THE ETERNAL REDEMPTION

The Eternal Redemption

< John 8:1-12 >
"But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, 'Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?' This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, 'He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.' And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, 'Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.' Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'"

"He Who Is without Sin among You, Let Him Throw a Stone at Her First"

Where are sins recorded?

On the tablet of our hearts and in the Books of Works

Jesus told them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first," and He kept on writing on the ground. A couple of older ones started to walk away. The older Pharisees, who had committed more sins, might go away first. The young ones left as well. Let's suppose Jesus was standing among us, and we were standing around the woman. If Jesus had said to us that one who was among us should throw a stone first, what would you have done?

What had Jesus been writing on the ground? God, who created us, writes our sins in two different places.

First, He writes our sins on the tablet of our hearts. "The sins of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with the point of a diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars" (Jeremiah 17:1).

God talks to us through Judah, who is our representative. The sins of human beings are engraved with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond. They are recorded on the tablet of our hearts. Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground that all men are sinners.

God knows that we sin and He engraves sins on the tablet of our hearts. First, He records our works, the sins that are committed, because we are fragile before the Law. As the sins are recorded in our hearts, we realize that we are sinners when we look at the Law. Since He recorded them in our hearts and consciences, we know that we are sinners before Him.

Jesus stooped down the second time to write on the ground. The Scripture also says that all our sins are recorded in the Books of Works before God (Revelation 20:12). Every sinner's name and his/her sins are recorded in the Book. They are also recorded on the tablet of the person's heart. Our sins are recorded both in the Book of Works and on the tablet of our hearts.

The sins are recorded on the tablet of everyone's heart, young or old. That is why they had nothing to say about their sin before Jesus. They, who tried to stone the woman, were helpless before His words

However, when you receive His salvation, all your sins in the Book of Works are erased and your name will be listed in the Book of Life. Those whose names appear in the Book of Life go to Heaven. Their good deeds, the things they have done in this world for the kingdom of God and His righteousness are also recorded in the Book of Life. They are accepted into Heaven. Those who are delivered from their sins will enter the place of eternity.

Remember that all the sins of every person are recorded in two places, so no one can deceive God. There isn't anyone who has not sinned or committed adultery in his or her heart. All people are sinners and are imperfect.

Those who have not accepted the redemption of Jesus in their hearts cannot but agonize over their sins. They are not confident. They are afraid of God and others because of their sins. But the moment they accept the gospel of the redemption of the water and the Spirit in their hearts, all the sins recorded on the tablets of their hearts and in the Book of Works are wiped clean. They are delivered from all their sins.

There is the Book of Life in Heaven. The names of those who believe in the redemption of the water and the Spirit are recorded in the book, so they will enter Heaven. They enter Heaven not because they haven't sinned in this world, but because they have been delivered from all their sins by believing in the redemption of the water and the Spirit. It is 'the law of faith' (Romans 3:27).

Fellow Christians, the scribes and Pharisees were sinners, just as the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery was.

In fact, they might have committed more sins because they deceived themselves and other people into believing that they were not sinners. The religious leaders were thieves with formal permits. They were thieves of souls, in other words, the thieves of life. They dared to teach others authoritatively, even though they themselves had not yet been redeemed.

There is no one who is without sin according to the Law. But a person can become righteous, not because he/she has not committed sin, but because he/she has been redeemed from all sins. Such a person is recorded in the Book of Life. The important thing is whether one's name has been recorded in the Book of Life or not. Since people cannot live without committing sins all their lives, they must eternally be redeemed in order to be recorded in the book.

Whether you will be accepted into Heaven depends upon whether you believe in the true gospel or not. Whether or not you receive the grace of God depends upon your acceptance of Jesus' salvation. What happened to the woman who was caught? She might have thrown herself down on her knees and closed her eyes because she knew she was going to die. She was probably crying in fear and repentance. People become honest with themselves when they face death.

"Oh, God, it is proper that I have to die. Please accept my soul into Thy hands, and take pity on me. Please take pity on me, Jesus." She pleaded to Jesus for the love of redemption. "God, if You judge me, I will be judged, and if You say I am without sin, then my sins will be erased. It is up to You." She was probably saying all of these things. She may have confessed that everything was left up to Jesus.

