Free of Condemnation
Audio Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: John 1-12: Come, See, Live!
John 7:53-8:11 (ESV)
53 They went each to his own house, 8:1 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.”
Sermon Outline
Jesus came to call us out of condemnation and into grace.
1. Cycle of Condemnation
vv3-6 “…’in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women’… they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.”
2. Exposing Condemnation
v7 “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
v9 “… they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones”
v8 “once more he bent down and wrote on the ground”
v10 “Has no one condemned you?”
3. Free of Condemnation
v11 “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more”
Prayer of Confession
Our gracious and most merciful Father, we all fall short of your standard. We confess our unrighteous motives and deeds. We speak and act out of pain, seeking to trap and harm others instead of loving and building them up. We have done to others what we would not want them to do to us. We have tested you, seeking excuses for the various ways we reject you. We have been fools. Thank you that Jesus brings your grace to us. Thank you that you offer a way out of condemnation. Cleanse us of our sins and lead us by your Spirit. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
Do you test people? How? Why? What effects does that have?
Why do we desire to condemn people?
How do you test God? What are ways you justify putting God at a distance?
What are some ways that Jesus exposes our sin?
What are some things about Jesus that make him attractive to sinners? Why are the lowly drawn to him (instead of repelled)?
How does forgiveness empower us? How does the message that we are free from condemnation enable us to live a more faithful life?