I have written in the past about the woman caught in the act of adultery who was about to get stoned to death for her sin. This passage can be found in John 8:1-11. I have mentioned in a personal testimony how there have been many times in my life when I have felt like this woman. When people were casting stones and I felt as if they were hitting me, until I realized Jesus stood in the way of them hitting me and He gently said, “No longer do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”
After the realization that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, I was finally able to be freed from the stones that had weighed me down for so many years. Some stones cast from others and other stones were from my own personal guilt and shame. Yet all of them have been removed.
I want to speak to anyone ready to pick up a stone to cast at someone else, this is for all believers (including myself) and what role we have when we confront sin in someone else’s life or a societal sin. What can we learn from this passage to help us be light and salt but not stone throwers.
All of us have the tendancy to cast stones. Perhaps on the surface we would never seem that way but God knows our thoughts and he knows the secret judgements we place on others. It could be for reasons such as finding out someone is living in sexual immorality, adultery, drunkeness, addiction, homosexuality…or any other sin we can think of. It is easy for us to sit back and mentally cast stones at another person. We also have the tendancy to physically cast stones through gossip, slander, indifference or avoidance of the person/people. Each one of us, at one point or another, has picked up a stone and cast it on another person or perhaps even group of people.
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Please read the above passage one more time. When we cast stones at others we stop at the sin. We stop when it says ‘they will not inherit the kingdom of God’. We tend to be forgiving of those who commit sins of adultery, slander and greed, but when we hear the words homosexual we say they cannot inherit the kingdom of God. But the verse does not stop at the sin because none of us can inherit the kingdom without the following verses: THIS IS WHAT SOME OF YOU WERE, but you have been washed, sanctified and justified through the blood of Jesus.
When you were introduced to Christ it was probably because you had a friend who invited you to church or Biblestudy, or perhaps you have been in a church your entire life. When you came to a relationship with Christ you were not brought in by someone saying you will not inherit the kingdom of God without them sharing the hope of the gospel. You were brought to the arms of Jesus because you realized he loved you while you were yet a sinner and because you are a sinner he died for you.
Why do we judge the addict but forgive the adulterer? Why do we condemn the person who has murdered but forgive the slanderer? Why do we condemn the homosexual but forgive the liar?
We are not to cast stones at particular sins we feel are worse off than others and to be honest we are not supposed to cast stones at all. In John 8:7 Jesus said let him who is without sin cast the first stone. And one by one each person started walking away. We are to walk away as stone throwers and approach the sinner being condemned as Jesus did. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. How do we do a better job at this?
The first thing we need to realize is that Jesus died for the sins of the world. He died for the worst of sinners. He died for the lie of the five year old and the murder of the prisoner. All of them. He forgives all who turn to Him in repentance and faith. As we approach a societal sin or the sin of another individual it needs to be with the love Christ has so greatly shown us. When he said neither do I condemn you, now go and sin no more that was to us and that needs to be our response to others. We do need to address the sin, because all sin, if we do not repent and turn to Christ, will be judged and sentenced to death. All unrepentent sin that is not covered by the blood of Christ will be paid for in hell. If Christ is your savior he paid the price for you and your sin, if Christ is not your savior then it is the person who pays the price and penalty for their sin. All we like sheep have turned away but the Lord has laid on Jesus the iniquity and sin of us all.
All sin keeps us separate from the kingdom of heaven and all sin can be washed by Jesus. So as we meet and come across those who are struggling and living in unrepentant sin we need to approach them like Jesus would. He would be kind, he would be loving but he also says go and sin no more. This is not easy to do when you have been living in any form of sin. It is not easy to stop an addiction and it is not easy to end a homosexual lifestyle.
I want you to look through the life of Jesus and you will see the people he condemned were those who thought were self righteous, false teachers, those who put their trust in themselves and were blinded to see the grace and mercy of Christ. But we have so many examples of broken sinners who he forgave and then said ‘Follow me’. We need to share the forgiveness of Christ along with the reality of hell but from a place of understanding because hell was our destination before we knew Christ as Savior. That should lead us to a place of compassion to want others, no matter the sin in their life, to experience the same love and forgiveness we have received. But if we cast stones before we get a chance to share the gospel message then the person will be so beat down they will not be able to hear what you have to say.
So instead of picking up a stone the next time you are in contact with someone and you know about a particular sin in their life, drop the stone to the ground, thank God for his grace and mercy in your life and ask Him to help you always extend that to others. Confront the sin gently as Jesus did for us and pray they too can live a life free in the redemption of Christ.
The Lord bless you and Keep you,
Kara
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