A Gracious Judge

Posted on Aug 01, 2016 Topic : Weekly Devotionals

Those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8:9-11 NIV).

Condemning sin is not the same as judging the sinner. Jesus said two things to this woman, and they both go together: “Woman, I don’t condemn you, but I do condemn what you did. Go and do it no more.”

Jesus loves us just the way we are, but he loves us too much to let us stay that way. Condemning sinners is not my job or yours. But condemning sin is.

Jesus gives us grace and removes our guilt so he can lead us to goodness. When this woman encountered Jesus, when she received grace and repented of her sin, her brokenness was turned into blessing. And you’re invited to let Jesus do the same for you.

- 52 Weeks with Jesus

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Sometimes we forget that sin is a destructive force in our lives. When we engage in it, we may not feel the repercussions immediately. However, there are always consequences to sin.

One consequence is that we become susceptible to the deceitfulness of sin. We engage in a sin, and the next time we find it easier to do so. We become “softened” toward sin.

Continuing in sin results in further deception. Few people caught up in a sinful addiction were addicted the first time out. The repeated behavior—the repeated choosing the same way of acting out—eventually takes its toll.

God extends grace to us in our sins—but he loves us too much to let us remain deceived and addicted. When he tells us to “go now and leave your life of sin,” he’s leading us back to goodness, wholeness, and a clear conscience.

Our brokenness, like the woman’s caught in adultery, can be turned into blessings. The sweetest words someone caught in sin can hear are surely, “Neither do I condemn you…Go now and leave your life of sin.”