The woman who was brought before Jesus didn't say, "I did wrong, please forgive me for my adultery." She said, "Please save me from my sins. If You redeem my sins, I will be saved. If not, I will go to hell. I need your redemption. I need the love of God, and I need Him to take pity on me." She closed her eyes and confessed her sinfulness.

And Jesus asked her, "Where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She answered, "No one, Lord."

And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you." Jesus didn't condemn her because He had already taken away all her sins through His baptism at the Jordan river, and she was already redeemed.

Who Receives God's Grace?

Who receives God's grace?

The unworthy

Does one who lives purely without committing adultery receive His grace, or does the unworthy one who admits oneself to be so sinful receive His grace? The one who receives grace is the one who receives the abundant grace of His redemption. Those who cannot help themselves, the weak and helpless, receive redemption. They are the ones who are in His grace.

Those who think that they are without sin cannot be redeemed. How can they receive the grace of His redemption when there is nothing to redeem?

The scribes and Pharisees dragged the woman who had been caught in the act of adultery before Jesus and set her in their midst and asked Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now, what do You say?" Why did they bring the woman before Him and test Him?

They themselves had also committed adultery many times, but they were trying to judge and kill her through Jesus while trying to put the blame on Him.

Jesus knew what was on their minds and knew all about the woman. So He said, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." Then the scribes and Pharisees, starting from the oldest to the youngest, left one by one and only Jesus and the woman were left.

The ones who left were the scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders. They were about to judge the woman who had been caught in the very act of adultery, as if they themselves were not sinners.

Jesus proclaimed His love in this world. He was the Host of love. Jesus gave people food, brought back the dead, gave life back to the son of a widow, revived Lazarus of Bethany, healed lepers, and performed miracles for the poor. He took all the sins of sinners away and gave them salvation.

Jesus loves us. He is the almighty One who can do anything, but the Pharisees and scribes thought Him to be their enemy. That is why they brought the woman before Him and tested Him.

They asked, "Teacher, Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" They thought that He would tell them to stone her. Why? If we were to judge according to what is written in the law of God, everyone who has committed adultery would be stoned to death without exception.

All have to be stoned to death and all are destined to go to hell. The wages of sin is death. However, Jesus didn't tell them to stone her. Instead, He said, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."

He Said, " Neither Do I Condemn You."

This woman was blessed with the salvation in Jesus. She was redeemed of all her sins. Our Lord Jesus tells us that He redeemed all our sins and that we are all righteous.

He tells us so in the Bible. He died on the Cross to pay for our sins, which He took away with His baptism at the Jordan River. He clearly tells us that He redeemed all who believe in the redemption of His baptism and judgment on the Cross. All of us need the written Word of Jesus and need to hold on to the Word. Then, we will all be blessed with redemption.

"God, I have no merit before You. I have nothing good inside me. I have nothing to show You but my sins. But I believe that Jesus is my Lord of redemption. He took away all my sins at the Jordan River and atoned for them on the Cross. He took away all my sins with His baptism and His blood. I do believe in You, Lord."

This is how you are saved. Jesus does not 'condemn us.' He gave us the right to be God's children: To those who believe in the redemption of the water and the Spirit, He has taken away all their sins and made them righteous.

Dear friends! The woman was redeemed. The woman who was caught in adultery was blessed with the redemption of our Lord Jesus. We can also be blessed like that. Anyone who knows of his/her sins and asks God to take pity on him/her, and anyone who believes in the redemption of the water and the Spirit in Jesus receives the blessing of redemption from God. Those who admit their sinfulness before God can be redeemed, but those who do not realize their own sins cannot be blessed with redemption.

Jesus took away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Any sinner in the world can be redeemed if he/she believes in Jesus. Jesus said to the woman, "Neither do I condemn you." He said that He did not condemn her because all her sins had already been born onto Him through His baptism. He took all our sins onto Himself, and He was judged for them instead of us.