John 8:3-11 (KJV) Says, "And the scribes and the Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not. So when they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up Himself, and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, Woman where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
In the above passage of scripture the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman to Jesus, and tell Him that she was caught in the act of adultery. They stated as they stood before Jesus that according to Mosaic law she should be stoned to death, and then inquired of Him what He thought should be done to her. The scribes and the Pharisees were asking Jesus what should be done in an attempt to trick Him. They wanted to see if he would uphold the law, or defend the sinner. Jesus then surprises them all by saying that whoever among them that was sinless should be the one to cast the first stone. Jesus knew there was not one person sinless among them. When they heard His response, one by one they walked away leaving the woman alone with Jesus. When Jesus stated that whoever among them had never committed a sin should throw the first stone at the woman, they each were convicted by their own conscience as the sins they had committed began playing on the big screens within their minds.
After all of the woman's accusers had gone away Jesus continues to demonstrate that He is kind, loving, forgiving, compassionate, and so much more. He doesn't kill the woman, yell and scream at her, condemn her, ignore her, verbally abuse her, or go around talking about her to others with a holier than thou righteous attitude. He calmly tells her that He doesn't condemn her, and tells her to go and sin no more.
The word Christian by definition is to be Christ-like. We as followers and disciples of Jesus Christ are to follow the example Jesus set for us. With these two statements being made clear to us in the Word of God, how can we justify going around with a holier than thou attitude condemning others? As seen in the above passage of scripture, Jesus himself being sinless states directly to the woman who committed adultery that He doesn't condemn her. He acknowledges that she sinned, when he advises her to go her way and sin no more, but He forgives her and treats her with love and kindness.
For the record, I am in no way stating that we as Christians should condone sin. What I'm saying is that knowing that Jesus being without sin, behaves as He does toward sinners, how can any human being, a known sinner as we all are, profess to be a Christian, act holier than thou, and condemn another human being? Some self-proclaimed Christians cop this attitude even among their own family members. To be a Christian means to be Christ-like, which means to be loving, understanding, forgiving, compassionate, merciful, kind, and to possess many more like qualities. If instead of these qualities you are condemning, judging, ignoring, mistreating, gossiping about, or behaving holier than thou toward another human being, then friends you are missing the mark. You are at risk of running lost souls away from the Lord, as your behavior reinforces for them the common belief that Christianity is full of people with holier than thou attitudes that go around judging and condemning others. If you are behaving toward another individual in this fashion take a good look in the mirror, recognize that you too are a sinner, and ask yourself who you think you are. Remind yourself that God is love, and then ask yourself as a Christian, if your behavior reflects the love of God. If Jesus being perfect didn't walk around judging and condemning people, then who are we to do so? As Christians we should walk in love, be kind, understanding, supportive, encouraging, merciful, compassionate, and forgiving toward others, and we should thank God at least once a day, every day that He is all these things and much more to each of us, NONE of us being sinless.
If you have a prayer request and would like me to prayer for you, leave me a message and I will be more than happy to do so. May God bless you.
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