Praise Break (part 5)

Welcome back to our investigation into this thing called Praise Breaks. The last time we left off, we had a "brief" look into the issue of "judging".

This time, we're going to look into the purpose of the church.

What is the church?

The word, “church”, is the greek word Ekklesia.

1)      a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly

a)      an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating

b)     the assembly of the Israelites

c)      any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously

d)     in a Christian sense

2)      an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting

3)      a company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order's sake

4)      those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body

5)      the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth

6)      the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven

The church is not the building, but the church meets in a building. The church is the congregation as a whole.

We are told to not forsake the assembling of ourselves (Hebrews 10:25) - meaning God wants us to gather together as often as we can.

That is the general will of God for the church.

 

Why does God want us to meet?

God wants something to take place when we meet. Here is what should be taking place...

Ephesians 4:12-16

...For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. 

This is the main purpose for the gathering of the church.

If you look at that passage, you can see that the thought doesn't start at verse 12.

So let's go back a bit.

Ephesians 4:11

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

From this, we can clearly see that God instituted the positions in the church in order to carry out the main purpose of the church.

This is why those who lead the church… the elders… are supposed to measure up the stringent list of characteristics located in the pastoral epistles.

So our main focus when we gather is not to dance, sing, pray, shout, celebrate or anything like that. Our main focus is to grow in our theology and doctrine. Our main focus is to be grounded in the word and draw closer to God by being taught from His word.

This is the role of the elders, to make sure that the congregation stays focused on its main purpose.

So what are we allowed to do when the church meets?

Well, when we look at the main purpose of us gathering together, we see three descriptions… the perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, and the edifying of the body of Christ.

How do we become perfect? We become more Christ-like, as He was perfect.

How do we do that? We learn more about Him, and His ways and become more and more obedient to His commands.

How do we know what those are? We read and study the bible. But since this is in the midst of the congregation, we are supposed to be taught His commands and truth from the bible.

In other words, we become perfect as we are taught the bible when the church gathers together, and when we read and study the bible when the church isn't gathered.

What is the work of the ministry?

Well, the word "ministry" tells us.

It is the greek work diakonia

It means...

1)      service, ministering, esp. of those who execute the commands of others

2)      of those who by the command of God proclaim and promote religion among men

a)      of the office of Moses

b)     of the office of the apostles and its administration

c)      of the office of prophets, evangelists, elders etc.

3)      the ministration of those who render to others the offices of Christian affection esp. those who help meet need by either collecting or distributing of charities

4)      the office of the deacon in the church

5)      the service of those who prepare and present food

That is the work of the ministry.

This is what Jesus did.

Because it’s what Jesus did, and we are becoming like Jesus, the procedure would be the same as becoming perfect.

What is edification of the body of Christ?

Edifying is the greek word oikodomē

It means...

1)      (the act of) building, building up

2)      metaph. edifying, edification

a)      the act of one who promotes another's growth in Christian wisdom, piety, happiness, holiness

3)      a building (i.e. the thing built, edifice)

We are being built up to become like Jesus. So the procedure would be the same as becoming perfect.

So, to sum up... the things we do when the church gathers together should cause us to become more perfect, prepare and enable us to minister, and edify the body - not one or two people, but the body as a whole.

Let's end here for today. Meditate on the things we have learned. Join us next time as we continue to lay the foundation for our investigation into this thing called Praise Breaks.

Praise Break (part 4)

Welcome back to our investigation into this thing called Praise Breaks.

Previously, we've been looking into "judging" and what the scripture says regarding it.

Let's wrap this up.

Since we should be judging, why should we only be judging those in the church?

The main reason why we aren't supposed to judge those who are not in the body of Christ is because they are already condemned.

John 3:16-18

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

So when someone outside of the church says that we are judging them, we should tell them that we aren't. What we are doing is letting them know about their current spiritual state.

We aren't condemning them at all, but letting them know that they're already condemned.

 

Jesus sums up for us the issue with judging...

Matthew 23:23-32

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier mattersof the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 

Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 

Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. 

Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. 

Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. 

