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(The Gift of Christ, Part 1)
Today’s study is called “Neither do I condemn you,” and I want to also call it “The Gift of Christ, Part 1,” because as I was putting together my notes, I realized that it would lead to a very natural follow-up to complete the picture that Yah has given me.
The phrase, “neither do I condemn you” should, of course, be familiar to us. It is found here in the Scriptures: “Yahshua went unto 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 the scribes and 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. 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 Yahshua 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 Yahshua was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
“When Yahshua 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 Yahshua said unto her, ‘Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.’” (John 8:1-11)
We could probably have a closing prayer here and be well satisfied. This brief incident reveals so much about the character of Yahweh, the nature of the sinful flesh, and the power of forgiveness, that by contemplating it with quiet prayer, every one of us, from the most recent visitor to the most experienced member, can learn something of eternal value.
Here was a woman, a representative, really, of every human being, caught in sin, without excuse, standing in the judgment and awaiting an unpleasant sentence. Here we have accusers, demons in the flesh, so scarred and wounded in a battle with their own consciences that the only way they could respond to Yahshua’s purity was to condemn others that they believed to be worse than themselves, and to undermine the Savior’s message that revealed their corruption.
If Yahshua had said, “Stone her,” they would have called attention to His lack of mercy. If He had said, “Release her,” they would have accused Him of rebellion against the Law. Just like the question they asked Him about taxes in Matthew 22, there was really no answer He could give that would clear Him in their eyes. And let me tell you, Satan’s angels are skillful at asking these kinds of questions. Those “thoughts and feelings that trouble the best of men?” Many of them are of this nature… questions on moral riddles designed to draw the mind away from holiness, and on to our own limited understanding of the world.
There is always a right answer to every question, but sometimes the answer confuses the flesh, because there are so many things we do not know. Every sinner is worthy of death, yes, but who will respond to mercy and repent? Who needs to feel instead the condemnation of the Law before they will seek forgiveness? Who is beyond the Spirit’s influence, and would only be spared further accountability by having their life ended? It is very rare that even the prophets of Yahweh are told these things about individual souls. And so, we must always extend mercy, while at the same time not excusing sin, or making light of the requirements of the Law.
Yahshua did not deny that the woman was guilty. He did not say she was to be released, to return perhaps to her transgression. He did not even forgive her in front of the crowd, although He demonstrated on other occasions, such as with the paralytic man that He healed, that He had the authority to do so. Therefore, He did not reject or deny the Law of Moses.
On the other hand, He did not demand that the sentence of the Law be carried out that moment. Like all sinners, this woman would die – either in her sins at some point, or to her current “self” in order to rise as a new creature. But how could Yahshua explain this to His enemies? How could He explain the purpose of His mission, to bring life to the dead, when they were only seeking an excuse to repudiate Him? The only right answer was not to play their game at all, but to speak the truth in love.
If Moses’ Law condemning sinners to death were to be carried out at the hand of man that very day, then let everyone who was worthy of death form a queue for the stoning. The Pharisees and Scribes did not believe in the born-again experience, and it was not yet the Day of Atonement. Each of them had done things that they knew, in their own minds and hearts, were just as worthy of judgment as this woman’s deeds, but because her sins were known, open to the world, they saw themselves as justified, superior.
Some may read this and say, “Look, Christ is saying the Law no longer applies, because even though they are guilty, He is not condemning them.” They entirely miss the point of this story, and it is incredibly sad that they have been taught wrongly concerning the nature of judgment and mercy. There was nothing deficient about the Law that it should be taken away, or lessened. Sin is just as deadly today as it was when Moses first received those tablets of stone. Adultery is worthy of death, both to the body and the spirit, because it is an act of selfishness, disguised as it may be by sentimentality and emotion. It is a rejection of a covenant that is very much a representation of Yahweh’s covenant with us, and demonstrates a mind that is unable to grasp saving truths. Unless “the soul that sinneth” is transformed, “it shall die.” (Ezek 18:20) I am using this as an example, because it is the crime of which the woman in John 8 was accused and guilty, but the same may be said of any sin, including disrespect of one’s mother and father.
