Real Ministry (Part 3) Exposing Sin and Revealing Salvation
Do you remember John 8 where the Pharisees bring a woman caught in the very act of adultery before Jesus? If not that’s okay. Here is what happened: the pharisees wanted to trip up Jesus, so they found a woman and caught her in the act of adultery and brought her to Jesus. When they placed her before Jesus they asked Him what He thought should be done with her.
John 8:3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and Pharisees brought a woman they had caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
Here is the question they asked Him:
John 8:5 “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”
This is a real life situation that is not foreign to us, because we are always meeting people who have problems in their lives because of acts of adultery, divorce and remarriage, drugs and alcohol, and the list continues. Notice how Jesus uses the opportunity: He says, Anyone here who doesn’t have personal sin, anyone here who is willing to say that they’ve never done something wrong, you be the first to cast a stone at her. Effectively, Jesus shows all present that they have personal sin that would cause God’s condemnation in their lives. But notice that He does not go after them and condemn them (for their sin has already done that) but He does reveal that belief in Him will provide the needed freedom from their sin problem.
John 8:12 Jesus said to the people, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life. John 8:24 That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will die in your sins.”
John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.
All of this goes to demonstrate the main thrust of the Gospel of John, that those who believe in the name of the Lord Jesus and trust in Him for forgiveness of sins will be forgiven and have eternal life. What does our interaction with the lost, broken and struggling people of the world look like? Is it filled with condemnation where we never reveal the true problem and solution? Or do we ministry like Jesus did where we reveal sin in all mankind and share the truth for forgiveness?