Disciplined Living Sermon Ii: Freed By The Gift Of Forgiveness Series

FREED BY THE GIFT OF FORGIVENESS

When you were a child, were you ever caught with your hand in the cookie jar? Did you ever try to stay awake on Christmas Eve to catch Santa in the act? Did you ever catch mama in the act of kissing Santa Claus? Whenever you caught someone or you yourself were caught doing something that was forbidden, how did you or the one who caught you react?

We all have broken rules . . . tested the limits of the law . . . gotten off the straight and narrow path . . . gone astray . . . sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. When we were caught doing something we had been told by our parents "not to do" - at that moment of truth, what did we ask for? Of course, we asked for mercy, with a promise not to do it again.

When you were the one "catching" someone in a transgression and were asked for mercy (assuming you had the authority for granting mercy), how did you respond?

Whether we are the one asking for mercy or the one asked for mercy - there must be a response on the part of the one who can grant or deny mercy . . . on the part of the one who receives or is denied mercy.

Without exception, the response depends on one's attitude - toward the law . . . the transgression . . . the sinner . . . all three, bar none. In the Christian Church . . . a Christian society . . . a nation largely Christian, the law and the sin must be taken seriously, but so must the plight of the sinner!

In the confrontation that occurred between Jesus and His detractors, while He was teaching in the courtyard of the temple, Jesus demonstrated the order of priority in the administration of justice and mercy: (1) the sinner, (2) the sin, (3) the law - John 8:2-11 . . .

This particular incident - one that occurred not long after Jesus began his ministry in Jerusalem - tells us a lot about the attitude of Jesus toward sinners, and therefore, the attitude He expects of anyone who would be one of His disciples.

It is important that we see how Jesus treated this woman who, by the way, was just one of two people involved in the transgression against the Law; after all, it takes two to "tango".

It would be easy to use this passage to draw a wrong conclusion: like, it's okay for men but not women to commit adultery; or, as has been the case with some, it would be wrong to get the impression that Jesus did not take this sin seriously, as if it did not matter. Quite the contrary!

Jesus did not say, "Don't worry, it's okay." What He did say was, "I am not going to pass judgment on you right now (He did not come into the world to condemn), but, go prove that you can do better.”

A challenge that applies to you and me, and all forgiven sinners! For, at the end of the day, folks will see the wonderful change in a life that has been wrought by God’s forgiveness. Not only she, not only we, but all those who sit in judgment on us, stand in need of God’s forgiveness . . . face the challenge of doing better!

Jesus would not allow Himself to be trapped by legalists who lived in glass houses yet chomped at the bit to throw stones . . . zealots of the kind that would act as judge, jury and prosecution without due process . . . enemies of freedom in Christ - to be the person God wants His children to be - forgiven and forever blessed!

Our Lord's attitude and actions toward sinners demonstrated the opposite of the hypocrisy the woman was being subjected to. The mindset and manner of Jesus is the model for what we think and how we behave toward other sinners. His mindset was characterized by God's love. His manner of relating to sinners was characterized by God's grace - grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt.

Grace involves the second chance that God gives us all - the chance to redeem ourselves. A lady by the name of Hazel Feldman wrote a poem that expresses how we all have probably felt at one time or another about our need for a second chance:

“How I wish that there was some wonderful place called the Land of Beginning Again! Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches and all our poor selfish grievances . . . Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door, and never put on again.”