Who gets to throw the first stone at whom?

God loves the "sinners", just like he loves us, who sin differently than "they" do.

If we are going to live by the law, we cannot pick and choose laws. Breaking one is akin to breaking all the laws (see James 2:10).

If that's the case, who gets to throw the first stone at whom?

When the Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in the act of adultery (note that the partner was conveniently missing; but that's another topic), and when the Pharisees brought her to Jesus, with the intent of stoning her to death (which is what the Law says), Jesus did not say, "Let him who is without adultery among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” He said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Our condemnation and finger-pointings to those who don't fit in our doctrinal boxes and our standards of righteousness will stop only when this finally sinks in. All of us are in the same boat - loved unconditionally by God.

Roadblocks to Paradise

A very large group of people is standing in the middle of the road, barring the way into Paradise.

The puritan asks: "What are these sinners doing here?"

The moralist bawls: "The prostitute wants to join the feast!"

The guardian of social values yells: "How can the adulteress be forgiven when she has sinned?"

The penitent rends his clothes: "Why cure a blind man if all he cares about is his il

lness and when he doesn’t even say thank you?"

The ascetic protests: You let that woman pour expensive oil on your hair! Why didn't she sell it instead to buy food?"

Smiling, Jesus holds the door open. And the Warriors of the Light go in, despite the hysterical shouting.

- Paulo Coelho



Related post: The Cosmic Turtle

Spurgeon's Cigar

Allegedly, Charles Spurgeon invited D.L. Moody to speak at an event he hosted.

Moody accepted and preached the entire time about the evils of tobacco, and why the Lord doesn’t want Christians to smoke.

Spurgeon, a cigar smoker, was surprised at what seemed to be a cheap shot leveled by Moody, using the pulpit to condemn a fellow minister.

When Moody finished preaching, Spurgeon walked up to the podium and said, “Mr. Moody, I’ll put down my cigars when you put down your fork.”

Moody was overweight.

 

“Christians get very angry toward other Christians who sin differently than they do.” - Philip Yancey

The above story and the quotation is an excerpt from Frank Viola's new book - Beyond Evangelical.

 

One may argue that Spurgeon was not right to respond to condemnation with condemnation (actually, someone did mention this in a thread on Facebook). My take on that opinion is that there is a difference between condemnation and popping the self-righteous bubbles. Jesus constantly popped the Pharisees' self-righteousness when they judged and condemned from their high thrones (I'm not implying that one has to make a vocation out of popping the bubbles). 

We can only speculate if Spurgeon was doing either here. Regardless of what his intent may have been here, the best antidote to self-righteous judgments is the Law itself - the same tool that is used to pronounce the judgement. This is one reason why the Law is a greasy slope. The moment I judge or condemn a person using the Law, I slide myself alongside with the same person, for the Law is partial to no one.

Fortunately, we don't have to judge or condemn anyone, because sin was nailed to the cross and without the sin, there is no need for the Law. Without the Law, we do not have an ammunition to judge and/or condemn another.

Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin?

I believe that the popular statement "love the sinner, hate the sin" is hollow.

It is rooted in self-righteousness. It implies that, "since I am not doing that particular sin, I have the license to judge his/her actions".

No, the person who is making the statement is merely parroting a popular line, because pure love is unconditional, and it does not look at a person through the filter of his/her action, regardless of how good or bad it is.

Self-Righteousness Or His Righteousness?

Religious people often come to the conclusion that, since they have not done big sins, they are good. And they happily condemn and judge the so-called big sinners. But the call is to seek His righteousness (right-standing with God), not ours.

Let us see how the Scripture views sin:

1. “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.”Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” - James 2:10-11 NKJV

Some may scoff at this verse, saying that they have neither committed adultery nor murdered anyone. But Jesus said, “You have heard…You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” (Matt 5:28). Jesus' definition of adultery is different from ours. And He was making this point to the self-righteous religious crowd who heavily gave weight to the external actions, when sin originates from within.

2. Jesus warned, “Whoever is angry with his brother without cause, is in danger of judgment,” (Matt 5:22). John says, “He who hates his brother is a murderer,” (1 John 3:15). As per the Scripture,  hatred in the heart is same as murder. It does not matter how justified we are in our sight.

3. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” - James 4:17

When was the last time we saw a broken down car on the highway and passed by them without offering a helping hand when we know that we should help them?

4. “…whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” - Romans 14:23

What is my point here?

This is not a post of condemnation for there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. The goal of this post is merely to pop the self-righteous bubble that we sometimes love to walk around in, while judging and condemning others. Not one of us are righteous by our own merits. Our righteousness is as filthy rags. All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

In God’s eyes, there is no big or small sin. Sin is sin, even if it is a “white” lie or a cold-blooded murder. To be perfect in God’s eyes, we have to score 100 out of 100. There is no silver star for 99.999 out of 100. The truth is, not one of us can achieve this with our own effort, no matter how sincere we are in our effort. This is precisely the reason why we needed a Savior. His name is Jesus.

If the perfection that God requires of us to be in His right-standing could be achieved by our good works and by keeping the Law, Jesus did not have to go through the gruesome torture and crucifixion (see Gal 2:21). Since it is humanly impossible to reach God’s righteousness with our effort, Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and while we were sinners, Christ demonstrated the height of His love for us by paying the penalty for our sins with His own precious and sinless blood.

In the past, people sacrificed animals to temporarily cover their sins, but Jesus' perfect sacrifice on the Cross wiped away the sin - once and for all. We won't be able to experience this awesome grace for us in Christ Jesus, if we think we can earn and keep our salvation by our feeble efforts to keep the law.

Praise God for His gift that we cannot earn with our works. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Eph 2:8-9 NKJV).

We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So let us  wholeheartedly stand each day in His righteousness. In Him, we are now made righteous.

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A Tale of Two White Shirts