How Do You Respond to God’s Forgiveness?
Intro:
1. When the Lord went to the cross He made forgiveness possible for each of us.
2. Eph 1:7 - In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace . . .
3. When you surrender your life to the Lord, this forgiveness applies to you!
3. Act 2:38 - Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
4. Act 22:16 - And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
5. Now that you are forgiven - how do you respond to this wonderful gift?
John 8:1-11
I. v5 - The Most Important Question to be Asked by God:
“What Do You Say Regarding Sin?”
A. v4 - This woman was obviously guilty - she was caught in the very act of adultery!
1. According to the Law she was to be executed! Deut 22:22 - If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
2. But - it takes 2 to commit adultery - where was the man?
3. It appears they were more concerned about trapping Jesus than they were about finding truth!
B. v6 - This test, then, was would Jesus break a direct command of the written Law of Moses?
1. He had already defied some of their oral traditions:
a. In Jn 5:1-9 - He healed a man on the Sabbath Day (practiced medicine).
b. In Jn 5:8-9 - He told a man to carry His bed on the Sabbath Day.
c. In Matt 12:1-2 - He & His disciples “harvested” corn on the Sabbath Day.
2. He had, supposedly, also broken a written Law because He talked as though He were God Himself.
a. Jn 5:18 - For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
b. The Law He supposedly broke was Lev 24:16 - Anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native- born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.
c. The Jews correctly understood what He was saying. He claimed to be equal to God because He was! (Phil 2:6)
C. God sees sin differently than we do.
1. We tend to see sin as relatively unimportant.
a. We compare our sinfulness with those around us who seem to be more sinful.
b. We tend to excuse ourselves for not being so bad.
2. God sees sin as rebellion against Him & His standards for us.
a. To Him - sin is black & white - not relative. He will have nothing to do with sin or the one who commits it!
b. To Him - one transgression makes you a sinner. Jam 2:10 - For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
c. Rom 3:23 says that all of us have sinned.
d. Rom 6:23 says that the consequences of sin is death!
3. Since we are all sinners justly condemned to eternal death - God’s answer to this question becomes pretty important.
II. v7 - The Most Important Answer to be Given by God:
“The One Without Sin Must be the Executioner!”
A. What do you suppose the Lord wrote in the dirt?
1. Maybe He quoted Deut 22:22 - If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die... And then He underlined the part about the man!
2. v6 - Write (καταγράφω) is not the normal word for “write”. This word includes the idea of writing a record against!
a. The word is used in Job 13:26 (LXX) - For you write down bitter things against me and make me inherit the sins of my youth.
b. So maybe - He wrote the sin each accuser was guilty of.
c. My favorite! - He wrote out the name of the woman each of them had had an affair with! Maybe each accuser had committed adultery sometime in their life but just never got caught!
B. God wants you to focus on correcting your own sins - not pointing out the sins of others!
1. Justice demands that only the innocent have a right to pass judgment on the guilty. Matt 7:1-2 - “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
2. ILL: The Unmerciful Servant (Matt 18:23-35).
C. You need to straighten out your own life before getting critical of other people!
III. v11 - The Most Important Response to be Made by You:
“Sin No More!”
A. You need to notice what the Lord didn’t say here.
1. He didn’t say, “Oh well, that’s okay. Everyone is doing it anyway. We’ll just let it go!”
2. He said, “Leave your life of sin!” (lit: “Do not continue sinning!”)
3. These Jews treated this woman as a thing - a weapon to use again Jesus.
4. Jesus treated her as a person needing forgiveness & a transformed life!
B. God wants you to get away from the sin oriented life.
1. There are only 2 kinds of people in the world: sinners on their way to Hell & sinners saved by grace!
2. Once you’ve committed sin - there doesn’t appear to be a way to live good enough to become a
“non-sinner”.
3. Good deeds don’t erase bad deeds! Accumulating more good deeds than bad deeds in your life doesn’t shift God’s sin ledger in your favor!
4. All you can do is trust your life to the Lord Jesus. That’s what He wants you to do!
5. Because of the cross - He can make you righteous!
C. Your way of thanking God for His salvation - forsake your sin oriented life for His God directed life!
1. Accept His forgiveness, accept His authority over your life. Let God call the shots!
2. Your thanksgiving gift to Lord Jesus is to forsake the sin oriented life & live for Him!
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