You see, the issue was never that people were judging. We are called to judge ourselves and one another. We are called to point out the sins of our brothers and sisters so that they can recognise it and repent before the Lord.

The issue was that it was being done hypocritically. There was no love. There was no mercy. There was no care. There was no longer any desire to see a person restored to God living as how God commanded them to live.

That was the issue. And that is what we need to be doing.

Galatians 6:1-2

Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. 

Notice that it doesn't say to not judge and leave the person to deal with the fault by themselves (if they even realise that they have been overtaken in a fault).

We are supposed to be about helping one another to walk according to the words of Christ, not leaving each other to do what we feel is right in our own eyes... especially if the bible tells us a different way.

There are those of us who seek to minister to those within the body of Christ who need help, as that is what we want for ourselves if we are going away from the steps ordered for us by God.

 

Are there things we can't judge?

 

Yes, there are. Although we are told to judge, we are also told that there are certain things that we can't judge.

Colossians 2:16-17

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Romans 14

Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike.Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.

He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. Let not then your good be evil spoken of: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thingwhereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

We can see that there are definitely things that we have no right to judge. But even in these scriptures we can see that there are things that we can and should judge.

This is seen in Romans 4:20 – For meat destroy not the work of God.

You see, the issue behind whether we should judge or not is what does it do to the work of God in the life/lives of a Christian or body of believers.

Is what is being done, hindering or helping the work of God? Or does it have neither positive nor negative effect?

Is it good for a believer to pray looking up to the heavens or with their eyes closed? Should a believer read one or two chapters a day? These are things that we can’t and shouldn’t judge each other on.

This is why we're investigating Praise Breaks instead of Praise Dance. Praise Dance is the "frantic" dancing that we see in the videos that is supposed to be praising God. Can we judge that? Is it praising God? I don't know. The bible does say that we can praise God in the dance. So maybe it is. But regardless, it doesn't seem like we can judge it anyway. After all, does dancing destroy the work of God?

Of course not. But Praise Breaks? That is another thing altogether.

 

I hope this puts "judging" to rest.

To tell others not to judge in something that the bible allows us to judge is a sign of immaturity. If you're immature, then fine. But if a more mature person tells you that we should judge it, then you shouldn't forbid them.

If you believe that you are mature and you don't want to judge, then say you don't want to judge. Nobody is stopping you from withholding judgement if you choose to. But if others have a genuine concern and want to look to the scriptures in order to make a judgement, you shouldn't stop them.

But remember, with the same judgement you judge others, you will be judged. So if you decide that you don't want to look to the word of God to see if the path being walked has been ordered by God, don't expect anybody else to make the decision to come and correct you from walking in a path that is not ordered by God.

Join us next time as we move unto the next issue that we should tackle before we delve into Praise Breaks... the purpose of the Church.

Praise Break (part 3)

Here we are, on day 3 of our investigation into this thing called Praise Breaks. We've looked into a bunch of verses that people rip out of context in order to dissuade others from applying the measuring rod of the bible to certain actions.

Today, we'll see if there are any verses that say we are supposed to judge... in context.

Matthew 18:15-17

Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 

But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 

And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

1 Corinthians 6:1-8

Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? 

If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. 

I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren? But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. 

Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

1 Corinthians 11:17-32

Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. 

For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 

When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. 

For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. 

What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. 

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. 

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 

For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. 

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 

But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

1 Corinthians 14:29

Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.

Hebrews 5:12-14

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 

For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 

But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Acts 17:10-12

And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 

Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

1 John 4:1

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

1 Timothy 5:19-21

Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.

Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.

I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

2 Timothy 4:1-4

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

As we can see, the bible tells us over and over again, that we should judge. How is it that, generally speaking, Christians are told by other christians not to judge... yet the bible tells us that we are supposed to judge? Meditate on those scriptures. Open up the your bible and go over those chapters.

Join with us next time as we continue to look into this issue.

Hosanna: Brenton Brown

Praise Break (part 2)

Thank you for joining me in this examination of this thing called Praise Break.

Currently, we're looking into whether or not we are allowed to even make a judgement call regarding Praise Break.

