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For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 NIV
It seems everyone in the world knows John 3:16. What a great promise. God loved the world. He sent us His Son. Through belief in him we have eternal life. Great stuff! I wonder how many people have noticed an even greater truth that lies in Jesus’ next statement.
Before you spend too much time thinking about 3:17, place yourself in the mind of the woman caught in adultery (John 9). You are drug through the streets of the city. You are guilty of adultery and soon everyone will know it. What’s worse, in a matter of minute’s rocks and stones will shower down on you. There will be no place to hide. No chance to defend yourself. You’d manage, you think, to deflect the first few. But it would be a losing battle.
You kneel before the feet of a great teacher. You are surrounded by your accusers. Hope is gone. You decide your best defense is no defense at all. You kneel and cover your head with your hands. Perhaps your hands will at least deflect some of the pain for a time. You brace yourself for the first stone and wait. But it doesn’t come. Imagine the agony and the knot in your stomach.
“Woman, where are your accusers?” A gentle voice breaks the silent anguish that grips your very soul. Cautiously, you look up and to your shock, you are alone with the teacher. Gathering your thoughts, you speak.
“There are none, sir.” You pause to let that sink in. “Th-there is no one here.”
“Then, neither do I condemn you. Go, and leave the life of sin you are living.”
I don’t think any of us can fully grasp the relief the woman felt that day. Death was literally moments away. The stones were in hand. The verdict was in. The law and sentence were clear. Yet, at the last possible moment, the pardon rang loud and clear. NO CONDEMNATION!
All of us find ourselves, at some point, where the woman found herself that day. We become grossly aware of our weaknesses and failings. We suffer the pain of the consequences that our poor choices bring to fruition.
Three times in the book of John alone, Jesus references His mission on earth in relation to condemnation. In John 3:17 Jesus tells us that he came to bring life. He didn’t come to condemn us. He didn’t come to burden us with the law. He came to release us, to free us, to deliver us from condemnation. He came to bring us life!
In John 9 He demonstrates that principle in the account of the woman caught in adultery. Later, in John 12:47-48, in some of Jesus’ last teachings on earth He repeats the fact that he did not come to judge those who rejected him. They would be condemned for that rejection, for sure, but it would be their own words that would condemn them and they would be judged by another [Father God] for their actions.
Condemnation will come to those who reject Jesus. Romans 3:23, and other passages speak clearly to the fact that we, as mankind fall far short of God’s standard. Romans 6:23 teaches that our sin nature will lead us to death without a Savior.
But Romans 6 & 7 teach us something else about condemnation In this section of Paul’s letter to the Roman church, he reveals his own inner struggle with sin. The things he desires to do, he fails to do. The things he attempts to avoid, he finds himself doing. What truth does this ‘wretched man’ find in his struggle?
Romans 8:1 gives us the answer. ‘There is therefore, NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus.’ There are many out there that will be willing to point out our faults, question our motives, and mock our sincere intentions.
There will be times we fail miserably, and deliberately and we condemn ourselves. It is in those darkest moments, when we realize our guilt and huddle in a fetal position before the Lord, waiting for the rocks to fall, His gentle, soft voice beckons us: ‘Neither do I condemn thee. Go, and sin no more.’
(excerpt from ‘Living GRACE-fully with Sin’)
He walked slowly up the stairs. He didn’t really want to go into that room. He didn’t want to face them. But he had nowhere else to go. It was dark, cold and the Jews may be out for more blood. What a difference a few hours had made. It seemed like just minutes ago that he’d left this upper room with his buddies and the Teacher. He could still smell the aroma of the roasted Lamb, he could still see the Teacher’s shadow in the distance as he prayed. How could he have fallen asleep? If only he’d known.
He tried to open the door quietly, but the rusty hinges gave him away. The others in the room looked up when he entered. Not one said a word. The air had been filled with celebration earlier, but now it was heavy, full of grief and sadness.
He found a corner and slid down the wall. He buried his face in his hands. He began to cry again. This time, there were few tears left. He sensed a shape near him and heard John’s voice.
“Did you hear about Judas?” John’s face was full of grief and fear when he looked up.
“They got Judas too?”
“No,” there was a heavy pause, “he hung himself.”
Peter placed his face back in his hands “When will it end?”
He may have slept a bit. If so, it would be the first sleep he’d had in two days. But his rest was shattered by a rattling gate. Instantly everyone was up. They were here. At any moment soldiers could break through.
John looked carefully through the drawn window. “It’s only Mary. Let her in.”
Mary bust through the door. She was breathless from running and could barely speak.
“He’s not there. The tomb. He’s gone. They took his body!”
Peter broke through the crowd. “What are you talking about?” He demanded.
“I went to the tomb to mourn. The stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty Peter!”
Peter hesitated to try to understand. Then he bolted from the room and ran down the steps. He hurried through the streets. ‘It couldn’t be,’ He told himself. When he and John got to the tomb it was just as Mary had told them. The grave clothes lay in a neat pile. The small room smelled of fresh burial spices. But there was no one there.
Peter’s mind was racing. He was angry at the Jews for taking his body. But what if they hadn’t taken it? “What if….NO! I saw him die.” He got back to the room before the others returned. He didn’t know what to make of things. So many questions. What was it he said? The Son of Man must be lifted up? What did he mean? Where was his body?
A thousand other questions went through his mind when suddenly the cool, dark room was warm and full of light. He looked up to see the Teacher. Peter fell to his knees and hung his head. A hand reached down and pulled him to his feet. The Teacher gently lifted Peter’s head so that he could see his eyes.
Peter didn’t understand completely, but looking into Jesus’ eyes he knew everything would be okay.
