God’s Amazing Grace

 God’s Amazing Grace

Opening Illustration:

Bono is the lead singer in U2, one of the world’s biggest selling rock bands. He grew up in Northern Ireland, the son of one Catholic and one Protestant parent. Throughout his childhood and adult years he was a constant witness to the hatreds fueled by “Christian” belief. It left Bono less than enthusiastic about the Church.

Nevertheless Bono embraced Christian faith and maintains his embrace, not he says, because of the Church but because of grace. It is the one thing that makes him want to be a Christian. In a speech to a Harvard University graduating class in 2000 he declared he was a believer in grace over karma, karma being the notion that we get what we deserve.

In a song entitled Grace (found on U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind album released in 2000) Bono pictures grace as a beautiful, vibrantly attractive woman. Here we find a wonderful description of grace as it comes to us from God and one another.

Grace, she takes the blame
She carries the shame
Removes the stains
It could be her name

Grace, it’s the name for a girl
It’s also a thought that changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings

Grace finds goodness in everything.

Grace, she’s got the walk,
Not a ramp or on chalk
She’s got the time to talk

She travels outside of karma
She travels outside of karma
When she goes to work
You can hear her strings
Grace finds beauty in everything.

Grace, she carries a world on her hips
No champagne flute for her lips
No twirls or skips between her fingertips
She carries a pearl in perfect condition

What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things.

Grace makes beauty out of ugly things.

Grace is undeserved favor. Grace cannot be earned. Grace is something that is given freely. Grace is the name of the bridge that Christ created when He died on the cross and rose from the dead. A few weeks ago I said that the Bible is a library filled with blood. That is true. Perhaps more important is the deep enduring truth that the Bible is a book filled with grace. Grace purchased in blood. This morning I want to ask you a very important question about grace. 

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Numbers 6:24-26 ESV

The LORD bless you and keep you; [25] the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; [26] the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Psalm 103:8 ESV

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The list goes on and on. The other day I picked up my Bible and my concordance and I looked up all the occurrences of grace in the Bible. There are 131 uses of grace in the ESV-124 in the New Testament, 86 of which are from the Apostle Paul, which means two-thirds of all the uses of the word grace in the Bible are in one author: Paul. There are so many songs about grace. What about John Newton’s Amazing Grace written all the way back in 1779. Why do we sing about grace? Newton tells us. It is by God’s grace that wretches like us are saved. We are lost and blind. We have have no ability to save ourselves. No ability to be rescued. What we are unable to do God has done. His grace is amazing is amazing because it flows inexorably with divine purpose and power. Even though we are lost and blind, by God’s grace alone we were found and given eyes to see. We were given ears to hear. We were blessed with a new spirit and a new beating heart. 

What about the old hymn Great God, Tis From Thy Sovereign Grace?

What about Grace! Tis a Charming Sound?

Another one of my favorites, Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

The list goes on and on. My question for you this morning is quite simple. Are you living in the light of grace or in the shadow of sin. 

Are You Living In The Light of Grace or The Shadow of Sin?

The great evangelist, theologian, and revival leader John Wesley had this simple statement about grace. "Grace is the free, undeserved goodness and favor of God to mankind." Oh what a gift grace is to all of humanity. 

This morning we are reading from John 8: 1-11. I want to set up the scene for you this morning. I want to give you the background. Jesus’ name is known far and wide throughout Judea. He has many followers but He is also collecting numerous enemies. The Pharisees are beginning to see Him as a threat. They judge Jesus thinking that He is breaking the law of the Sabbath by healing. Jesus teachings threaten their power. In John 8, Jesus is at the temple. The passage begins by stating that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives but returned to the temple early in the morning. While teaching in the temple, the Pharisees bring to Jesus a woman caught in the act of adultery. She would have already received some form of corporal punishment. Meaning that she would have already received a beating for her sin. Chances are the woman was brought to Jesus bruised and bloody. When you see this scene acted out on tv or in movies, it is sanitized. Usually the woman is clothed and crying but thats about all. In reality the woman would have been beaten, partially stripped or completely nude to humiliate her. Remember Jesus received the same treatment for the sin of blasphemy when He was beaten and stripped before He was crucified. In my imagination I see this woman’s face caked with mud from the mixing of her tears with the dust. Her elbows and knees bloody from being drug by her hair through the street. This is a horribly ugly scene. Now imagine this scene outside the church. This event occurred outside the temple. The Pharisees would not have dared brought this sinner into the temple as she would have been deemed unclean. Understand this was a setup from the word “go”. 

