Tonight, if you will, let's open
our Bibles to John chapter 8. John chapter 8. We'll read the
first 11 verses. Jesus went unto the Mount of
Olives. Many people believe that the
chapter division Might have been better if that first verse had
been included in chapter 7, where we read, and every man went unto
his own house. The Lord Jesus Christ, of course,
did not have a house, did not have a place to lay his head,
a pillow upon which to lay his head. And so he went unto the
Mount of Olives, maybe spent the whole night there in prayer,
I'm not sure about that, but alone among the olive trees. 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. That was the custom. The
teacher sat down and the people stood. Of course, we do just
the opposite today. The teacher stands and the pupils
sit down. But at that time, this was the
custom. And the scribes, just get the picture, if you would,
early in the morning, early in the morning, maybe the sun's
just coming up because in verse 12 the Lord Jesus Christ declared
himself, I am the light of the world. Maybe the sun was just
coming up this morning and the Lord Jesus Christ was early in
the temple and he sat down and a number of people came to hear
him teach. And the scribes and Pharisees
brought unto him a woman. They brought her unto him. Can
you imagine the commotion? The disruption? Not being polite
in any way. Not respecting the Savior in
any way in the sense that he was teaching. They just come
in and disrupt and interrupt him. And bring this woman and
put her in their midst. And they say unto him, Master,
this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in
the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what sayest
thou? This they said, tempting him
that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down,
and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard
them not. So when they continued asking
him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without
sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again
he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard
it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one
by one, beginning at the eldest even unto the last, and Jesus
was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus
had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto
her, Woman, where are those unaccusers? 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. The Lord Jesus Christ was in
Jerusalem. We know that he was, or he spent
his life in Galilee, Nazareth. But he was in Jerusalem observing
one of the three annual feasts that the law commanded for the
Jewish males. And the day before this occurred,
the day before this episode took place that we just read about,
he had been in the temple teaching. If you look back in chapter 7,
verse 14, it says now, about the midst of the feast, Jesus
went up into the temple and taught. It was the Feast of Tabernacles. And the Lord Jesus Christ, the
day before this happened, when this woman was thrust before
him, taken in the act of adultery, he had been in the temple teaching. At some point, the day before,
at some point, the Pharisees and chief priests had sent the
temple police to arrest him. You notice that in chapter 7,
verse 32. The Pharisees heard that the
people murmured such things concerning him, and the Pharisees and the
chief priests sent officers to take him, to arrest him and bring
him before them. Well, the temple police, they
returned without him, and when they asked why, Why have you
come back without him? Notice in verses 45 and 46, Then
came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they
said unto them, Why have you not brought him? The officers
answered, Never man spake like this man. Why have you not brought him?
Why didn't you arrest him? Why didn't you bring him? That's
what we told you to do. Never man spake like this man. That was their answer. And it
was on the last day, the day before this took place, which
was the last day of the feast, if you notice in verse 37, chapter
7 and verse 37, it was on that last day of the feast that he
stood and cried saying, if any man thirsts, if there's anyone
here who is thirsty, If there's anyone here who is hungry and
thirsty for forgiveness of sins, for salvation, for deliverance,
if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Now, the passage
we're looking at tonight took place the following day. I'm sure that these Pharisees
and scribes who brought this woman, they were angry because
of what had taken place the day before. And what the people were
saying, is this not the Christ? Could this be the Christ? And
the temple police coming back and saying, never man spake like
this man. And he standing up in the temple
and with a loud voice so that everyone could hear him. He didn't
do this in a corner, did he? If any man thirsts, let him come
unto me and drink. What audacity that a man would
make a statement like that here in the temple of God. come unto
me, and drink as though he could satisfy a person's thirst. So they go out and they find
a woman, the scripture says, taken in the very act of adultery. Now several times we read in
the Gospels The hatred that these Jewish religious leaders, the
princes of this world, that's what Paul called them in 1 Corinthians
2, the princes of this world, the Jewish religious leaders,
several times in the Gospels we read that their hatred of
him had caused them to do what John tells us they did here in
this passage, John chapter 8 and verse 6, tempting him. This, they said, tempting him,
testing him. Now, I suppose the case of the
tribute money is the best known of these that are recorded in
the Word of God. You remember they came and they
asked him, is it lawful to pay tribute unto Caesar? They had thought about that,
just as they had thought about this with this woman. And just
as the Sadducees had thought about their question about the
woman who had seven husbands, whose wife shall she be in the
resurrection? They had thought that they had
cases where he would have to answer in a way that would give
them something to charge him with. In the case of the tribute
money, is it lawful to pay taxes, tribute, to Caesar? And you remember,