But judgment is no longer in the hands of the Levitical Priests. When Christ was on the earth, judgment had been taken from Israel by the Romans for practical and political reasons. After He ascended, He took that authority unto Himself for spiritual reasons. Judgment is now His, and His alone, as He declared, “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” (John 5:21) Here we see the relationship, different in role, but equal in glory, with the Son announcing that even though His earthly mission did not involve judgment, (“I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” John 12:47) He is nevertheless the One who will ultimately judge every soul at the appointed time. Paul writes, “I charge thee therefore before Yahweh, and the Lord Yahshua the Messiah, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom, preach the Word…” (2Tim 4:1, 2)
There is a time and a place for accountability, even in this Age of Grace, but it is not at the hands of men more wicked than the accused. And beyond our understanding of the Law and judgment, as critical as that is, there is something here even more important for us as Christians, and especially as Adventist Christians.
This is Yahshua. This is the One we are waiting for. This is the very One we are waiting for. Yes, He comes as a King, with all-mighty power, blazing eyes, a white mount and a flaming sword that fills the sky with glory… yes, He comes as that Judge of the living and the dead, the Grand Magistrate over every soul ever created; nevertheless, it is Him. This same Yahshua in John 8 is the Yahshua in the Book of Revelation. He is worthy of our reverence, and our worship, but He is also worthy of our affection, our deepest love and most fervent fondness… yesterday, today, and forever.
The Father and Son are not against us. They are for us, and have poured Themselves out to reveal just how much They are on our side in the Great Controversy. This is why we must be able to understand Scriptures such as this one, which reads, “And you, being dead in your sins and the un-circumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened [brought to life] together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross.” (Col 2:13, 14)
Educated Adventists have learned what this passage means. Both the mainstream Church and we have written about these verses, explaining that the “handwriting of ordinances” that is against us is not the same thing as the “ordinances” themselves, as described by the Law. The record of our wrongs, our transgression of the Law, this is what is “against us” and “contrary to us.” The Scriptures universally describe the Law as good, a blessing, and designed to mold us into that image of the Creator that was our initial spiritual state. There is no contradiction here. Our sins are nailed to the cross, as explicitly stated here: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:6) The “old man,” the sinner, is crucified, and the “body of sin” is destroyed. The result, as we keep right on reading, is that we “should not serve sin.” The Law, which defines sin, continues to define sin just as it did before the cross… but we are no longer under the condemnation of the Law, because we have been set free. Paul actually says this right there in the Colossians 2 passage, because he is actually defining what he is saying. He writes, as we just saw: “having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us.” That is not a list of two separate things. He did not forgive us all trespasses and then blot out something called “the handwriting of ordinances;” no, in forgiving us from trespasses, He blotted out the record of spiritual debt that we owe and can never repay. It is one thought, expressed very clearly, concerning what the cross means to every born-again believer.
Unfortunately, the majority of the Christian world is taught that Paul is just using poetic language to refer to the Law, and specifically the Ten Commandments, as the “handwriting” that was crucified with Christ.
One of the most dangerous things, spiritually, about rejecting the Biblical Sabbath, and by extension the Law, is the way it changes a person’s perception of His Creator. There is that direct rejection of His authority, of course, and the Saturday vs. Sunday arguments that we have seen so many times make much of this rejection. But more spiritually, more fundamentally, more importantly, how we see Yahweh is affected by what we believe about His Law. To see the Law as a temporary, imperfect measure applied unevenly over time is really a rejection of the character of the Father and Son that Yahshua reveals in John 8, which we’ve just read. This loving Savior, who extends mercy at every possible opportunity, never gave us anything that can be properly described as “against” us, or “contrary” to us.
