God Is: Week 3

We are in our series “God is” and we are diving a little deeper into who God is and what that means for us. Oftentimes we have a lot of misconceptions about who God is. Maybe someone told you something that wasn’t true about God. So we always want to go to God’s word to discover the truth.

When I hear the phrase “God is” there are many things that come to my mind. God is loving. He is just, faithful, and powerful. However, I want to focus on a different aspect of who God is today.

It says in Ephesians 2:3-5,

"All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!"

What a powerful reminder of who God is! Sometimes I forget that I don’t deserve everything that God has given me. You see, you and I; we have rebelled against God. Every single one of us. We have all sinned against a perfect and holy God. Yet, what does God do? He doesn’t hold it against us. He offers forgiveness, grace, and mercy

We hear words like this in church a lot right? Words like grace and mercy. However, you may not know what mercy means.

Mercy is not getting what you deserve

For example how many have ever got caught doing something you shouldn't have been doing and you did not get in as much trouble as you should have? Or maybe you didn't get in trouble at all. Like have you ever slipped a cuss word in front of your parents, and were expecting for everything to fall apart, but they kind laughed it off and gave you the hey don't say that. Or on the opposite end, have you ever done anything really stupid in class, but it wasn't really anything, and all the sudden your teacher loses their mind unexpectedly.

At some point we have all been there. There is a story in the Bible that talks about this exact thing. Jesus spent a lot of his time teaching. He would go from place to place with his disciples and teach hundreds and even thousands of people at a time.

However, not everyone accepted what Jesus had to say. This might surprise you but, it wasn’t the sinners that opposed Jesus. It wasn’t the party crowd, the corrupt tax collectors, drunkards, or other people caught in sin who rejected Jesus. It was actually the church people. The people who were the religious experts of the day. The Bible calls them Pharisees.

John 8:3-5 says,

"As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

Jesus is outside, He's teaching. There's a group of people around and then all the sudden the Pharisees, the religious leaders come in. They bring this woman who was caught in the act of adultery. Chances are if she was just recently caught, she probably doesn't have a whole lot of clothes on. She could have grabbed a sheet or was partially covered.

This woman is completely humiliated, embarrassed, and ashamed. She got caught, which is hard enough, but now her mistakes are being brought in front of people. Now everyone will know what she did.

I think you might be able to relate to her and what she might be feeling. Think about a time you got caught doing something you weren't supposed to and then people found out. Maybe people were talking about you and the mistake you made as you walked through the halls. Maybe your parents were the ones telling people and you just have to stand there and listen. You feel like your life is ruined. You're never going to live this down. No one's going to trust you or think highly of you again.

That is where this woman is.

This woman could be killed for this sin she has committed. In fact, this was considered to be one of the worst sins in Jewish culture. To commit the sin of adultery was a crime punishable by being stoned to death. Stoning someone to death was when they would throw them into a pit and throw huge rocks at that person until they died. It was not a nice way to die at all. This lady is being dragged before everybody and she's thinking, "My life is really over."

We see this in verse 3, Scripture says they made her stand before the group. They said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. According to the law we are supposed to stone her, what do you want us to do?”

What are the Pharisees doing here? They are trying to trick Jesus, because if he said, "Yeah, you're right. That's what the law says, go ahead and stone her," then he would lose his reputation for being loving and full of mercy. If, on the other hand, he said, “we should forgive her," then they said, "Oh, Jesus is saying it's okay to break the law."

This is probably the worst moment of this woman’s life. She is standing half dressed in front of a crowd of people who now know her mistakes, her sins. They have people asking if she is going to be stoned to death and Jesus bends down and starts writing in the sand.

John 8:7-9 says,

“They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.”

So Jesus starts writing in the sand and then all the sudden all these people who are accusing this woman and saying she should be put to death start to leave. We don’t know what he was writing for sure but, tradition tells us he was writing the sins of the people around him who wanted to stone the woman. So, Jesus is left there with this broken woman who is guilty, sinful, and completely in the wrong. She deserved death, she deserved to be judged but that's not what happens.

John 8:10-11

“Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

Ok, so what can we learn from this story? I believe that God wants to teach us a few things. The first thing is...

1. God Gives Us Mercy

Remember mercy is not getting what you deserve. Here's what I want you to understand; even though this woman was in the wrong, Jesus showed her mercy. She deserved to have consequences for her actions. But because God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Because he is a merciful God. Mercy is what she was given, in fact the Bible says in Romans 8.

Romans 8:1

"Therefore now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

You might be doing things or have done things and you feel shame and guilt and you deserve punishment for your sins. I have good news for you, if you have given your life over to Jesus, He paid for your sins by dying in your place. Just as Jesus looked at that woman that day and forgave her, he wants to do the same thing for you. So, God gives us mercy but, here’s the next thing we need to learn from this.

2. God Doesn’t Approve of Sin

Jesus doesn’t accept her sin. He doesn’t say that what she did was good. God is love, but it’s not loving to tell people it’s ok to keep sinning. He gave her mercy and displayed the perfect balance of grace and truth. Jesus looked at her and said “go and leave your life of sin , don’t keep going in this direction, you are going to ruin your life, this is not what God wants for you”.

I think that is the key to unleashing God’s mercy in our lives. If we confess and repent of our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us. That means to turn away from your sins after confessing. Some people treat the mercy of God like it is no big deal. “I will go ahead and do what I want and just ask God to forgive me later”. Never forget that every sin you have ever been forgiven for is because Jesus died for that sin.

And once you understand that, then you become thankful for his forgiveness and mercy. You don't take advantage of it, you don't act like it’s not a big deal, because it is a big deal. God wants to forgive you for every wrong thing you have ever done. God wants to show you his mercy.

3. God Wants Us to Show Mercy

One of my favorites quotes of all time comes from a man named Billy Graham, maybe you have heard of him. He said,
“It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge, and my job to love.” 

Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

You know, I can’t find anywhere in the Bible where it says that we are supposed to judge people and condemn others when they sin. It’s just not in there. We should be opposed to sin out of love for the sinner because of what that sin does to them; because of how that sin is destroying their life and hurting others around them. Jesus didn’t accept the woman’s sin, yet he showed her love and mercy. We should do the same.
Let me close with one final story. When Jesus was doing His ministry here on Earth, there was a lady who was known for her sin and she came to a dinner that Jesus was at, but she didn't just go to eat. We are going to look at what she did at this dinner.

Luke 7: 38 says,

“Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.”

The religious people in this time looked for any way to go after Jesus, and here they try again. They start judging Him for letting a sinner wash His feet in the presence of everyone. But instead of reacting in frustration or judgment, Jesus responds with a moving story ends it like this:

Luke 7:44-50 says,

“Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume. “I tell you, her sins —and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?” And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

So, what does Jesus do? 

1. He shows mercy.
He says that her sins are forgiven.

2. He doesn’t approve of her sin.
He acknowledges the sin debt. He doesn’t excuse it or condone it.

3. He wants us to show mercy
He does this because he wants those around him to do the same.

When all those voices in your head tell you, "You're pathetic. God could never forgive you". I want you to remember this: you are not what you did. You are not what those voices say. You are not who others say you are. You are who Christ says you are.

God says you are forgiven. He said that when He sent His son to do the most merciful thing He could ever do, which was take our place on the cross and die for our sins. Because God is merciful.

Maybe you have never experienced mercy in your life. That could be because you have never accepted God's free gift of mercy, you have never asked him into your heart and repented of your sins. If you want to do that, if you want to experience mercy and experience the love of God like this woman did, now is the time.