The religious leaders brought this woman caught in adultery before him, testing him to see if he would uphold the Mosaic Law, which prescribed stoning for such offenses. Jesus responded by challenging anyone without sin to cast the first stone. When her accusers all left, Jesus forgave the woman and told her to go and sin no more. This story highlights Jesus' teachings of grace, forgiveness, and the importance of examining one's own flaws before judging others. This is a great great lesson that all of us could deploy in our own lives. 

Statement of Belief:

We believe the Bible to be inspired, God breathed, infallible, and authoritative. We believe the Bible is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training believer’s in righteousness. God’s Word gives life. It provides peace in trouble and protection in tribulation. It is alive, active, and cuts to the core of the human soul. Since there is no other book like it, let us stand to show our reverence and respect. 

John 8:1-11 ESV

1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

This morning, there are two parts to the message. This lady experiences the guilt of the Pharisees and the grace of Jesus Christ. Let’s start this morning with Roman numeral 1, Busted…caught in the act of adultery. In fact that is the first point. Caught in the act of adultery. 

I. Busted…Caught In The Act!

A. Caught In Adultery vs. 4

John 8:4 ESV

they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.

Point:

Yep, this woman was caught red handed in a sinful act.  Notice that Jesus does not even argue that this woman was innocent.  Nope. She knew that the Pharisees had done their homework.  She was busted.  

There are a few of words that need to be taken hold of in this passage of Scripture. “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.” The first word is “Teacher”. Notice they do not call Jesus “Master” or “Lord”. The Pharisees did not even regard Jesus as a true teacher of the law. If you read the real world confrontation into this passage, you can hear the sarcasm dripping from their lips. The word “teacher” is being said with a sneer and as a smear against Jesus. The next word is “caught”. The Greek word being here means to lay hold of, or to seize upon. The picture being drawn is a snare or a trap set to catch an animal. This woman had been entrapped in order to test Jesus. These Pharisees did not care about this woman. They were just using her in hopes that Jesus might stumble and out Himself as a fraud. 

Point:

Have you ever been busted?  I have.  It is not a good feeling knowing that your sins have been brought in to the bright day for all to see.  It is embarrassing and humiliating.  Notice that no one comes to the aid of the woman.  No lawyer steps forward.  No parent comes to try to save her from being stoned.  No passer by. No doctor. No pastor, or Sunday School teacher. Remember this scene takes place just outside a center of religious expression filled with deeply religious people. Still no one shows compassion. Not even the disciples. This woman was abandoned. Abased. She has suffered abuse. No one cared for her. None showed any type of compassion. No one.  She was all by herself.  Her sins laid bear for all to see.  

Point:

Its a powerful picture isn’t it.  This lady’s predicament is our story.  All of us are sinners.  All of us.  Not one of us is perfect.  What’s worse, we are so guilty that there is not lawyer that would take our case.  

We were born in sin…

Psalm 51:5 ESV

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Not only were we born in sin, we bathed in sin.  We clothed ourselves in our own wickedness.  Our sin is so blatant and obvious that we are convicted before we ever stand before a Holy God. 

Romans 3:10-18 ESV

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” ...

We were born in sin, we are covered in sin.  Because of these great truths, we have now separated ourselves from a Holy God.  This woman, because of her adultery was living separated from the God that created her.  Because of our sin, we are living separated from God.  

Isaiah 59:2 ESV

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

So, to cover up the stench of our sin we hide.  This woman hid.  She was not committing adultery in the light of day.  No.  The Pharisees caught her.  They revealed to Jesus and to everyone else what she had been doing in secret.  Some of us try to hid our sins as well.  Most of us try to hide our sins under the covering of good works.  If I do enough good things, God will love me.  If I do enough good things, God will save me.  If I do enough good things, no one will know about my sin.  They will never be revealed or brought to light.  

