Do you long to escape your past? Do you wonder if you’ll ever be free of the pain, guilt, or shame that’s in your heart? Do you ever think about your past and doubt that God could really love you? Then what you really need is The Offer of A Second Chance. In this inspiring sermon, Dr. Stanley teaches you about how to be completely free of your past. No matter what you’ve done or how you’ve failed, God loves you unconditionally and wants you to embrace the wonderful life He has in store for you. Therefore, trust Him to heal your heart and change the course of your life. Order this sermon today: https://store.intouch.org/purchase/th…
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[Music]
with a message from God’s word here’s
Charles
Stanley for people who look at their
past and still feel the pangs of
guilt and somehow think in their hearts
there’ll never be a time in their life
and they’ll ever feel free and clean
again this is a message of
Hope many many people can live often
times in the present and sometime in the
future but when they get alone and their
past begins to come before them somehow
deep down inside they begin to
experience the same old pangs of guilt
and hurt and sin and wonder if God could
ever possibly love them because of their
past sometimes those people do almost
anything to escape their past sometimes
it’s a matter of changing their habits
sometimes it’s a matter of changing
their relationships some people will
even attempt to change their location
but my friends you cannot Escape your
past until your heart is changed when
your heart is changed then you can be
free and liberated of your past the
passage of scripture I want to deal
with deals with this very issue of how
God looks Upon Our Life not in
condemnation but love and forgiveness
and cleansing and freedom and a whole
new beginning and the title of this
message is simply this the offer of a
second chance
now somebody says well now how can God
give me a second chance I want you to
see it in this passage God’s offer of a
second chance if you turn to John
chapter 8 the eth chapter of John deals
with an incident in the
scripture in which many people look at
and they think well how could Jesus
possibly say what he said to this person
where are all the scriptures about
repentance and confession and yet Jesus
gives us a beautiful demonstration of
how he relates to people who’ve sinned
and who failed in their life and you may
be one of those persons who says well I
have failed I have failed so shamly that
I’m not even sure I could ever go to
church again I don’t think I could face
my friends or certainly could not face
Christians don’t think I could pray
again don’t believe I could read the
Bible don’t think my life could ever
count for God again but listen to what
happens in this particular passage the
scripture says beginning in John 8: vers
one but Jesus went to the Mount of
Olives and early in the morning he came
again into the temple and all the people
were coming to him and he sat down and
began to teach them and the scribes and
the Pharisees brought a woman caught in
adultery and having set her in the midst
they said to him
teacher this woman has been caught in
adultery in the very act now in the law
of Moses it’s commands her to be stoned
that is to Stone such women what then do
you say and they were saying this
testing him in order that they might
have grounds for accusing him but Jesus
stooped down and with his finger wrote
on the ground but when they persisted in
asking him he straightened up and said
to them he who is without sin among you
let him be the first to throw a stone at
her and again he stooped down and rode
on the ground and when they heard it
they began to go out one by one
beginning with the older ones and he was
left alone in the woman where he had
been in the midst and straightening up
Jesus said to Heroman where are they did
no one condemn you and she said no one
Lord and Jesus said neither do I condemn
you go your way from now on sin no more
now when you look at that passage you
may have the question well how could
Jesus just say this to a person who was
caught in the very Act of adultery
surely uh there must be something here
more than simply saying just don’t sin
anymore is that God’s attitude about
when we sin does he just say well don’t
sin anymore oh no there’s a lot more to
it than that so I want to begin by
simply saying that when you and I look
at life and look around us and see what
the Bible says about how God responds to
our sin our sin sometimes results in our
need of a second chance in life now I
said sometimes because you see all sin
isn’t the same all sin doesn’t fall in
the same category some sins are far
worse in the eyes of God than others and
some people say well isn’t just Sin Sin
well Sin is Sin but that doesn’t mean
that all sin brings the same judgment or
