said a word until
then. Her mouth was stopped. She's sitting there on the floor. And when she saw what the Lord
Jesus Christ did, he stooped. He identified with her. He dealt
with her accusers, and there was none left. And when he stood
up that second time, the Lord asked her, Who are those that
accuse you? Where are your accusers? God's people, in the person and
work of the Lord Jesus Christ, are brought by the law of God
to understand we're sinners, we're guilty. If God gives us
what we deserve, we'll be separated from him forever. But the good
news is the Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. He came
to save sinners and went by grace. This is a time of grace for this
woman. This was a time of grace. She
was brought to the Lord. That man was not brought to the
Lord. That man was not convicted. That man thought I got away with
it. No, he didn't. This woman, her sin was dealt
with in the person of her substitute. She was brought to the feet of
the Lord and the Lord interceded for her. The Lord represented
her. And when he finished doing what
he did, she called him Lord. And she heard these words from
the Lord. Neither do I condemn you. Now that's justification. He's
the only one that could condemn. And he said, I don't condemn
you. I don't condemn you. And then he said, go and sin
no more. He saved her from the condemnation of sin. He also
saved her from the power of sin. Go and sin no more. When the
Lord saves his people, he saves us from the condemnation of sin.
He saves us from the power of sin. There was a time when she
had no interest in the Lord Jesus Christ. She had no interest in
what He came to do and who He was. She's interested after this. She's interested. Every time
she heard of the Lord Jesus Christ, What's he doing now? Oh, he did
that. He did that for me. I'm not surprised.
He saved that person. He gave that person eyesight
over there. I'm not surprised. You should hear what he did for
me. You should hear what he said, how he saved me. She's interested
now. And this woman, when he said,
neither do I condemn him. That's salvation. When the Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the Judge of all earth, saves his people
from their sin by his representing, by his doing and dying. May the
Lord bless this Word.