It is not that I did choose thee,
Lord, for, Lord, that could not be. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Niver. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now, here's our pastor, Todd Nyberg. In John chapter 8, verse
12, the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking and he says, I am the
light of the world. How do you see? Only with light. If you're in a dark room, You
can't see what's in there unless the light is turned on. And the
Lord Jesus Christ says that He is the light of the world. He is the light of who the invisible
God is. All you and I will ever see of
the invisible God, that God who is spirit, is the man, the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's the God-man, and He is the
revelation of who God is. He said, he that has seen me
has seen the Father. He is the light as to who man
really is. Now, if you take a crooked stick
and set it down, you may try to see the crookedness and maybe
you see it, maybe you don't. But if you put a straight stick
beside it, you see the crookedness of that stick. When you see who
the Lord Jesus Christ is, You see the sinfulness of man. You see the sinfulness of yourself.
And you really haven't seen your own sinfulness until you've first
seen who He is. And if you and I ever see who
He is, we'll have some understanding of our own personal sinfulness
before God. And He is the light as to how
a holy and just and righteous God who said, I will by no means
clear the guilty. He is the light as to how a holy
and righteous and just God can accept somebody like me when
I'm a sinner. He is the one, he is the light
as to how God can be just, absolutely, strictly, inflexibly just, and
yet justify somebody in a way that honors His justice who is
unjust and sinful in themselves. Now, only the Bible answers this
question as to how God can be just and justify the ungodly. Now, the timing of our Lord's
statement is very interesting. It's in John chapter 8 where
a woman is taken in adultery. And at the conclusion of that
story, he says, I'm the light of the world. He is the light
as to how some woman or man or anybody else can be caught in
the very act and yet not condemned. The whole Bible is summarized
in this story. Now, let's begin reading. In
John chapter 8 verse 1, if you can get a Bible and follow along,
you'd find it helpful. Jesus went out into the Mount
of Olives and early in the morning, the break of day, here's where
light begins. Early in the morning, he came
again into the temple and all the people came unto him. He
sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees,
now these were the religious people. The word Pharisee means
a separated one. They represent man's religion. The scribes were the fellows
who copied down the Scriptures and studied the Scriptures. These
were the religious leaders. The scribes and the Pharisees
brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had
set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman
was taken in adultery in the very act. She was caught red-handed. There's no question as to the
guilt of this woman. She's guilty. She was caught
in the very act of adultery. Now, Moses, in the law, commanded
us that such should be stoned. But what sayest thou? This they
said, tempting him, putting him to the test, that they might
have to accuse him. Now this woman was in fact guilty
of this great sin caught red-handed and adultery, breaking the marriage
covenant. A sexual relationship with someone
after you've already committed to another person for life and
breaking that covenant and going to someone else is indeed a great
evil. The law commands that those who
commit it be put to death. And I want you to think about
what a great sin adultery is. It's sin against God and it has
ruined so many lives. How many children have been permanently
scarred by the sexual sin of their parents? How many homes
have been broken, and how many hardships people have been put
under? Oh, what a great sin this sin
of adultery is. She was guilty, and what she
had done was wrong, and what she had done was evil. She broke
the marriage covenant. Now, one may wonder, where was
the man? Takes two to tango. Why didn't
they bring him in? The law commanded him to be stoned
too, but somehow they let him go and they brought in the woman.
How did they catch her? Was this a set up? Were the scribes
and Pharisees peeping toms? What's going on here? Now, there's
something about scribes and Pharisees, religious people. the representatives
of natural human religion. They are more concerned about
others keeping the law. The Bible never tells somebody
else what to do. It only tells you what to do. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Now, the Pharisee is easily spotted. He's quick to point out the sins
of others. He loves to put people on the
spot. He thinks that exposing the darkness
of others will make his own light shine a little brighter. But
this woman was indeed guilty of this sin. She was caught in
the very act. Now, I've got a question for
you that I would like you to consider very carefully. How many of you listening have
committed this particular sin? Now, before you answer, I want
to quote you a passage of Scripture from Matthew chapter 5, verse
28, where the Lord said, Whoso looketh on a woman to lust after
her in his heart hath already committed adultery with her. All you have to do is do it in
your mind, in your imagination, and you are guilty before God
of the very act. You've done the same thing. Now,
for me or you, to look down our nose at this woman and pick up
a stone is an act of the basest of hypocrisy, because you and
I are guilty of the same thing, if not physically, yet in our
mind. Now, these Pharisees did this
because they thought they had the Lord entrapped. This they
said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. I think it's almost amusing to
see these men trying to entrap omniscience. Oh, entrap the Lord? He's God. He's all wise. He's all powerful. Entrap him.