all sin brings the same consequences
sin’s different and so when we look at
this passage I believe it is a passage
of Hope for people who have sinned and
look at their past and somehow they just
can’t get rid of it it’s sort of like
glue it’s like molasses no matter how
much they rub no matter how much they
pray how much they read the Bible how
much they go to church Church how many
sermons they listen to somehow in their
past it may be something that was an
atrocious sin in their minds it may be
something that was really really a
difficult time in their life where they
sinned against God and violated the most
the strongest laws of God and yet
somehow they just can’t seem to think
that God has cleansed them and they keep
trying in their mind and their heart
they wouldn’t do this with their hands
but in their heart that’s what they’re
doing God won’t I ever be clean to this
won’t I ever be free of this is any way
God for me to get forgiveness and this
is why often times people will become
involved in some kind of ministry trying
to do what trying to match up trying to
Merit in some fashion God’s forgiveness
and cleansing and the interesting thing
is this that people will live for years
and years and years and people who do
not understand our God’s Gift of
forgiveness somehow no matter what they
do and how much of it they do they never
quite feel like that God has really and
truly forgiven them it causes them to
doubt their salvation it causes them to
doubt that God could use them in any
fashion and often times people will find
themselves just sort of slipping aside
uh moving back in their relationship
with other Christians not allowing God
to use them for the simple reason they
don’t feel worthy they feel unfit too
dirty too unclean and that God somehow
can’t forgive them well listen to what
happens in this passage because here is
certainly a word of encouragement to
people who have fallen in life for
whatever the reason
Jesus has been talking and in fact the
day before they tried to arrest him and
the scripture says that the officers who
came back to the Sadducees and the
Pharisees and they said he they said
well where is he and here was their
reply never a man spake like this they
could not arrest him so the scripture
says the people go home Jesus goes up to
the Mount of Olives which is one of his
favorite places of praying and he
probably spent the night up there
praying and talking to the Father the
next morning early he comes down to the
Temple and so the people of G gathered
around them because they’re so
interested and he’s teaching there in
the temple and the people have gathered
around and in the midst of his lesson
whatever he was teaching on here come
the Pharisees and the Sadducees dragging
this woman in and sort of flinging her
down in front of him and saying to him a
rabbi this woman was caught in the very
Act of adultery what do you think should
be done to her
now when you first read that you say
well U what should be done to her but
what you have to ask is is what’s really
going on here because these Pharisees
and Sadducees hated Jesus so intensely
their hatred was so intense that they
would be willing to do anything in order
to trap him in some fashion and so this
is what this passage of scripture is all
about it’s all about God’s forgiveness
on the one hand it’s all about the
religious leaders of Jesus day being
willing to do anything in order to
destroy his influence and to destroy his
his impact upon the people around him
and so when you read this passage you
have to ask yourself the question what
is going on in the hearts of these
people well when she was flung down
there I’m sure that uh with all of the
shame and the disgrace that suddenly
came upon her and here she is sitting
among all these people who sitting
before this Rabbi who has become so
famous and and people are following him
and all of a sudden she’s there as the
victim who has been caught and if you’ll
notice it’s interesting the man’s not
there and she was caught in the act of
adultery but they only bring her but
when you go back to uh Deuteronomy 22
other passages of scripture that relate
uh to people who were guilty of adultery
and the fact that the law require they
to be stoned they ston the man and the
woman not just the woman and so you it’s
very evident that something’s wrong in
this situation first of all there’s no
man there where is he if she were caught
in the act certainly he was there why
didn’t they drag him there also with her
secondly is there a double standard I
mean after all if uh if she were guilty
what about the man was he not guilty yes
he was and besides that why did they not
wait until Jesus was finished with his
lesson the temple was crowded with
people and they were very attentive in
their listening and so they work their
way through drag her there drop her down
disrupt the study and want him to make