Previously, we looked at one of the verses people use to say we shouldn't/can't judge, which was the incident with the woman caught in adultery, the Pharisees, and Jesus.

Today, we'll look at another verse that supporters of Praise Break use to say we shouldn't/can’t judge.

 

Matthew 7:1

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

 

They say, 'that settles it. It can't be read any other way. It's clear that we are not to judge'.

The problem is that the thought doesn't end there. What does the context say?

Matthew 7:1-5

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

 

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

 

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother,

 

Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 

 

Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. 

 

When you read the next few verses, you clearly see that the first verse isn't a prohibition on all judging at all, but an introduction into how you should judge.

Notice in the next few verses that Jesus doesn't say you shouldn't take the mote out of your brother's eye, but first remove the beam that is in your eye so you can see clearly to be able to remove the mote out of your brother's eye.

Those who don't do this, Jesus calls them hypocrites - which brings us back to the same issue between the teachers of the law and the woman caught in adultery.

 

The next verse that people use is found in Luke.

Luke 6:37

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

 

This is the parallel verse to Matthew 7:1

And just like in Matthew, this verse is being ripped out of context. But, unlike in Matthew, Luke gives us more information as to what Jesus said. We actually find that the command to not judge is the end part of how we should treat our enemies.

Luke 6:27-38

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one] cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. 

 

Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. 

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.  

From these verses we clearly see that it’s our enemies that we should not judge. Jesus isn't even talking about the brethren.

But when it comes to the brethren, Jesus said we should judge, but to not be hypocritical when we do so.

When we continue reading Luke 6, we see that Jesus continues to speak on this topic.

Luke 6:39-45

And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? 

 

The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master. 

 

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 

 

Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye. 

 

For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  

 

For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. 

 

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

 

Jesus speaks about the beam in our eyes and the mote in our brothers eyes. He then transitions into corrupt and good fruit.

 

These are the verses that people run to in order to prevent people from making a judgement call and say something is right or wrong. But when we look at these verses in context, we find that it doesn't say not to judge anyone.

 

At best, we can see that we aren't to judge those who are not in the kingdom of God. Those who are, we should be judging. We should be seeking to take the mote out of our brother's eye, but we must make sure that we have taken the beam out of our own eye first. We are not to judge hypocritically, but judge in the same way that we ourselves would like to be judged... with compassion and understanding.

We'll end today's investigation with this. Join us next time as we continue to look into Praise Breaks

Praise Break (part 1)

Awhile back I came across a phenomenon that seems to be occurring in a lot of churches called Praise Break.

From what I could gather at the time, during some point in a sermon, the band would start to play, the preaching would stop, and the congregation would start to “dance” (if you can call it that). 

I’ve seen videos where people are shaking, jumping, running around the auditorium, shouting, etc.

It would die down, and then the preaching would start up again.

A lot of times the comments on these videos are usually things like: powerful, praise God, the Holy Ghost fell, etc.

Going by the dates that the videos were uploaded to YouTube, it seems like this has been happening for a number of years.

Because it was completely new to me, I decided to investigate it and find out what it is, and why people were doing it, as it seemed… bizarre… to say the least.

So let’s take a look at this thing called Praise Break.

Before we actually tackle our topic, there two things I think we need to address first.

The first thing is that, during my investigation, every time I saw someone make a comment that wasn’t pro Praise Break, even if it was some one just saying that we should be cautious, they were told they shouldn’t judge / it’s wrong to judge / we’re not supposed to judge / only God can judge, etc.

We need to realise something… anybody who uses that statement is actually judging. They are doing the very thing that they are telling people not to do.

I do realise that there are some people who say it out of ignorance, but there are others who say it because they want to prevent people from highlighting that whatever they are doing is not kosher.

What does it mean to judge?

To judge, is to examine something and come to a conclusion about it.

If you have no conclusion for something, then you have made no judgement.

If you have a conclusion, but choose not to voice it, then you are withholding judgement.

If you have a conclusion, and voice it, then you are making a judgement.

When someone hears your judgement, and tells you not to judge, they have made a judgement about your judgement.

