Loving Our Brothers And Sisters

 

      YOU WITHOUT SIN CAST THE FIRST STONE: 

There is a lot said in these few words. The Jews {the church of that day} has brought a women to Jesus caught in the very act of adultery and broad casted her sin not only to Jesus but to everybody else that was there. They wanted her punished and Jesus saw their evil hearts. As Jesus wrote on the ground I can see the crowd gathering. Sinners were most likely gathering also and they were watching what the outcome would be. The people that brought her to Jesus had not the love of Christ in their hearts. There was no love there. If they were really trying to uphold their laws they would have brought the man also, but they did not. Did you every stop to think why they did not bring him.

For a long time I always wondered about that. To accuse the women and not the man when they were caught in the very act {that means they were together} was wrong. The Bible does not say why the accusers did not bring the man but I wonder if he could maybe have been someone of importance and the women was not. Could that have been the reason? With Jesus everybody is important. The law said that both should have been stoned. By these facts it tells me that the accusers of this women had another motive in mind for bringing  this women alone to Jesus and not the man. That is just about on the same level as half truths. Being half right.

Jesus just plainly told her to go and sin no more. He did not say to her sit in the back of the church, He did not say you can not sing in the choir, He did not say you can not ride on the church bus, He did not say you can not be in the prayer group, He did not say your name is coming off the church books, He did not say you can not have fellowship with me. Jesus just simply said go and sin no more.

There are a lot of Christians in our churches that will do the same thing to other Christians today as the Jews did to this women that have fell by the way side and cause even more damage to that Christian's walk with the Lord before they can ever be restored to fellowship. It is true that we need discipline in the church but we need the love of Jesus more. When the sin nature causes a person to sin he is weak and needs the prayers of the brother and sisters of the body of Christ to pray for them, talk to them, and do what is necessary to bring them back into fellowship with the saints. This is scripture, we must do this, but in some churches it does not happen.

The Christian that has fell is most of the time put out of the church and then looked down on. This is a great wrong. People who live in glass houses need not throw stones. The church members need to remember that we all have sinned and was saved by God's amazing grace. They should also remember that they could fall from grace and need that same prayerful support and brotherly love that they should be giving. No one is above falling. That is not to say we are not to cry aloud and share not. The scriptures say that there will be a great falling away and the Church world in general cares very little about that falling away, because most of the church world is falling away from the truth of God’s Word.

I remember years ago that a well known preacher who preached the gospel all over the world fell from grace and almost right away he was put out of the domination that he preached in and was considered a out cast.That preacher stood before his large congregation and the TV audience and asked their forgiveness and asks publicly forgiveness from the Lord. He truly, very humbly, repented with tears streaming down his face. Now we know, according to the scripture, that the Lord forgave this preacher, but the church world, as a whole has to this day has not forgive this man. They  gashed at him and tried to destroy him and came close to doing it. Not only did the world try to make a big joke out of him but the church was right in there with them.

I believe that it was jealousy that caused them to do that and not the sin he committed. Jealousy will get the Christian no where. We must remember that we all have a calling and a place in the body of Christ and we need not covenant someone else's position in the body of Christ.  The church world only used the excuse of the sin to do their dirty work. The truth be known they were already out to get him. This preacher is now back on his feet, his sin forgiven and covered by the blood of our Savior. He is preaching the gospel and telling the truth. It is the truth that sets you free! His ministry is now growing again by leaps and bounds. I love this brother and listen to him every chance that I get. Now I want to make it clear he did sin, he did repent and also I want to make it clear not all the church world turned on him. There are many brothers and sisters that did the right thing. They held him up in prayer. The closer walk that you have with the Lord the more a person wants to do the right thing. How close are you walking with the Lord? We all, including myself, need a closer walk, I need a closer walk with the Master.

What is the right thing? We do not have to go very far to answer that question. In the book of James we are plainly told that there is only one lawgiver that is able to save and destroy, who are you to judge another? in others words: "Who do you think you are?" This is the same deal as the women caught in adultery. They tried to destroy her also, but because of the love of Jesus she was saved from her accusers and so was this preacher of whom I spoke. Our mission as Christians in this world is to be like Jesus, to seek out the lost and love them, bring them back into the fold, not try to destroy them. Jesus gave many parables concerning this subject. He also asked in one of the Gospels who would have one lost sheep that has gone astray and would leave the ninety and nine and go after the one that was lost?  Listen my friend, Christians who fall away are not throw aways. They are loved by the Lord and we must go after them and help them to become keepers.  Keepers of God’s word and over comers of the weight that so easily besets them. 

However casting stones seems to be part of the church world anymore. Not for all of it but for the most of it. We do not need stone throwers in the church. We need people who has compassion for the lost and a genuine love for Christ in their hearts. Let me go just a little further with this. Judas betrayed the Lord and sold Him for thirty peaces of silver, but Jesus did not cast him away. Jesus did not say you are going to betray me so therefore you will not eat this last meal with me. Judas was one of the twelve. If you will carefully read the scriptures Jesus gave Judas the chance to repent even though Judas did not repent. Jesus loved him and would have forgiving him instantly of that great sin if Judas only asked forgiveness. The bottom line here is my brothers and sisters we need to be more forgiving as Christ was and still is and not so bent on sending our fallen brother or sister to hell. We are to speak out against sin,tell the world what sin will do to them. We are to hate the sin, but we are to love the sinner and yes even our fallen brother or sister. Look at these verses;

                               FROM THE BOOK

Gal 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

Eph 4:2  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

2Ti 2:25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

Tit 3:2  To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men