some judgment about her well the truth
is found in this sixth verse look if you
will the scripture says that they said
to him now the law of Moses commands us
to so Stone such a woman then what do
you say and verse 6 says and they were
saying this testing him in order that
they might have grounds for accusing him
but Jesus of course was smarter than
that now here’s this woman lying here
before him uh in her sense of guilt and
shame knowing that she had failed
knowing that she was guilty of what they
were accusing her of of but what was
really going on is that these Pharisees
and Sadducees every time they got in an
argument with Jesus they failed and they
would have to walk away and often times
he would give them some very short
answer to their questions or turn it
right back on them and so in their sense
of embarrassment their determination
their vehement their anger their
hostility they were willing for this
woman to be shamed they were willing for
her to be embarrassed they were willing
for her to even be stoned to death they
were willing to use her as a tool in
order to get their objective and that is
to see Jesus destroyed in some fashion
it didn’t make any difference listen the
worst kind of persecution is religious
persecution the world often times
persecutes its own but somehow it seems
that people who are legalistic
legalistic in their beliefs can
sometimes be the most intense in their
persecution in their criticism in their
judgment in their condemnation of other
people and often times what you’ll find
out is this that those who are the most
condemning of those who have the most to
hide themselves and so my friend in the
Christian life according to what Jesus
said and according to what Paul said he
said we are to lift up one another we
are to love one another we to encourage
one another we’re to forgive one another
in fact there’s a whole string of one
anothers that Paul gives us and all of
them are those encouraging kind of one
anothers toward each other you say well
now are you trying to belittle this in
not trying to belittle it all there’s
nothing better that can be belittle
because she was guilty she admits her
guilt there is absolutely no defense
whatsoever In this passage anywhere in
here and so they bring her before the
Lord Jesus and they say here’s what the
law says the law says that she is to be
condemned now imagine what she was
thinking for a moment because I want you
to go back if you will to a passage in
the Old Testament go back to Deuteronomy
chapter 16 for a moment because this
happened during the time of the Feast of
the Tabernacles and um this was a time
of Celebration and it’s interesting the
kind of atmosphere that was going on
when this took place and in this uh 16th
chapter go to the 16th chapter theonomy
1 the 16th chapter says that this is the
command that God gave them about this
celebration it was a time of great
celebration it says in this 13th verse
of the 16th chapter you shall celebrate
the Feast of booths or Tabernacle 7 days
after you gathered in from your
threshing floor and your wine bath and
you shall now look at this rejoice in
your feast and you and your sons and
your daughter and your male and female
servants and uh the levite and the
stranger and the orphan and the Widow
who are in your towns seven days you
shall celebrate a feast of the Lord your
God in the place where the Lord chooses
because the Lord your God will bless you
in all your produce and in all your work
of your hands so that you shall be
altogether joyful so twice he says you
to celebrate he says you to rejoice and
you to be joyful so it appears that
somehow in the midst of all of this
celebration and all the things that were
going on that this event took place and
so now here she is before the Lord Jesus
Christ very very guilty and they are
saying to him this woman is to be stoned
to death now she of course
recognizes that she’s guilty and she
recognizes this Rabbi certainly knows
the law and so what is she thinking let
me tell you what she must be
thinking she not only is thinking about
her past and more than likely
thinking deeply regretting what she has
done deeply regretting being caught and
of course the scripture does not tell
was this one incident in her life was
this the first time that it ever
happened was this a way of life and this
is only the first time that she’d ever
been discovered so no one knows the
answer to that but what was she thinking
here’s what she was thinking she was
thinking about maybe the times that she
had seen other people
stoned and so what did they do to them
they stripped them naked they tied their
hands behind them they marched them
through the streets they took them to a
scaffold that was about 9 ft high and
then the witnesses certainly had to show
up the first witness had the
responsibility of pushing the person off