We cannot claim that it was some kind of emergency measure, like the allowance of polygamy, divorce and warfare, because while these are described as being permitted only for a limited time, (Mat 19:4-8, Isa 2:4) the Law and the Commandments are explicitly described as “forever,” (Deu 5:29, Psalm 119:44) eternal, and therefore not subject to changes in covenant, time, or circumstance.
This same Yahshua, the One who was sent, and died for us, did so only because the Law is absolute, and cannot be changed. Because the wages of sin is death, since there was sin, there had to be death. But because the Father and Son are not legalists, They found a way, which we call The Plan of Salvation, to preserve life beyond death, and so we have conversion, the born-again experience, the new life in Christ to replace the old, and baptism – its outward expression and earthly symbol.
Before we end, though, I want to focus on that very last part of our original reading for this study, the words that Yahshua spoke to the woman right at the end. He said, “Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.”
We have certainly, and rightly, spoken a lot about those last five words: “go, and sin no more.” I think there are times, though, that it is important to recognize the connection between those words and the words just before it, “Neither do I condemn thee.”
I think a lot of people, those who fall victim to the lie of works-based-religion, see the Bible verses that say, “Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father which in Heaven is perfect,” (Mat 5:48) and read in Ephesians that the work of the Church is “the perfecting of the saints,” (Eph 4:12) and hear the instructions from the verse here to “Go, and sin no more,” and they think, “Because I am guilty, God is telling me to redeem myself by going, and sinning no more.”
Now, let us understand this. And if anyone here has been thinking this way, you have the opportunity right now to identify the error, correct it, and become a genuine believer in “righteousness by faith,” and not by works. Again, the false thought is, “Because I am guilty, God is telling me that I have to make up for my sins by ceasing my bad behavior, and from this moment on, forever after, to not sin again.”
I actually think that most people who hear the victory message, and reject it, do so because this is the way they are hearing the promise of victory over sin. It is, “Oh, God is giving me the power to undo the damage to my soul, to experience peace, and joy, and salvation, by ceasing to sin.” No, false, wrong… fatally wrong. There is nothing you can do, no act you can perform, that will reverse or cancel the effect of a sin. It is completely impossible to undo transgression of the Law, to make it as if it had never happened; therefore, God does not ask us to attempt it.
Christ does not say, “Because you are condemned, go and sin no more, and then you will no longer be condemned.” Brethren, this is the lie that Satan invented when He heard Christ teaching mankind and thought, “How can I pervert this message?”
The Gospel, the good news, is the opposite. It is not, “Because you are guilty, because you are condemned, I now instruct you to go, and sin no more.” No, assuredly not. It is, “Because I do not condemn you, because I forgive you, because I set you free, go and sin no more!”
Isn’t that the best thing you’ve ever heard in your life? And isn’t this exactly what the Savior is saying? Isn’t this the lesson of John 8:1-11? He is not giving you a work order. He is not giving you a check list. He is not giving you a plan of behavior for the rest of your life. Not at all. He is saying, “I have set you free. By my Word, by my Blood, I have set you free. Go, and experience that freedom.” Do you know, to the ears of an angel, those two sentences must sound the same? “Go, and sin no more,” has exactly the same meaning as “Go, and experience your freedom.”
Now, isn’t it a relief to know that we are not given an instruction about what works we need to do, or not to do, in order to be righteous? Righteousness does not come by obedience to the Law. The Father and Son, as I have said before, are not legalists. They are giving us freedom, so that whatsoever we do according to their Spirit is “good” and “righteousness.” I am not saying every impulse we have is righteous; no we are still dwelling in sinful flesh, with its temptations, and with a fair degree of ignorance about holiness. These are things that sanctification addresses; what I am talking about right now is conversion. What I am talking about right now is the gift, un-earned, of righteousness by faith. We learn what righteousness is and, because we have been set free to believe that we are the servants of righteousness, we are indeed the servants of righteousness. Our actions match our testimony, which matches our faith.