I am publishing this excerpt from my Built with Grace topic, ‘The Day Peter Learned Love’, to remind all of us on this Resurrection Weekend that it doesn’t matter what you have done. There is nothing in your past, present or future that can keep you from experiencing the life-changing love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Find a house of worship this weekend and make or renew a decision to follow Him completely.
Any of us involved in ministry and/or public speaking are well aware that no matter how well prepared we are for ‘ministry’, God can have other plans. Sometimes those plans remind us that it really isn’t about us, or our material. It’s about people and relationships.
I had the privilege of ministering at LIFE 24/7 again on Saturday night. Shortly into the service I became aware that the real ministry that night was not going to be the material prepared by Mike Fisk. The real ministry was going to be done by the Holy Spirit of God working through a bunch of ex-cons trying to make a new start in life.
LIFE 24/7, formerly Discipleship House, is a recovery home for men who are overcoming a variety of addictions and either just coming out of prison or landed at LIFE 24/7 instead of going to prison. Either way, these are guys who know the rough side of life and are all about second chances.
I recently listened to the testimonies of a few of these guys and was amazed at the stories of broken relationships, violence and dysfunctional families these guys had come from. These are guys that are living proof that Jesus Christ changes lives and that second chances are a normal part of his working in men.
Tonight’s service was led by Dillon. Dillon has a passion for Jesus and a desire to learn everything he can about the Bible, the Christian faith and how to help others change their lives. He has a passion for God and compassion for people. This was his first time leading the service. He was the fledgling Pastor Randy chose to be pushed out of his comfort zone and into the limelight. He handled it well and I now refer to him as ‘Pastor Dillon’. While he isn’t real comfortable in the position, he has something every minister needs to have in order to be effective. Dillon has passion, and passion beats technique every time.
After our time of Praise and Worship, and before I was to speak on how each of us can live ‘Grace-fully in God’s Silence’, Dillon asked Adah to come forward. He’d told me this was going to happen earlier, so I was expecting it. Adah was going to leave her position of ‘house mom’ at LIFE 24/7. What Dillon didn’t tell me (and he couldn’t know) was how emotional the ‘good byes’ would be.
One by one, each of the eleven guys thanked Adah for being the inspiration all of them needed to believe in themselves. For one man, Adah was the ‘mom I never had’. Another shared that his grandmother had died recently, and Adah was his ‘adopted’ grandma. Still another said thank you to Adah for ‘saving his nephew’s life’. I watched these guys say thank you one by one and there wasn’t a one of them that had a dry eye.
It was a stirring reminder that the real change in lives comes from the people in the background, doing the mundane things in life. We speakers/teachers/ pastors get the ‘upfront’ attention, but life change comes after the curtain falls.
So there I was all ready to speak about how God can seem silent and far away. But before I could get up to share that message, we’d all heard our Heavenly Father loud and clear, and through the life of his faithful servant, Adah, we’d seen His face.
Thanks to the guys of LIFE 24/7 and Adah for your ministry to me on Saturday night. I can’t wait to join with you once again!
He’d been like this since childhood. We aren’t told when the seizures started, but they may have started shortly after birth. What we do know is that the seizures were caused by an evil spirit that would often throw the boy to the ground. We know the spirit never left the boy and would try to kill him by thowing him into fire or water.
Can you imagine the anxiety the parents must have had trying to watch their sons every move. They lived by the sea and cooked and warmed themselves with open fire. Water and fire were the things the demon would use to try to destroy his victim. How much fear was there in going to sleep at night, hearing every sound and wondering if it was another seizure? Was he going to the fire again?
Then there was the spiritual side of things. From all indications, the parents were believers. How many extra sacrifices were made on behalf of the child? There could have been many for the father seemed to be a religious man. But religion had failed. Healers had failed. No one was able to help. As an added burden, demon possession, was considered prime proof of sin. If the child were demon possessed then there were surely questions by the priests that needed to be answered about the family.
One day, the father hears about a holy man that was healing people. Demons were being cast out. The lame were walking. The Blind were seeing. There were rumors that some had even risen from the dead!
With anxious anticipation the father scoops up his son and goes in search of the holy man, the great teacher. It didn’t matter how far he had to go. This was his son and he would take every opportunity to seek healing.
Finally, he finds a great crowd of people. He asks a person standing nearby.
“Have you seen him? The healer, is he here?”
“He was here, but he went up the mountain with three of his followers. Those men over there were with him. Ask them.”
He hurries to the front of the crowd. As he waits for an opening he hears the men tell the crowd of the teacher, and how he had bestowed power on them to heal the sick. This was his chance! The excitement mounts.
“Sir!” He shouts, “Over here! My boy, he has a demon. Can you help me?”
The men move towards the boy. They lay hands on him and command the spirit to leave. Immediately, the boy begins to convulse. He throws himself to the ground and writhes in agony.
Fear grips the crowd. Despair falls upon the disappointed father. Confusion stirs among the followers of the teacher. They begin to discuss among themselves what went wrong. Then a shout rings out.
“There they are! There is the teacher and his men!”
The crowd hurries with the boy and his father to meet them.
“What is the problem?” The teacher asks, looking at the now tired boy.
“Sir, it’s my son. He has a demon. I asked your men to help, but they couldn’t. If you can, please help us.”
“IF you can?” The teacher responded. “Anything is possible if you believe.”
All the years of frustration welled up in the father. He DID believe. At least he wanted to believe. But the seizures hadn’t stopped. The sacrifices hadn’t helped. The prayers were unanswered. The accusations continued to be hurled at him.
Each of us have gone through periods of time when God seemed a thousand miles away. He seemed uninterested, or unable to help. Like the father in the story, each of us, in our own way have uttered the same words.
“I DO believe. Help me in my unbelief!”
From that moment, the father and his child were changed for eternity.
From “When Grace Isn’t Enough: Living Grace-fully in God’s Silence”
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 