Unfortunately that will not work either.  Our sin is so bad, so horrible that there is no about of good works that can cover up the smell of our putrid sin.  

Isaiah 64:6 ESV

We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

Point:

Because we are sinners and there is nothing we can do to hid it, we face judgement.  

2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

When we are judged on our sin by the law, like this woman, we deserve death.  All of us.  There is not one person who does not deserve death for what they have done against God.  

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death…

Point:

Like this lady, we are all just flat busted in sin.  We have no hope.  Like her, we will die.  

I. Busted…Caught In The Act!

A. Caught In Adultery vs. 4

B. Convicted By The Law vs. 5

John 8:5 ESV

Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?

Point:

First, this lady was caught in the act. Next, she was convicted by the law. Legally the Pharisees were standing on solid ground.  The law was on their side and they felt they were justified in what they were doing.  Listen to the Old Testament law concerning adultery.  

Leviticus 20:10 (NIV)

" `If a man commits adultery with another man's wife---with the wife of his neighbor---both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

Deuteronomy 22:22 (NIV)

If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

Question, where was the man?  After all, you cannot commit adultery by yourself.  It takes two to tango. All they brought to the scene was the woman.  To me, this whole scene smells like a set up.  If you read between the lines, you can see that these men have no desire to live functionally by the law, all they cared about was trapping Jesus.  

They were all law and no grace.  They didn’t see this woman as a sinner needing to be saved.  No.  They saw her as a pawn to pinch Jesus.  They hoped in humiliating her that they could humanize Jesus and reveal that He was just a normal man.  

Point:

Friends, make no mistake, the Pharisees did get one thing right.  They brought her to the only person worthy of judging her.  They brought her to the one perfect being on planet earth, that person being Jesus.  Jesus alone was fit to judge her, condemn her and cast her out.  

John 5:22 ESV

The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son…

2 Timothy 4:1 ESV

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead…

Point: 

Friends, Jesus will one day judge each and everyone of us.  He will weigh out our sins much in the same way that He weighed out this woman’s adultery.  He will see through all of our excuses.  He will dismantle all of our good works as meaningless acts of works trying to be saved.  He will see all of our motives.  We cannot hide from Him.  

I. Busted…Caught In The Act!

A. Caught In Adultery vs. 4

B. Convicted By The Law vs. 5

C. Conceded To Her Fate vs. 3

John 8:3 ESV

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst…

Point:

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst. She was caught in the act, convicted by the law. Lastly to Roman numeral 1, she conceded her fate. She had given up. If you read verses 1-8, you may realizing something very sad.  When I read these verses I asked myself the question, “why did this woman not defend herself”.  It is a valid point right.  I mean her life is on the line here.  She is about to be stoned to death.  Friends, have you ever seen a stoning.  Stonings are still common occurrences in the Middle East in places like Afghanistan. It is not uncommon for women to be stoned for all types of “sin”. Trust me, they are painful, bloody, gory experiences.  Stoninigs are excessively savage events. You would not want to sign up for one I can assure you. Each rock, each stone symbolic of what the law does to you and me. The law was given as a gift to reveal sin but trying to save ourselves with the law only exposes our guilt.   

Where is this woman’s fight? Where is her will to live? Where is her defense? She is totally silent.  She says nothing.  

Why?

The answer is that this woman knows the law just like the Pharisees.  She knows that she is guilty.  Chances are she has seen other women being stoned for the exact same reason.  She knows that she has it coming.  She knows that she deserves it.  

So she gives up.  She remains quiet.  

That’s what most of us would do if we really understood the horror of our sin.  We would remain silent as well.  

Illustration:

I can remember a true story when I was growing up.  It was a normal day in AP English Lit class.  We were having a mid term exam. It was a huge test and we had all sorts of study guides to help.  As I was taking the test, I noticed that one of my buddies sitting next to me kept silently asking me for the answer to one of the questions.  Oddly enough his name was Michael Law. Chances are that I would have given it to him if I would have know the answer myself. However, I didn’t know it.  So, my buddy pulled out a little piece of white paper and began to write down his answer.  Little did he know that the teacher was walking up behind him and boom, it was over.  The teacher caught him.  

Our teacher asked “Is this yours” referring to his cheat sheet.