But here's what these fellows were thinking. They were thinking,
well, he claims to be merciful. He claims to be the friend of
sinners and so on. And he talks about mercy. But
this woman was caught in the very act. And the law does say
stone this woman. So if he says, let her go free,
forgive her, we can say you're showing no respect for God's
holy law. And then turn it around, if he
says, stone her, that's what the law says to do, go ahead
and put her to death. We can say, well, where is your
promise of mercy? Where is your promise of grace?
I thought you were supposed to be so compassionate toward sinners. They thought they had him in
an unwinnable situation. They thought we can condemn him
in whatever direction he takes. Oh, they felt so proud of themselves. Look what happens. This they
said tempting him that they might have to accuse him, verse 6,
but Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground
as though He heard them not. I bet they were getting mad.
Aren't you listening to us? No. No. He stooped down on the ground
and wrote as though he heard them not. Now, what was he writing? There's been all kinds of speculation
as to what he was writing, but we're not told. But I believe
I have some idea as to what he was writing. Is Jesus Christ
God? Absolutely. God manifests in
the flesh. And there are two places in the
Scriptures where the finger of God was said to write." Now,
when he stooped down and wrote on the ground, that was the finger
of the God-man writing on the ground. Now, the first time we
read of the finger of God writing something was at the giving of
the law, the Ten Commandments. Exodus 31, 18 says, two tables
of testimonies. Tables of stone written with
the finger of God. And when God was writing this
testimony, the Ten Commandments, he wrote with his own finger,
thou shalt not commit adultery. The Seventh Commandment. Now
there's great significance to this stoop. He stooped down and
wrote on the ground. More on this in a moment, but
I believe what he was writing at this time was, Thou shalt
not commit adultery. Verse 7, 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. Now, according to the law, the
witness was supposed to cast the first stone. Can you consider yourself not
guilty of this particular sin, the sin of adultery. Are you
able to throw a stone at this woman who was caught in the very
act? Would it not be grotesque hypocrisy
to throw a stone at somebody for committing the same sin that
you yourself have committed? Is there anybody listening who
would be able to throw a stone at this woman? Are you innocent
of this sin so that you have the moral authority to throw
the stone? If somebody says, yes, I do,
you're a liar. That's all I can say. You're
a liar. Yes, you are guilty of this sin. You have also broken this commandment. You know you have committed this
sin in your imagination and in your heart. In reality, it would
be an act of high hypocrisy for me or for you to cast a stone
at anybody for anything. We are the ones who should be
stoned. Now, this is not excusing this
woman's sin. She deserved to be stoned, but
so do we. For us to pick up a stone and
throw it at anybody for anything would be an act of the most grotesque
hypocrisy. I want to read a passage to you
from Romans chapter 2. Paul says in verse 1 of Romans
chapter 2, Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever
thou art that judgest. that sits in judgment upon somebody
else, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself. For thou that judgest, doest
the same things." But we are sure that the judgment of God
is according to truth against them which commit such things.
And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such
things, and doest the same things, that thou shalt escape the judgment
of God? It's not going to happen. So
he stooped down once again and wrote on the ground. Now what
was he writing this time? Now the first time he wrote,
I believe he wrote, thou shalt not commit adultery. Someone
else has even suggested he was writing down names and dates
as to when this sin was committed. That's pure speculation, I realize
that, but there's one other time in the Scriptures where the finger
of God wrote. Do you remember in the book of
Daniel when Belshazzar is holding his drunken feast and then he
comes up with an idea? Let's use the vessels from the
temple of Jehovah and we'll drink our wine with those vessels.
And they brought the vessels in and poured them up with wine
and they started drinking, having their party, and then he saw
a hand appear on the wall. the hand of God, riding in the
king's palace. And it wrote, Mene, mene, tekel,
upharsin, thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting. Verse 9 of John chapter 8, And they which heard it being
convicted by their own consciences, 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. Now, notice these men
were convicted by their own conscience. They weren't convicted by the
Holy Spirit because if they had Holy Spirit conviction, it would
have driven them to the Lord Jesus Christ. They would have
come to Him for mercy. They would have come to Him for
grace. They would have come to Him for forgiveness. They would
have come to Him for salvation, save me from my sins. That's
what the Holy Spirit conviction does. It doesn't take you away
from Christ, it brings you to Christ. But these men were convicted
by their own conscience. They felt guilty because they
saw the hypocrisy in themselves when the Lord pointed this out
to them. They were guilty of this sin. So, one by one, they
left the Lord Jesus Christ. And the only person who was left
before Christ was this woman, standing alone with Him. And
what a good place that is to be, alone with the Lord Jesus
Christ, best place you can be. Now, verse 10, when Jesus had
lifted up himself, we read of two stoops and two times that
he lifted himself up. Now, in the gospel, The Lord
Jesus Christ makes two stoops. Remember, everything in the scripture
is significant. There's nothing insignificant.