he said, give me a piece of the money. And they brought a piece
of the money and he asked, whose image is that? Well, it's Caesar's
image. Well, pay to Caesar the things
that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. They thought that no matter which
way he answered, he would either offend the law of Moses or he
would offend the civil authority that is the Romans. We see his
wisdom. And the same thing is true in
this case. In this case, they thought that
his answer, no matter which way he answered, what are we to do
with this woman? The law tells us she's to be
stoned. What are we to do? They imagined
that they had a case that they delivered unto him that no matter
how he answered, he would either offend the law of Moses or the
truth that had been proclaimed that he was a friend of sinners,
of harlots and publicans that he invited. He came not to call
the righteous unto repentance, But sinners unto repentance,
they thought they had Him again. In all of these cases, they tempted
Him. And in these temptations, that's
what the Word of God says, calls them temptations, trials, testings. In all of these temptations,
and as I looked at this one this past week, I thought of the verse
in Psalm 76 and verse 10, And we see before our eyes this
text as it is given, Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee. Surely the wrath of man will
praise thee. That is, praise God. These men tempted the Lord because
of their wrath and their hatred of him and yet it all turned
out to his praise. Surely the wrath of man shall
praise thee. They cited the law to punish
this woman by stoning and insisted, insisted that he give an answer. Now if they had been concerned
about honoring God's law, they would have brought the adulterer
as well as the adulteress. They were not concerned about
God's honor, about God's glory, about the law of God being upheld. Their one concern was to trap
him, to ensnare him, so they would have somewhat to accuse
him. When he did not answer, they
insisted. And you know, man, discussed
what did he write on the ground? What did he write on the sand?
That's futile. If it was necessary or needful
for us to know, God would have told us. But they insisted, they insisted
that he answer. And so when he answered them,
he said, he that is without sentiment among you, And notice this, he
that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. Now they had cited the law, but
in the law, in cases of stoning, and yes God did in his law, there
was capital offenses by which people were punished by stoning,
but in those cases, The law said this, the hands of the witnesses. A person could not be put to
death without at least two witnesses. And the law said the hands of
the witnesses shall be first upon him. In other words, if
someone was accused of having done something that merited death,
Well, the ones who witnessed who could say, I saw him do this,
I saw her do this, let them pick up a stone first. And then the
others in the city would gather around and they too would stone
the person. But the first ones to cast the
stones were the ones who witnessed against the person. Our Lord
answered, He that is without sin among you, and most people
believe he that is without this sin, this sin of adultery, he
that is without this sin of adultery, let him first cast a stone at
her. Well, this cleared the deck.
This cleared the deck. as their consciences began to
do its work. The oldest in this group, he
was the first one to kind of tuck his tail between his legs
and walk away. And then the next one, until
they were all gone. The woman was now before the
Lord, Jesus, The people he had been teaching, of course, there
in the temple, they were still there, but those who had brought
this woman and huddled around her, they were gone. But the
Lord was now alone with her, and there was none to condemn
her or accuse her. Notice in verse 10. Woman, where
are those unaccusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She
said, no man, Lord. No man. Does this mean that she
was not condemned? When our Lord said, neither do
I condemn thee, go and sin no more. Does this mean that she
was not condemned? He told her that He didn't condemn
her. But think about this. Look back
to John chapter 3. John chapter 3. And verse 16 and 17, these are
the words of our Lord. For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now watch this. For God
sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, neither
do I condemn thee. The Lord Jesus Christ did not
come into this world to condemn the world. And there's a reason for that.
The world was already condemned. But that the world through him
might be saved. This woman was a sinner because
the Lord Jesus Christ told her go and sin no more. Tonight I want us to consider
what the scriptures teach us about the state of a lost sinner. A lost sinner. She was a sinner. For he said go and sin no more.
What does the Bible tell us about the state of a lost sinner? Then, I want us to think in light
of the state that the scriptures speak of, of a lost sinner, what
the Bible tells us about hope for a lost sinner. First, what
is the state of a lost sinner? Well, number one, the state of
a lost sinner is one of condemnation. I've already said this. The Lord
Jesus Christ didn't come into the world to condemn the world,
because the world was already condemned. This woman was a sinner,
and thus she was condemned. God's law demands absolute perfection,
absolute holiness, and sin is a transgression of his law, which
declares the soul that sins, it shall die. So that's the first
thing about the state of every sinner. If you're here tonight,
every lost sinner, if you're here tonight and you have not
trusted, you do not know Christ as your Lord and Savior, your
state is one of condemnation. You are condemned. Number two,
the state of a lost sinner is one of defilement. This woman
was a sinner and she was defiled. She was defiled. She was taken
in the very act of adultery. You know, sinners, pictured in
Ezekiel chapter 16. We all love this analogy of that
baby. That baby that is born and then
is just cast out. It's not washed. It's not suppled.