the scaffold onto the ground falling 9
ft the second witness had the
responsibility of dropping on the
victim’s head a large stone or on their
chest to cause great damage in the very
beginning so here she was stretched out
in the presence of Jesus the Sadducees
the Pharisees and all of their anger and
vehement not toward her using her as a
tool in order to accomplish a very very
vicious
task and here were all the people
looking and more than likely mumbling
and referring to each other and pointing
their fingers and shame and all the
things that were going on and she was
thinking death by stoning they’re going
to strip me naked they’re going to tie
my hands behind me and March me in
public stand me up on a scaffolding
before others somebody’s going to drop a
stone and hit me either in the chest or
the head and then the rest pick up their
stones and then they Stone her until
she’s
dead can you imagine the awesome sense
of hopelessness
helplessness shame guilt fear dread and
condemnation she must have
felt I don’t think any of us could
imagine that everywhere it looks it’s
hopeless she’s helpless full of Shame
full of guilt full of
condemnation except for one person and
that is the very person who is to judge
her so they said to him they said said
you judge her we want you to judge her
now Jesus had to answer this in some
fashion and of course the scriptures
said in the Old Testament that when a
person was found guilty of adultery they
were to be stoned to death so there’s no
question about the law no question about
whether she was guilty or not and then
this Rabbi this teacher this person whom
they called Jesus he was the one who now
had to make this judgment What would say
what do you think she thought he would
say she thought he would say naturally
that is the law and therefore she knew
she was going to be condemned no
question about it she knew she was
facing death and there was absolutely no
hope of Escape let me ask you a question
do you look at your life at some point
back on and think God these this looks
like my past this is my past these are
things in my past that somehow in spite
of my attempt to ask you to forgive me
they just keep hanging on do you ever
feel hopeless and helpless that even God
in all of his Love Somehow can’t forgive
you because of the nature of your sin my
friend listen there is no sin there is
no guilt that God will not face with you
and listen forgive you and cleanse you
and give you a new beginning you may
feel as you look around that your life
is absolutely a total disaster as long
as there is a God your life is not a
disaster as long as there’s breath in
your body as long as you’re willing to
listen
as long as you’re willing to believe
what God said about his loving
forgiveness toward you there is hope
there is help there is a new beginning
there is the offer of a brand new life
there’s the offer of what a new
beginning in your life there’s the offer
of a second chance that is life is not
over because you look at your past and
see all the things that are not right
and all the disaster back there and all
the mistakes you’ve made and how many
times have I talked to people who say
well you know I look at my past and I
don’t have much hope for the future why
not well because my past is so dark or
my past is so bad and my past is so evil
and this is the way I grew up and this
is the things that I learned early in
life and this is my lifestyle and how
can God take me after all these years
and make anything out of my life my
friend he is an absolute expert at
taking the most broken desperate
helpless hopeless sinful Wicked vile
Sinners and turning them into a saint
that’s what God’s all about he is all
about not condemnation but he’s all
about forgiveness and all about love and
all about cleansing and this is what is
happening what is taking place in this
passage and so when they bring her there
the law of God says absolutely that is
there’s no winking at sin because God is
a holy God doesn’t wink at sin God
acknowledges sin and God judges sin and
God condemns sin what is the cross of
Jesus Christ all about it’s all about
Sin it’s all about the Judgment of sin
it’s all about the condemnation of sin
and so it’s not a matter of Jesus being
easy here and just simply saying well we
just going to let this go by but you see
we said in the very beginning that often
times our sins requires that you and I
have a second chance in Life or life
would seem to be over and that’s what
the grace of God’s all about the grace
of God is God’s provision to give us a
second chance because there are some
sins that bring about such havoc and
such wreck and ruin in a person’s life
that for them to have a new beginning is
to have a second chance at life itself
self well remember where she is she is
at the feet of Jesus she’s facing death
all the shame the guilt the condemnation