The Law is not against us. To the spirit-filled Christian, the Law is the expression of our freedom. It is a description of the way that a spiritually free person behaves. It is a transcript of the way that a spiritually free person thinks. The Sabbath, no different from any of the other nine, is a way of experiencing the world through Christ’s life, resting in the Father’s love, ceasing from the work of justifying a doomed and unfulfilling existence. How exhausting you find that to have been, when you look backward at your life before Christ’s love.
What a joy it is to know that when we hear this voice, Christ’s voice to us, we are that woman. We are caught in adultery, spiritual adultery with the world, with false gods, with idols of selfishness, short-sightedness, unjustified anger, slothfulness, inappropriate lusts, and we have no excuse. We have no justification. We have accusers, the demons assigned to our case and a few mean-spirited humans we have picked up along the way, standing before the Throne saying, “He is worthy of death,” “She is worthy of death.” But Yahshua, the eternally Wise, says, “I know what My Law says. And for that sin, this person will die. Nevertheless, in Me, because I am holy, they will have life.” That is exactly what the Scripture that we read earlier says: “even so the Son quickeneth whom He will.” (John 5:21)
Because we are connected in bonds of love, the Son wills to quicken us, to bring us to life, and even though we die, either in the body, or – for the 144,000 – to the “old man” of our carnal selves, nevertheless we live. It is the paradox made possible by divinity. “Yahshua said unto her, ‘I am the Resurrection, and the Life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.’” (John 11:25) This is the mystery, the marvel, that sustains us in ceaseless ages when this era comes to an end. Those who seek after this mystery, who are devoted to experiencing it, they understand what it means to abide in Christ, and to have Christ abide in us by His Spirit. We know that we have been set free. We know that we have been cleansed from unrighteousness. We know that, as we have been discussing over the last few weeks, and that we need to emphasize to those who hear us, our backslidings have been healed. We know that because these things are true, we will “go and sin no more.” It is not “might,” “maybe,” or “someday.” It is as sure, and as immediate, as the freedom that we have received.
We are not condemned. In Christ Yahshua there is no condemnation. There is no guilt. There is no suffering. There is no sin.
I will speak more about this idea of no guilt, and no suffering, next week, because this is also a matter that we need to understand properly. I will also speak more about the role of the Holy Spirit in all this, because once we hear these words, “Go, and sin no more,” and covenant to obey them, in that moment we receive “wings of the Spirit” that keep us from touching the ground. This is sanctification, and those who are free will know what it means to be sanctified. For today, we have much to consider about our freedom in Christ, which is ours, in spirit and indeed (in deed) that very moment we say “Yes” to the gift that He offers, the gift of His very own and eternal life.
David.
An Enduring Witness
“The Galatians were given up to the worship of idols; but, as the apostles preached to them, they rejoiced in the message that promised freedom from the thralldom of sin. Paul and his fellow workers proclaimed the doctrine of righteousness by faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ. They presented Christ as the one who, seeing the helpless condition of the fallen race, came to redeem men and women by living a life of obedience to God’s law and by paying the penalty of disobedience. And in the light of the cross many who had never before known of the true God, began to comprehend the greatness of the Father’s love.” [Acts of The Apostles, p. 207]
“Those who are forward in accusing others, and zealous in bringing them to justice, are often in their own lives more guilty than they. Men hate the sinner, while they love the sin. Christ hates the sin, but loves the sinner. This will be the spirit of all who follow Him. Christian love is slow to censure, quick to discern penitence, ready to forgive, to encourage, to set the wanderer in the path of holiness, and to stay his feet therein.” [The Desire of Ages, p. 462]
“Christ has pledged Himself to be our substitute and surety, and He neglects no one. He who could not see human beings exposed to eternal ruin without pouring out His soul unto death in their behalf, will look with pity and compassion upon every soul who realizes that he cannot save himself.
“He will look upon no trembling suppliant without raising him up. He who through His own atonement provided for man an infinite fund of moral power, will not fail to employ this power in our behalf. We may take our sins and sorrows to His feet; for He loves us. His every look and word invites our confidence. He will shape and mold our characters according to His own will.” [Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 157]