Drop the Stones

By Juan Valdes, rforh adjunct speaker and writer 
Go ahead and drop the stones—nobody is going to be stoned to death today in a church where Christ reigns! Christian churches should strive to be Christ like. If we look at the life of Christ, He never modeled the hostility that we often find in the midst of the 21st century Church especially on the topic we’re discussing today, homosexuality.
Homosexuality is a sexual sin, absolutely, but it is no different than adultery, fornication, or any other sexual sin. How did Jesus deal with sexual sin? There is an amazing passage in the Gospel of John where we find Jesus modeling the Godly response to sexual sin. Jesus’ dealing with the woman caught in adultery (John 8) is a clear point of reference of how we should be handling this issue. In His response, Jesus addressed the sin, the sinner, and the role of the believer, albeit not in that order.
Surprisingly, Jesus’ first words were addressed to the accusers. In retrospect we know these were hypocritical religious people that cared more about trapping Jesus than enforcing moral law. To them the sinner they were accusing was irrelevant. HOWEVER, from the woman’s perspective, as the events were unfolding—they were supposed to represent God’s people!  As a matter of fact, they were on Temple grounds when they presented their case, which included Bible references from the Old Testament and all.  Nevertheless, Jesus was not impressed. To them Jesus says, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (vs.7). For the next few minutes all you could hear was the sound of rocks hitting the floor as each accuser was confronted with his own sinfulness.
Having dismissed the accusers, Jesus shifts his focus on the sinner.  That is where his heart was. She was the very reason for his coming into our world. He came to earth to seek and to save those who were lost and broken.  Interestingly, He was without sin and could have rained down stones on her, but chose to shower her with grace instead. In a matter of seconds, and with two quick questions, Jesus leveled the playing field.  There was nobody left on the Temple grounds that was any less guilty than she was, save He! The accusers had been knocked off their proverbial high horses and had dispersed. To her Jesus says, “Neither do I condemn thee” (vs. 11). These words are a powerful demonstration of Jesus putting into action the very truth He proclaimed earlier in John 3:17, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
Interestingly, the last thing Jesus addresses is the sin itself. I can’t help but notice that there is no acceptance, nor approval, nor justification, nor tolerance of the sin she committed.  It was simply unacceptable. Regarding the sin, Jesus says, “…go, and sin no more” (vs. 11). Jesus wanted it to be abundantly clear to her that His forgiveness and grace were not to be interpreted as His approval of her sin. She was headed in the wrong direction and these words were necessary in order to redirect her path.  In commanding this of her, Jesus also highlights the fact that she could choose not to engage in adultery.    
I believe we can learn numerous important lessons from the exchange that occurred that day in Jerusalem. Furthermore, I believe that if we implement Christ’s model for dealing with sexual sin, we can be far more effective in accomplishing the mission of the Church.
From Jesus’ exchange with the accusers, we can glean two important lessons. First, it is far too easy to lose sight of our own sinfulness. We are often outraged at someone else’s sin while we sit comfortably ignoring our own. Second, it is far too common to get side tracked with personal agendas and lose sight of what is really important to Christ—rescuing the lost.
From Jesus’ exchange with the sinner and her sin, we can also learn several valuable lessons. First, Jesus sees sinners through eyes of compassion.  While those around her wanted her to die, He wanted her to live. Second, Christ’s mission was not one of condemnation but one of salvation.  Christ’s mission was all about grace and forgiveness. Third, Jesus’ position on sin is non-negotiable.  His compassion, grace, and forgiveness must not be misinterpreted as an affirmation of sin.  Sin is inexcusable! Finally, it is well within our power to choose not to live in sin. Jesus expected her to stop, and he expects the same from us. 
The challenge for the Church today is to extend the love and the grace of Christ to the homosexual community without compromising the God’s moral standards. We are to care enough for that community as to reach out to them with genuine love and compassion from a position of humility, recognizing our own sinfulness.  We need to treat homosexuality no different than any other sexual sin, avoiding over-emphasizing one at the expense of neglecting another.  Go ahead and drop the stones—nobody is going to be stoned to death today in a church where Christ reigns!