and everything that goes with that and
then they say to him you you tell us
what to do well he said you recall the
Sermon on the Mount he said I didn’t
come to uh bypass the law I didn’t come
to ignore the law I came to fulfill the
law but certainly not in the way in
which uh they were thinking here and so
they said to him what what what is your
judgment about about this the Bible says
that Jesus didn’t say anything for a
moment he stooped down and he began to
write in the dust of the sand in the
temple floor now what he wrote no one
knows and people have made all kinds of
suggestions about what Jesus probably
wrote and someone has said well maybe he
wrote some of the
Commandments maybe he looked around and
knowing people so
perfectly he began to write in the sand
simple short statements
or maybe just one word the sins of those
who stood there condemning
her and so they kept on saying well what
do you say what do you say and so they
thought they had him trapped because if
he’ just said well um we’re not going to
Stone her that it said aha see he
doesn’t keep the law and he would have
lost credibility with the people who are
following him if he had said stonea to
death then the Romans uh would have him
in real trouble because while the
Sanhedrin had the right and the
authority uh to prosecute people who
broke the civil law the religious laws
they did not have the privilege or the
right to condemn or to execute someone
that was Roman law and only by Roman law
could a person be executed and so they
were absolutely certain they had him
where he could not escape and so he
simply wrote In The
Sand he didn’t say anything and they
kept saying to him well what do you say
here’s what the law of Moses says now
what are you going to say about
this and so Jesus wrote they must have
come over and start looking to see what
he was
writing he said to
them all right let’s appoint an
executioner can you imagine what she
must have felt knowing what death by
stoning was like let’s appoint an
executioner and so what we’ll ask he he
said here he
says so we’ll upon an execution and he
who is without sin among you let him be
the first to throw a stone at
her can you imagine how quiet everything
became and the Bible says that one by
one beginning with the oldest one they
begin to slip out now somebody said well
why do you suppose they began with the
oldest one because the older they were
the more sins they had on their
list looking back in their past when he
said he that is without sin among you
let him cast the first stone and so
little by little the Bible says they
just S A weasle their way out can you
imagine how embarrassed they
were and how shocked they were and how
their conscience was stung all the way
to the bitter
Center that here once again they could
not trick the Lord Jesus Christ and
while they were in the process of trying
to condemn this woman he simply said to
them well go ahead cast the first
stone and they could not so Jesus said
to her woman where are thine
accusers and the Bible says that she
said I don’t have any accusers they they
gone and Jesus said neither do I condemn
thee now when you look at that passage
you think well how could he say these
things when the Bible says if we confess
our sins Jesus talked about preaching
repentance around the world how could
Jesus simply say neither do I condemn
thee go and sin no
more well I think there’s a very
definite way he could say it when that
woman was lying there before him and she
was looking around and people were
condemning her I am certain that her
eyes in jesus’ eyes must have met what
did she see in his
eyes
forgiveness love Mercy kindness
tenderness compassion
passion she didn’t see anything that she
had heard or had seen the eyes of those
who were condemning her and in the
process of seeing this and feeling this
what was going on inside of
her not only a sense of regret and
fear but a sense of genuine repentance
had to be going on in her heart because
notice how she said it when she
responded to him the Bible says and
straightening up Jesus said to her in
verse 10w woman where are they did no
one condemn you and she said no one Lord
and Jesus said neither do I condemn you
go your way from now on don’t sin
anymore he didn’t say you know you
really are guilty he didn’t say you know
you deserve to be stoned to death he
didn’t
say you deserve condemnation he didn’t
say any of that how could Jesus appear
to let her get by he didn’t let her get
by she didn’t get by with anything and
you see this is why when you understand
the atoning death of Jesus Christ then
there’s some passages of scripture that
all of a sudden begin to make sense and
without understanding that you don’t
because it appears here that what
happens is that Jesus simply said to her
um neither do I condemn you and so I’m
simply saying you just don’t go and sin
anymore now you see Jesus listen he
