By Wayne Morrison
Growing up Adventist has taught me to speak and understand certain words and phrases that are very much a part of our Seventh-day Adventist culture. We have a way of talking that confuses people new to the conversation. When we invite a guest to a “haystack potluck,” they are pretty sure they understand “potluck” but wonder if they need to bring their own pitchfork. Another term we use pretty freely is “the truth.” We are called to share “the truth” with our neighbors, our co-workers, and our community. Adventists understand “the truth” to be those unique beliefs we hold: the truth about the Sabbath, the state of the dead, or that hell really is not eternal. We like to share the truth about the beasts and the mark, but there is another truth that Jesus taught, and I would like to draw your attention there.
I believe one of the stories most revealing of God’s heart toward sinners comes from John 8 which tells the story of a woman caught in adultery. This is a story that exposes the church and its attitude toward sinners by displaying God’s heart and His attitude toward sinners.
Jesus comes to the temple early in the morning, and all the people gather around to see and hear what He will do or say. The teaching is disrupted when the scribes and Pharisees bring in a woman and throw her at Jesus’ feet. The question is simple: “We know she is guilty; what are you going to do about it?”
Notice that in this story, we have the Pharisees, best representing the church at that time, condemning the guilty. They point out sin, dragging the condemned to God and shaming them in front of everyone. While we probably don’t drag prostitutes into church on a regular basis, I have been in church and listened to prayer requests that were just as exposing. We should pray for Brother X; you know he has a drinking problem. In our desire to pray for a brother, we expose his sin for all to hear.
While the Pharisees, are pointing their fingers at this woman, please notice two things God does. First, he reveals to each their own sins. Not publicly, yet each one knows that He knows, and they begin to shrink away, hoping no one finds out their weakness. Jesus then turns to the woman with a question, “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” When she realizes they are all gone, she responds, “No one, Lord.”
I believe this moment contains one of the most important lessons for our church today. Jesus speaks, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” We like to emphasize the “go and sin no more,” but I believe God would focus on the removal of condemnation.
Jesus removes those that would condemn, then He expresses the merciful, forgiving heart of heaven: “Neither do I condemn you!” It would be a powerful moment if it ended there, but it doesn’t. Jesus continues, saying, “I am the Light of the world.” Is it possible that the light and the truth that Jesus came to share is the removal of condemnation? In a world filled with sin and darkness, overwhelmed with shame and disgrace, is it possible God sent His Son to remove condemnation?
Rather than asking a question, let me state this as a fact of conviction: Not only do I believe He came to remove condemnation, but He calls us to follow His example. He calls us not to point to the faults and failures we all have, but to point to the One who bridged the gap once for all. “He who knew no sin, became sin for us!”
Wayne Morrison is senior pastor at Brighton Seventh-day Adventist Church in Brighton, Colorado.