It's not wrapped up. It's just cast out. And the scripture
says, to the loathing of thy person. The baby, the individual
is cast out, defiled in its blood to the loathing of its person. In Job chapter 15 and verse 16
we read, how much more abominable and filthy is man. which drinketh water like iniquity."
The state of a lost sinner is one of condemnation and it is
one of defilement. Number three, the state of a
lost sinner is one of depravity. Depravity. This woman was a sinner
and thus she was depraved. The image in which Adam was created
was in the image of God that is of uprightness. He had a mind
when he came from the hand of his creator and God breathed
into him the breath of life. He had a mind to know God's will
and a heart to love and to do it. Morally and spiritually he
was created in the image of God. But once man sinned and all of
us come into this world guilty, sinners, under condemnation,
defiled, and depraved, morally and spiritually. Man now bears
the image not of God, but of Satan. And we speak of this depravity
as total, total depravity. And that doesn't mean that man
is as bad as he could be. But it does mean that nothing
in him is as good as it should be. I read that statement this
past week. I like that. Total depravity
doesn't mean that everything in man is as bad as it could
be, but rather that nothing in him is as good as it should be. The word total, of course, just
means that in the fall, The heart of man, that is his mind, his
will, his affections were all affected by sin. Total depravity. Number four,
the state of a lost sinner is one of inability. This woman
was a sinner and thus did not have the ability to love God
perfectly. That's what God commands. That's
what the law of God commands. To love Him perfectly and to
love our neighbor as ourself. And yet because we are sinners,
we do not have that ability. We lost the ability to do this. But let's remember, when we lost
the ability to obey God's command, God did not lose His right to
command. And the command is still the
same. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, thy
soul, thy being, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But a sinner doesn't have the ability to do
that. As we go through these things,
I hope that all of us are impressed that the condition of a person
without Christ could not be any worse. Could not be any worse. Condemned. Defiled. Depraved. Unable. And the fifth thing,
the state of a lost sinner is one of wrath. This woman was
a sinner and thus in the place of wrath. He that believeth not
the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. You know to go to hell a person
doesn't need to do anything. Doesn't need to do anything.
We just come into this world, we're lost, we're estranged from
God, and if God doesn't do something for us, we will perish eternally. We're under the wrath of God
because we have not believed in the name of the only begotten
Son of God. And number six, the state of
a lost sinner is one of death. Death. This woman was a sinner
and thus dead in trespasses and sins. To those saved by the grace
of God, to whom Paul wrote in the letter of Ephesians, he said,
and you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. That's not a very pretty picture,
is it? Not a very pretty picture. And that's all of us by nature.
Is there any hope? Is there any hope for a person
like this? Well, thank God there is. And I want us to see what
the hope of a lost sinner is. Three things. First of all, now
listen, there is hope because God has a purpose. There is hope because God has
a purpose. And God purposed before the foundation
of the world to save sinners to the praise of the glory of
His grace. He is God, and He declared, I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. Mercy and grace are both undeserved
by every lost sinner. If you turn with me to the letter
of Ephesians chapter 1, we see a brief skeleton outline
of God's purpose. Ephesians chapter 1. God has purpose to save, and
Paul says in verses 3 and the first part of verse 4, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world. There is hope. There is hope
for a lost sinner because God has a purpose and His purpose
is to save sinners to the praise of the glory of His grace. All the lost sinners, I want
you to notice it says, according as He has chosen us in Him, that
is in Christ, before the foundation of the world. Those whom God
purposed to save, those whom He chose, He chose in Christ
to be our mediator, to be the one mediator, and to be in union
with Him. There's no righteousness to justify
any lost sinner other than Christ's righteousness. The first thing
I said about a lost sinner is he's in a state, she's in a state
of condemnation. The opposite of condemnation
is justification. Justification. And in order to
be justified, we need a righteousness that only God can provide. Thank
God He did. He has. There's no righteousness
to justify any lost sinner other than Christ. And yet the scripture
says there's therefore now no condemnation to them which are
in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. But you said
a sinner is in a state of condemnation, yes? But when a sinner, by the
grace of God, passes from death into life, death under life,
he's now in a state of justification. Who shall say 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 at the right hand of God. There's no righteousness to justify
any lost sinner other than Christ's righteousness. And there's no
fountain to cleanse. What was the second thing we
said about the state of a sinner? Defilement. Filthiness. Filthiness. The only fountain that washes
away that defilement of sin is that fountain that God opened.