understood people
perfectly and he understood that people
had a past a present and a future and
often times he understood that people
got trapped in their past Jesus came not
only to forgive us of our sins to wipe
out the past but to give us hope for the
Future Hope for the future and often
times people get caught in the past
often times they’re thinking about the
future they cannot live in the present
somehow they just cannot be satisfied in
the present somebody sent me this little
quote goes like this I was regretting
the past and fearing the future and
suddenly my Lord was
speaking and he said my name is I am he
paused I waited he continued when you
live in the past with its mistakes and
regrets it is hard I am not there my
name is not I was when you live in the
future with its problems and fears it is
hard I will not be there my name is not
I will be when you live in this present
moment it is not hard
I am here for my name is I am you see
until a person is able to break from
their past and understand that God is
willing to forgive in this present
moment and he says he wipes our sins
away as far as the East is from the West
he sinks them in the deepest parts of
the sea you don’t have to live in the
past you don’t have to live in a past of
sin no matter what it is the Forgiveness
of God this is what the atoning death of
Jesus Christ is is all about and so
someone says well how could he simply
say to her go and sin no more here’s the
reason because you see Jesus Christ knew
that he was the Lamb of God sent into
this world to die for her sin you say
well but Calvary hadn’t even happened at
that point no it had not but here’s what
you have to remember he knew that
Calvary was coming but in the mind of
God God sees all things at one time as
if it were present tense while he
understands time because he’s the one
who set it up he sees everything in the
present tense therefore what happens
here God sees it all at one time so when
she fell before the Lord Jesus Christ
and looking into those eyes of
compassion and loving forgiveness and he
was forgiving her he was forgiving her
on the basis of what was about to happen
he was going to the Cross listen the
mind of God the crucifixion was there
before the beginning of time so that
when God forgives he sees all things and
he sees them all at one time and so it
wasn’t that he could not forgive her
because he had not been to the cross in
the mind of God the cross had always
been there why for example what a person
in the Old Testament how could they be
forgiven of their sin simply because in
the mind of God the coming Messiah
though he was coming in the future the
crucifixion the Lamb of God in the mind
of God it was all done so that those in
the Old Testament could bring their lamb
before the priest put their hands upon
his head cut the throat shed the blood
confessed their sin plac their trust in
almighty God and his promises of a
coming Messiah and his promise of
forgiveness and be forgiven but the
Bible turns right around and says the
blood of bulls and goats and lamb will
not bring about the forgiveness of sin
but it was the symbolical of it all and
that is because of what it symbolized
because of what it was pointing to it
because of its prophetic meaning their
forgiveness was provided it is the cross
of Jesus Christ and the cross only that
provides forgiveness so when he said to
her neither do I condemn thee was he
excusing her sin by no means was he just
saying saying well it’s all right no he
was not belittling her
sin he was not compromising with her sin
he was conquering sin by forgiving her
he understood her heart he understood
where she was in her shame and her sense
of condemnation and guilt and regret he
knew her heart it was a heart of genuine
repentance and so he said to her neither
do I condemn thee go and sin no more
what do you imagine suddenly burst forth
in her mind here she was full of fear
full of condemnation full of guilt full
of sin and full of deep deep regret full
of fear of what was about to happen when
he said to her neither do I condemn thee
go and sin no more hope burst forth in
her heart and what was that hope it was
the hope that she could begin life again
it was the hope that she had a second
chance at life it had come to what
appeared to be the end but it was Jesus
who gave her another opportunity that’s
what forgiveness is all about that’s
what the grace of God’s all about the
grace of God is God forgiving us of our
sins the grace of God is about God
looking into our life and giving us
forgiveness and looking into our life
and saying life’s not over there is a
second chance and a third chance and a
fourth chance and a fifth chance and you
see every time God has ever forgiven us
of our sin we have a new opportunity we
have the new privilege of walking today
in the grace and goodness and love of
God
