The Finger of God

In John 8, the Pharisees and scribes, the strict keepers of the law, drag before Jesus, a woman caught in adultery. It was an all-around set-up in yet another attempt to discredit Him.

Woman Taken in Adultery by Pieter Bruegel The Elder

In their minds, Jesus can only take one of two actions;

A: agree to stone her for her crime, which the law given to Moses commands.

or

B: let her go, which would go against the law, making Jesus a lawbreaker.

Either way He chose would make Jesus less than perfect and take away His public fan-club. Either action would discredit Him and the Pharisees and scribes would be less convicted by His relationship with God.

"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, 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" John 8:6,7,8.

As usual, Jesus doesn't fall into their trap. Jesus does C. And whatever He wrote on the ground was so convicting, that the accusing men leave silently, again stumped by Jesus' perfect action.

"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." 8:10,11.

And although Jesus gently chastised her with his words, looking into Jesus' face maybe hurt her more than anything He could have done. I wonder if His written words also convicted her of her sin, as well as His reprimand.

There's been much said about what Jesus wrote on the ground. Since the words were not given, we can make only guesses and still be wrong.

This is only my opinion. I will not attempt to write for God.

I like to think Jesus wrote the Ten Commandments in the sand.

Wouldn't that be awesome!? Watching God write the Law! Wouldn't that be Absolutely Convicting!!

"And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God" Exodus 31:18.

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Recognize Your Adversary For Life

"When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite” Luke 12: 58,59.

I had thought this verse was talking about the affairs of mankind toward one another. I see it now is about accepting or rejecting Jesus’ salvation. Wow! Scary!

Before salvation, our Adversary is the Lord. We’re the enemy of Jesus. "And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind, by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled" Ephesians 2:1.

The ‘going’ spoken of in Luke 58 is the life we live from birth to death. All mankind is born to stand before God someday, so we are all going toward the Magistrate, God the Father.

We are told to make every effort to get near Jesus. Obviously, Jesus makes every effort to get near to us. Though God came to earth to reconcile every sinful man to Himself, there still is the need for every man to go to Jesus for salvation. If you have doubts of your salvation, there's a verse for you.

"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified" 2 Corinthians 13:5.

If you need to accept Jesus Christ, then ask Him to save you. Say something like this.

"Dear God, I am a sinner and the death in hell forever

is my fate without you.  I know You are Holy God.

You came to earth and died on the cross to save me

from the fate of my sins, Please, Holy God, forgive

me of my sins and save me for Yourself.

Thank You God for forgiving me, and

saving me. Amen."

(reference verses for this salvation prayer)

(Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, John 3:16, John 14:6, Romans 10:9-11, Revelation 3:20, 1 John 5:13)

"But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers" 1 Peter 4:7. A simple prayer to God asking for forgiveness will erase the separation between you and Him because Jesus death on the cross took all the wrath of the fate of sin.  "and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven; having made peace through the blood of His cross" Colossians 1:20. So settle the differences with Jesus in this life.

God the Father is the Judge. Anyone not covered with the blood of Jesus is standing in front of the Judge in Revelation 21:11. "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was no place found for them."

Anyone covered by the blood of Jesus has this promise from God, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the Spirit"Romans 8: 1.

The unsaved and condemned have to face the officer and then into prison. "Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" Revelation 21:14.

And they will be there until they have paid the very last mite! That is eternal death! ETERNITY!

How’s your witness to the lost around you? Do they know you’re a Christian? Do you look at them and see they need to make peace with their adversary now?

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A Few Thoughts on Judgement and Judging

Ultimate judgment belongs to God. The entirety of people created by God face His judgment, from Adam to the last person to die off this world. When this world ends, God will separate the sheep from the goats, (Matthew 25: 32, 33,) making the final judgment between those who are children of God saved by His grace, and those who rejected His Son Jesus’ substitutionary death in their place on the cross.