Everything written means something. And when our Lord became flesh,
there were two stoops. The first stoop was when God
became flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Christ Jesus, who is God the
Son, the eternal, uncreated God the Son, the One who created
the heavens and the earth, God, took upon Himself all the limitations
of the flesh. The limitations you have, He
had. Now somebody says, wait, He could
do miracles. Yes, but He never performed these
miracles for Himself. only for somebody else. He took
on all the limitations of the flesh. For Him to save me, He's
going to have to be like me, everything sin accepted. He's
going to have to have the same weariness, the same limitations
of the flesh. And what a stoop that the God
of glory would become flesh, a man. Oh, He humbled Himself. And what a stoop that was when
God, the Creator of the universe, the Sovereign of the universe,
the All-Powerful One, took upon Him all the limitations of the
flesh so that He sat wearied by His journey. He knew what
it was to hunger. He knew what it was to thirst.
He was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin. Now, there's a second stoop he
took. And this stoop was even greater.
It's the stoop that he made when he was made sin. Now, when he walked in this flesh,
he never sinned. He's the only man to never commit
adultery, no, not in his heart, in his thought, in his imagination. He is the only holy man to ever
live. He kept God's law perfectly. He knew no sin. And yet, when he was in the Garden
of Gethsemane, sweating great drops of blood, praying, Father,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. It was the cup
of being made sin. All the horror, all the hell
of being a sinner. all the hell of shame, all the
hell of disgrace, being forsaken by God. He experienced everything
about sin with the exception of the commission of it. He experienced
the guilt of it. He experienced the shame of it.
He experienced the humiliation, the degradation, everything about
sin he experienced when he was hanging on that cross and cried
out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It's because
God is holy. God is righteous. Sin must be
punished. The sins of God's elect literally
became his so that he was guilty. And God gave him what he had
coming. That adultery was placed upon
him, and he was stoned for it. He suffered the wrath of God
as the sin-bearing substitute. Listen to this scripture. For
he, God, 2 Corinthians 5.21, hath made him to be sin who knew
no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. He had two stoops. One stoop
when He became flesh, and the other stoop when He was made
sin. And now He raises up from that second stoop, and He speaks
to that woman on resurrection ground. And here's how He can
say to her what He says. Verse 10, When Jesus had lifted
up Himself 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. Now, how can that be? She was
caught red-handed because he's speaking to her on resurrection
ground, and there's no sin to condemn her for. Who shall lay
anything to the charge of God's elect is God that justifies. She's a justified woman. There's
no sin to condemn her for. That's the only reason why the
Lord wouldn't condemn her. There's nothing to condemn her
for. Her sin became Christ's sin.
Christ paid for that sin. His righteousness, His perfect
obedience is given to her, and she now stands before the law
of God, not guilty. What a gospel! Woman, where are
those thine accusers? They're shut up. You see, if
Christ died for me, nobody can say anything against me. God's
law can't. The devil can't. My own conscience can't. The
blood of Christ makes every believer free from sin. She says, no man,
Lord. Oh, how clearly she saw that
he is the Lord. And because of him, there was
no accusation. He said, I don't condemn you. He didn't overlook her sin. There
was nothing to condemn her for. Can you get hold of that? There
was nothing to condemn her for. She was innocent before the holy
law of God because of what Christ did for her. She was justified.
That's what the Bible means by justified. It means not guilty. Nothing to be condemned for.
And I love what he said next. He said, neither do I condemn
thee. and sin no more. The natural man would say, well,
go and sin all you want because there's no consequences. But
the Lord says to this woman, go and sin no more. And I want to never sin again. Justifying grace is never used
by a believer as a reason to continue in sin. Now, if you
hear this message and think, OK, I can sin all I want without
any consequences. I don't have to worry about it.
You've missed it and you've missed grace altogether. Justifying
grace is not an excuse for sin, but it is the reason for no condemnation. Then spake Jesus again unto them,
saying, I am the light of the world. He is the light as to
how God can be inflexibly just, and yet justify someone who is
unjust. God can be inflexibly absolutely
just, and yet justify me even though I'm guilty of breaking
every law. And He doesn't do it just sweeping
my sin under the carpet. He does it in a way that honors
His justice. My sin became Christ's. and Christ's righteousness becomes
mine, so that God looks at me and says, I do not condemn you,
because there's nothing to condemn me for. What a glorious gospel. Now, we have this message on
DVD, CD or cassette, if you call the church, if you email us,
or write, we'll send you a copy. And I'd like to invite you to
services at Todd's Road Grace Church. Our Bible study begins
this morning at 9.45, the morning worship service at 10.30, and
if you can't come this morning, we meet on Sunday evenings at
6. We'd love to have you come out
and visit with us. This is Todd Nyberg praying that
God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's our prayer. Amen. To request a copy of the
sermon you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.