but my friend if you don’t believe in
the Forgiveness of God and if you
believe that somehow that your sin could
be so bad listen doesn’t make any
difference what it is it’s not a matter
of compromising sin we’re talking about
the awesome power of the shedding of the
blood of Jesus so awesome that God has
placed upon the Lord Jesus Christ the
debt of the sin of the entire world and
he says if you’re willing to ask him to
forgive you if you willing to ask ask
him to cleanse you if you’re willing to
ask for a new beginning that he is
willing to give it listen not on the
basis of a brand new performance of no
sin but on the basis of what Jesus did
at Calvary and you’re placing your trust
in him so he said to her neither do I
condemn thee go and sin no
more so we have to ask the question how
does God provide forgiveness he provided
forgiveness in the Old Testament he
provided forgiveness in the New
Testament he provides forgiveness today
the very same way it was through the
blood of Jesus that forgiveness came and
so no matter what is in the past it is a
matter of placing your trust in the Lord
Jesus Christ and asking him to forgive
you of your sin so you say well in order
for God to give me a second chance at
life for God to be able to so work in my
life that that I’m no longer glued to
the Past trapped by the past locked in
the past imprisoned by it you mean I can
be so forgiven that I don’t don’t have
to look at that anymore I don’t have to
live with that anymore that I can look
at life with an absolute newness of
heart what has to take place three
things number one you have to face your
sin you can’t deny it you can’t just
ignore it you can’t just act like it
never happened you have to face it and
you see one of the reasons some people
can’t experience Freedom From the Past
they won’t really face it that is they
won’t face it as if to deal with it they
face it because it is there but it is
always a burden they carry we’re talking
about facing sin by saying father I am
guilty yes God this was in my life this
was in my mind these were the actions of
my life yes God I did blow it in the
past that is facing sin is being willing
to confess it to him facing sin is
acknowledging it facing sin is is taking
responsibility for it and refusing to
blame circumstances as someone else
would happen so if I’m if I want a
second chance I have to face my sin the
second thing that’s important is this I
have to be willing to accept his
forgiveness until you’re willing to
accept his forgiveness the burden is
going to remain there nothing else in
life will take away that burden except
your willingness to accept God’s
forgiveness based on the cross it’s what
he did not what you’re going to do and
as we’ve said over and over and over
again people who live by their
performance and think that somehow they
they’ve got to do enough to get God
persuade God convince God to forgive
them it will never happen so because let
me ask you a question how will you ever
know that you’ve done enough how will
you ever know that you have done enough
to be forgiven how will you ever know
that you’ve done it long enough to be
forgiven how long do you have to pay for
sin what do you have to do to be
forgiven of sin how intense must it be
that is what what thing can you do to
bring about forgiveness of sin not
anything how long you’ll never know what
you’ll never know because somebody would
say well this is what I must do to be
able to be forgiven no the only way for
forgiveness comes is through the blood
of Jesus Christ that is the only way and
so first of all I must face the sin
secondly I must be willing to experience
the forgiveness of
sin and there’s a third thing and that
is I must believe that I have a future
in the person of Jesus Christ you see if
you don’t face it and you can’t be
willing to to forgive yourself for what
God has forgiven you for and believe
that you have a future provided by
almighty God you will live in the past
you will live with the burdens you will
feel the drag on your life emotionally
you’ll feel the drag in your life
spiritually you’ll feel the drag in your
life physically ultimately out there
somewhere unless you are willing to deal
with it Jesus said to her neither do I
condemn thee go and sin no more does
that mean that he expect her to live a
perfect life no he was saying to her do
not get involved in this again do not
commit this sin again he knew she was
not going to be perfect no one’s perfect
he was simply saying to her neither do I
condemn you Jesus said for for example
in the third chapter of John he said I
have not come into the world to condemn
the world but that the world through me
might be saved and in Galatians for
example he said if you see your brother
stumble you don’t condemn him you don’t
kick him you don’t criticize him or her
what do you do he says you encourage