The theme of God’s judgment goes all through the bible, giving us instructions on what pleases God and what displeases God. In the finality, God will be the judge at two thrones, two judgment seats. The Great White Throne of Judgment and the Throne of Grace, (Bema Seat)

In Revelation 20, the unsaved face God’s sentencing at the Great White Throne Judgment. This is not a courtroom where anyone pleads their defense. They are there to accept that court has already convened, and they receive sentencing to their eternal prison, the ‘Lake of Fire.’ The court trial has already taken place at the cross and the sentence meted out. After Jesus took all of the sin of mankind onto Himself, God punished Jesus, thus fulfilling the required punishment of breaking the law- that is, our sin. Romans 6: 23.

1 Corinthians 3: 7-17; 1 Peter 1: 7; The saved will face the judgment of the Throne of Grace. (Bema Seat) Exodus 25: 17-22; Hebrews 9; 1 John 2: 1, 2)). At this throne, God will judge our works done here on earth after we accepted Jesus. This judgment seat is where God tests, through fire, our works done in Jesus’ name, and for the glory of God the Father. The works that did not glorify God will burn up like wood, hay, and straw. That which we did in the name of Jesus to the glory of God the Father will shine as gold, silver, and precious stones. This is where we receive our rewards.

The saved have the distinction of not having past sins brought up before the Father because He chooses to look at us as covered in the blood of His son Jesus. Hebrews 10: 17; Psalm 103: 12. The saved accepted the punishment of Jesus’ death on the cross and God’s punishment has passed from them. Romans 8:1.

While God has the ultimate judgment, Christians are to judge between right and wrong. The bible tells us to separate ourselves from the world, that is, live a different life than the unsaved, to learn what pleases God and what displeases Him. Romans 12:2. (Be holy for I am holy. 1 Peter 1:16, (Leviticus 11:44)) We have to judge between the right things of God and the wrong things of the world. The bible is our tool to do this. Judge what is good to hear, to see, to do, and to speak. Philippians 4: 8, 9.

The commandment of Do not covet is for the purpose of distinction, this is an inner heart judgment.

We are to judge between each other. 1 Corinthians 6: 1-3, is our judgment of people we come in contact with.

Matthew 7: 16-20. This judgment also provides protection for our well-being, welfare, lives, and even our families. James 4: 1-7. We need to judge whether this person is harmful to us physically, mentally, morally, financially, or harmful to our ministries: can they make us ineffective, can they destroy our witness, or can they draw us away from God? (Do not cast your pearls before swine. Matthew 7: 6.)

The bible instructs us to judge between those who we count as friends and associates. To judge the other against what we know of the bible is acceptable. Titus 1:10-13; 2 Thessalonians 3: 6-15; Galatians 1: 8, 9; 1 Timothy 5: 24, 25; 1 John 4: 1, is to have knowledge of who we speak to, and how we act, or react to people.

If we see a person claiming to be a Christian, we are to hold up what we know from God’s word and judge if they are truly Christians. If we do not make this judgment, we can get into trouble. False brethren can bring us into God’s displeasure and His necessary judgment in a just punishment. Hebrews 12: 5, 6. Without judging, we may stumble and fall.

James warns us to keep a sense of humility when we judge. (We are not to condemn others, Matthew 7:1-5). We are not to stand in the place of God and point fingers to destroy anyone. If we judge, we are to take our knowledge from Jesus and make a distinction between right and wrong according to what the bible says. If we slander, or hurt in our judgment, we ourselves are wrong and God will judge accordingly.

If we judge, two or more people must substantiate our judgment or it is not to be accepted. 1 Timothy 5: 19; (Deuteronomy 16: 6, 19: 15)

We judge our brethren biblically to help them remain in the faith and walk in the light. Galatians 6: 1; James 5: 19, 20.

John 15: 18, our faith in Jesus is a judgment of the world. If we do not judge others, who are without faith, our witness is useless. There has to be the condemnation of sin before they accept Jesus’ salvation. We make this judgment only in imitating Jesus’ love for the lost. Do nothing without love.

So, yes, do not judge to condemn anyone and but the other-side of the coin says, yes, judge for the correct reasons.

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