[Wednesday's Devotional] - The Condemned

Are we quick to condemn?  Are we in tune with the mind of God?  Do we remember the way Jesus spoke to the poor, the unpopular and the outcasts?

Today I want to think about the situation where Jesus was presented with a "woman caught in adultery" – if you have time and would like to re-read this passage click on the above link.

Jesus was teaching in the Temple Courts when the woman was brought to him by the teachers of the law and the Pharisees.  We see the wisdom of Jesus in the way he dealt with the situation – although they tried to make Jesus agree to the punishment the law demanded, he found a way out.  

A few things to ponder:

• Jesus challenged those present to examine their own lives before casting the first stone.  Are we without sin? No!  Then think before you condemn
• The only person entitled to throw the first stone (the one without sin) was Jesus – but he didn't.  Even if you are entitled to condemn someone, should you?
• The elders were the first to leave.  Youth is sometimes zealous and age often brings wisdom and experience.  Can you use your wisdom to walk away from a situation where someone is being condemned?

Satan is the one we know as the accuser – Paul tells us there is no condemnation for us:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.  And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 
Romans 8:1-4 [NIV]

Lord, help me to understand my identity as under the law of the Spirit, not under the law of sin and death.  Help us to ignore and stand up against the lies of Satan.  Amen.

Dave MacLellan