And He opened it for sin and for uncleanness. Now that's what
the Scripture says. If you're here tonight and you've
never been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, He opened a
fountain. He opened it on purpose for sin
and for uncleanness. You have any sin? Are you defiled
with sin? There's a fountain. If any man thirst, that's what
he said, let him come unto me and drink. There's no, again here in Ephesians
1, there's no sonship that is being brought into the family
of God apart from Christ. Notice that in verse 5, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself. There's no forgiveness of sins
for any lost sinner apart from the redemption that is in Christ. Verse 7, in whom, that is in
Christ, we have redemption through his blood. the forgiveness of
sins according to the riches of His grace. There's no indwelling
or sealing of the Holy Spirit for any lost sinner apart from
Christ. Look in verse 13. In whom, that
is in Christ, you also trusted after that you heard the word
of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also After
that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. And there is no inheritance,
that is, there is no heaven for any lost sinner apart from Christ. Verse 11. In whom also, in Christ
also, we have obtained an inheritance. being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his will. Is there any hope for a law center? Yes. Number one, there's hope
because God has a purpose and his purpose is to save many lost
sinners to the praise of the glory of his grace. Number two,
is there any hope? Yes, there's hope because of
Christ's mission. Because of Christ's mission. What was his mission when he
came into this world? What was his mission when he
came into this world? And let me answer that question
first by his own words, that is, by the words of Christ, and
then by the words of an inspired apostle. What was his mission
when he came into this world? Here's his answer, not my answer,
not the Baptist Church's answer. This is Christ's answer. For I came down from heaven,
this is the mission I came on, I came down from heaven, not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which
he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day. The salvation that He came to
bring is a complete salvation. Not only the saving of our soul,
but notice He said, but to raise Him up at the last day, even
the resurrection of our body. What was His mission? His mission
was to come and to do the will of His Father and not to lose
one. of those that the father gave
him but to raise it up or him up or her up at the last day
now that's his words yes there's hope there's hope for a lost
sinner aren't you thankful aren't you glad tonight That's the answer from the Lord
himself. But now, hear this answer. We
all are familiar with this. We love this verse of scripture.
I know 1 Timothy 1 and verse 15, the Apostle Paul. This is
a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. It's worthy
that every one of us here in this room tonight accept this.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And he said,
of whom I'm chief. Did you know when Paul was still
called Saul, when he was Saul the Pharisee, that the whole
world would have looked at Saul And they would have thought,
surely, surely, he could not be compared to this woman who
was taken in adultery. Surely, this religious man, he
could quote no doubt most of the Pentitude, who had studied, who had sat
at the feet of the top rabbi, the top master in Israel at that
time? Surely, a man like that, could
he be compared with a woman like this, who was taken in the very
act of adultery? Well, he actually said, of whom
I'm chief. This is a faithful saint and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ came into the world to
save sinners of whom I'm chief. He saw himself as much worse
than this woman. And I think that's true of all
of God's children. There's not going to be any fights
in heaven, thank God for that. But if there were, it might be
over this. which one of us was the sorriest
of all, the most wicked of all. And yet God, in His love and
mercy, came seeking us. There's hope because of Christ's
mission, because of God's purpose. And number three, there's hope
because Christ has commanded His ambassadors You know what
an ambassador is? It's a representative of an official,
like our president. He has his ambassadors in all
the various countries, and they speak for the president. They
represent the president. And God has his ambassadors in
this world, who he has commanded to go into all the world and
preach the gospel until he comes, and to pray men, to beseech men,
Be ye reconciled unto God. Beseech men to be reconciled
unto God. Why would you die if you're here
tonight without Christ? Why would you die, O house of
Israel? The scripture is clear. God takes
no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Why would you die? Be reckoned. What does that mean?
It means just quit fighting against God. Stack your arms. Surrender. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Well, this case of this
woman being brought before the Lord, it illustrates a number
of things, but it illustrates his wisdom, doesn't it? They
thought they had him. He's infinite wisdom. But more
than that, it illustrates his compassion. His compassion receiving
sinners. Neither do I condemn thee. Go
and sin no more. And notice the order. I think
this is important. I saw this this past week for
the first time. No condemnation. Go and sin no
more. He didn't say go and sin no more
and then there will be no condemnation, did he? That's what religion
tells people. Clean up your life. Straighten
up your life. Get all these things in order, and sure enough, maybe
when you stand before God someday, you'll hear that sentence, no
condemnation. No, that's the reverse. The order
is first, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's no
condemnation to them that are in Christ. Then, go and sin no
more. All right, David, let's sing
a verse of a hymn.