Why do Christians say this? Where did it come from?

When it comes to believers, a lot of unbiblical things come from the same source... the bible.... well, the twisting of the bible.

It is commonly known that if you rip verses out of context, you can make the bible say whatever you want it to say.

The bible has been used to justify slavery, rape, incest, murder, stealing, "racism" and many other things that it doesn't actually says.

What happens is that someone sees a verse, or part of a verse, and instead of reading it in context, or in some cases, not even finishing the sentence... runs with that - and makes a doctrine out of it.

In other words, a person comes to the bible with an already preconceived idea, sees something that if ripped out of context affirms their idea, does so, and goes on to tell other people that the bible says their idea is correct.

This is called eisegesis, and simply means adding a different meaning to the text rather then taking the meaning that was originally intended. Reading into the text what it doesn't say.

Let’s examine some of these scriptures that have been twisted.

John 8:7

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’.

People use this verse to say, see, we aren't supposed to judge because everybody has sin.

That is not what Jesus meant in this verse.

For you to understand this verse, you must read the entire context.

John 8:2-11

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”

They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

What is happening here?

A woman was caught in adultery and brought to Jesus to be judged and have her punishment carried out. This was a trap.

Why was it a trap?

Jesus was forgiving people of their sins and healing them. Extending mercy and grace instead of justice.

In other words, the trap was this, since the Law says that those who commit adultery are to be killed, if Jesus forgives her sins and doesn't order her to be killed, then He doesn't uphold the law and He is not of God, because it's God's law.

But Jesus, knowing it was a trap, turned it against them by saying, ‘If you don't have any sin, then kill her as per the law’.

Why would this cause them to leave?

Well, many people believe that Jesus was writing out the ten commandments on the ground. So the reality of the standard of the law, plus His agreement to carry out justice according to the law, is what caused them to leave.

Because Jesus was showing that we are all guilty, and all deserve death - the righteous judgement.

So, if they persisted in their heat to kill her, they must be killed themselves, because they too have sinned and should be killed according to the law.

Notice who left first... the older people did. This make sense in that they have more sins then the younger people, because of the length of time they have lived.

Why didn't Jesus have the woman stoned?

Even though the woman was indeed an adulterer, and Jesus was the only sinless person there, the law prevented Jesus alone from dispatching justice.

1. Both the man and woman should be stoned for adultery, not just the woman. It wouldn't have been right to just stone one of them.
2. The hearts of the men that brought the woman were wicked. They were incredibly hypocritical acting like they had no sin, when they had many sins which made them worthy of death but at the same time ready to condemn someone else to death for one sin.
3. Jesus ministry wasn't about executing justice, but offering mercy, grace, and redemption.
4. These men, who were ready to uphold one part of the law, completely forgot the other portions of the law (Leviticus 19:15-18)
5. Jesus was not in the legal position, amongst the city, adhere dispatch justice. That “right” belonged to the elders of the city.
6. There needed to be at least 2 or 3 witnesses for the crime to be established, since everybody left, there were no longer any witness to the crime.

Pay attention though, because Jesus did know she was an adulterer and guilty before God.

Although Jesus did not dispatch justice, He did judge her and didn't rebuke the Pharisees and teachers of the law for judging incorrectly.

Did you catch that?

The issue was not the act of judging, but the carrying out of the penalty after judging has been completed.

It’s the carrying out of the judgement that was being discussed here, not the act of judging at all.

Jesus' reply to the men, in essence, was this: Yes, she is an adulterer. According to the law, she must be killed. Obey the law and kill her, but do it non-hypocritically.

After the men left, Jesus tells the woman to "leave her life of sin" - in other words, Jesus judged her to actually be in sin, and told her to leave that life.

In short, this scripture is not telling us to not judge at all. The scripture is showing that we shouldn't be hypocrites when we judge another’s sins. We shouldn’t demand justice to be carried out for their sins, while at the same time not requiring the same for our sins.

Join me next time as we continue to investigate Praise Breaks...

Great Is Your Mercy: Donnie McClurkin