them you lift them up lest you too being
tempted should fall the people of God
had to be loving kind doesn’t mean you
ignore sin doesn’t mean you overlook sin
but we listen we have the pattern of
Jesus when someone stumbles someone
Falls it is to be loving forgiveness and
encouragement and he says reaching out
to help that person to restore that
person that is exactly what Jesus did he
had the authority and the right to say
to her you to be condemned because
you’ve sinned you’ve violated very
specifically one of the Ten Commandments
therefore this is what you have coming
to
you aren’t you glad that God does not
give us what we deserve amen we don’t
get what we deserve it is the grace of
God but my friend listen it only comes
through the shed blood of Jesus Christ
so when somebody says to you well how
could Jesus just say to her you’re
forgiven because he knew her repentant
heart he knew her heart was confessing
her heart was repentant he could look
into her eyes and see the humility the
regret the penitence he could see in her
heart he knew her heart that it wasn’t
just a matter of regret because she had
been caught she said to him
Lord no
one she understood who he was she
yielded herself to him right there in
the moments in which she was about to
die from being stoned to death it was
Christ loving compassion that said to
her neither do I condemn thee do you
know what that says it says my friend
God is not in the habit of just
condemning God didn’t come to condemn
but to convert these evil ways of ours
he came to transform our life he says I
come to give you life abundantly he
wants to transform our life give us a
whole new beginning he wants us to love
him because love is his way and so when
you look at your life and you say how
could God ever forgive me by his great
grace he forgives all of our sin and so
as you think about your present life and
you think about your past you think
about your future you have to ask
yourself this question am I going to
live like this the rest of my life am I
willing to accept the goodness and the
love and the graciousness of God and
accept his forgiveness and understand
that my heavenly father offers me
another chance a new beginning in life
you know all of us know the song Amazing
Grace how sweet the sound that saved a
Wretch like Me I once was lost but now
I’m found was blind but now I see John
Newton who wrote that song was a slave
trader a very evil V V Wicked Man and
besides writing Amazing Grace he wrote
other songs but listen to this one he
says in evil long I took Delight unwed
by shame or fear till a new object met
my sight and stopped my wild career I
saw one hanging on a tree in agony and
blood who fixed his languid eyes on me
as near his cross I stood sure never to
my latest breath shall I forget that
look it seemed to charge me with his
death though not a word he spoke a
second look he gave which said I freely
all forgive my blood was for thy Ransom
paid I died that thou mayest live you
know why he turned that amazing grace
Amazing Grace how sweet this sound what
was amazing about it he says that it
could save a Wretch like Me I once was
lost but now I’m found found I was blind
but now I see the grace of God brings
about forgiveness and cleansing and
transforms us into a whole new person
giving us a new beginning you have the
privilege at this very moment to say to
your
past I don’t have to live with you
anymore I don’t have to bear this weight
anymore I don’t have to feel this shame
anymore I don’t have to feel this guilt
anymore my loving Heavenly Father
provided in the coming of Jesus a way
for me to lay down the past Feel clean
and pure and free once again and to
start a brand new life how does it begin
this is the way it begins by asking the
Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you of your
sin on the basis of what he did at
Calvary and telling him the beginning
today you are laying down the past in
faith in his forgiveness and you you’re
trusting him to be your savior your lord
and your master my friend the moment
you’re willing to do that your life
begins to be brand new and you can tell
your past goodbye and say good morning
to a brand new life it is yours for the
asking if you willing to receive his
forgiveness and his cleansing it is the
gift of a loving father and father we
thank you and praise you and worship you
and adore you as we think of how good
and how gracious and kind you are to us
and I pray the Holy Spirit for those who
are deeply deeply indebted to their
past that you would make it crystal
clear that when you sent your son to the
Cross you carried all their past placed
it on his shoulders on his heart on his
life crucified him as payment for that
sin in order that all men might be free
we pray the Holy Spirit will grant to
those who need the faith just to believe
what you’ve promised but we ask it in
Jesus name
amen