My friend just sat there. He didn’t say a word.  He knew that he was busted.  It was in his hand.  It had his handwriting on it.  He was caught red handed.  

My buddy was sent to the principle’s office and from there he was suspended the next day of school.  

After a couple of days, a few of my friends were giving him a hard time for not speaking up.  They were giving him a hard time for not defending himself to the teacher and to the principle.  Ill never forget what he said.

“What was I supposed to say…I was caught.”

True words.  This woman had no defense for her actions and she was prepared for death.  

Friends, when it comes to sin, we have no defense either.  

Romans 1:20 ESV

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

II. Blessed…Carried Away By Grace

A. Jesus Does The Unthinkable vs. 7

Point:

Suddenly the story turns. Jesus enters the scene. By the way, everything changes when Jesus enters the story. Everything changes when He enters our story too. He sets the prisoners free. He forgives the sinner. He gives mercy for the mistakes and shows compassion for our crimes. This woman’s story may have started as busted but it would not stay that way. She would be blessed, carried away by grace. Jesus here does the unthinkable. 

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

The woman was guilty.  So guilty.  Yet, Jesus does something strange.  Instead of picking up a stone to kill the woman, he demands that those who are without sin to cast the first stone.  The oldest began to drop their stones and then the youngest.  

If we are being truthful, the only one worthy of picking up a stone was Jesus Himself and yet he doesn’t.  He forgives her.  He gives her grace that no other religion could offer.  He gives offers her hope that no one else could.  Grace, grace, scandalous grace.  I was recently reading a blog that I thought was captivating. It was written by a guy named Jeremy Myers. Listen to what he says about grace. 

Quote From Jeremy Myers (Blogger)

Grace is the key to everything.

And I am not referring to the week-kneed, limp, powerless, feeble grace that you find in most Christian theology today, but the shocking, outrageous, scandalous, indiscriminate, senseless, irrational, unfair, irreligious, ridiculous, absurd, offensive, infinite grace which Jesus exhibited during His life.

The only people who really object to this kind of grace are the religious people who think that their behavior merits them some sort of special privilege or position with God and are offended that the so-called “sinners” are put on equal footing with them before God. But that is exactly what God’s grace does.

By grace, God loves all, forgives all, and accepts all, with no conditions, no strings attached, no fine print, no qualifications, no limits, and no ongoing requirements.

The grace of God is so outlandish and foreign to every human way of thinking and living, I believe that it is absolutely impossible for any human being to place too much emphasis on grace.

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God...

II. Blessed…Carried Away By Grace

A. Jesus Does The Unthinkable vs. 7

B. Jesus Saves The Unremarkable vs. 10

John 8:10

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 

Point:

Jesus does the unthinkable and now He saves the unremarkable. Jesus offers this grace to an unlovable person.  She didn’t deserve life.  Quite the opposite.  She deserved death.  He forgave her sin even though she didn’t deserve it.  Know this, the woman’s sin would eventually have to be paid for.  Jesus Himself would lay down his life so that this woman could truly live and be forgiven.  

I Timothy 1:15 ESV

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"--and I am the worst of them all.

II. Blessed…Carried Away By Grace

A. Jesus Does The Unthinkable vs. 7

B. Jesus Saves The Unremarkable vs. 10

C. Jesus Delivers The Unusual vs. 11

John 8:11 ESV

She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Our last point this morning is that Jesus delivers the unusual, the unexpected, the undeserved. Something transformation.  Scholars believe that this woman that Jesus forgave was actually Mary Magdalene.  The very same woman who stood with Jesus’ mother at the cross of Christ.  The very same woman that poured perfume on Jesus’ feet and washed his feet in her tears.  Many believe that Mary was completely and totally transformed by her encounter with Jesus Christ.  

Now that is amazing grace. 

Closing Video

In just a moment, a video is going to play that powerfully illustrates the heartache that is found in grace.  For us, grace was beautiful.  For God, for Jesus, it would cost life, breath and endure separation.  It would be brutal and horrible.  

However, we now can live in the light of grace today if we call out to Jesus as our Savior.  

Romans 10:13 ESV

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Play “Worth The Sacrifice” Video

Live In The Light of Grace Today!