“No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:11
Then I heard a great voice in Heaven cry: “Now the salvation and the power and kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ have come! For the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down from this place, where he stood before our God accusing them day and night. Now they have conquered him through the blood of the Lamb, and through the Word to which they bore witness. They did not cherish life even in the face of death! Revelation 12:10-11
Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has forgiven us and given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? Will Christ? No! For he is the one who died for us and came back to life again for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, interceding for us there in heaven. Romans 8:33-34
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:17-18
For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. Luke 19:10
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! Matthew 18:12-13
Therefore, he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. Hebrews 7:25
Yesterday we saw that Jesus had asked two questions: “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” For the very first time the woman speaks and says, "No, Lord." Remember, we are talking about the place of acceptance in the progressive unfolding of the new person and new life we have in Christ. Acceptance is what Jesus is putting into place for this woman. This is seen in Jesus's response: "Neither do I." In saying that he does not accuse or condemn her, Jesus is giving her his acceptance. So, the woman stands before Jesus with no accusers and no one who condemns her. What do we learn from this? Christ’s gift of acceptance will not be properly in place in our lives if we continue to have a sense of being accused and condemned. Notice the Revelation passage above that tells us that even Satan, the greatest accuser of them all, can no longer accuse us because of "the blood of the lamb."
As a new person in Christ, there is a new life awaiting this woman and Jesus calls her to it when he says, "Go and sin no more." The love and forgiveness of Jesus gives, creates a place of acceptance that releases her from the past and gives her the freedom to go forward into a new and victorious life. It is absolutely essential that we see ourselves standing on the center stage of our lives alone with Christ in absolute acceptance with no accusers and no condemnation (Romans 8:1). Read down through again the verses above that follow the Revelation passage and let the fullness of acceptance we have in Christ settle in firm and sure. The assurance of Christ's acceptance is the key to our going forward fully with the changed life he has in store for us.
Lord, help me to treasure that sense of being alone with you, totally wrapped up in and covered by your amazing love and acceptance. Thank you that you came to seek and to save me. Thank you that you found me your lost sheep and brought me home to yourself. Please put your gift of acceptance properly and fully into place in my life and help me live the changed life to which you have called me. Amen!
