SERMON: GO INTO ALL THE WORLD

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO SERIES¹

8 August 2017

I.  Introduction

            [Show Video]

            -- tonight, we are finishing up our sermon series, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” -- in this series, we looked at several commands from God in Scripture where He told us to “Go,” and then we talked about how we could follow His command and what it would mean to us if we did, which is what the video we just watched was all about

            -- we started this series by looking at the story of the adulterous woman in John Chapter 8 and considering Jesus’ command to her to “Go and leave your life of sin” -- to “Go and sin no more” -- then we looked at the story of the Good Samaritan and heard Jesus’ command to “Go and do likewise” -- last week, we talked about God’s call to Abram as He commanded him to “Go to the place I will show you” -- and, tonight, we will be finishing up by looking at the Great Commission and the command by Jesus for us to “Go into all the world”

II.  Scripture Lesson (Matthew 28:16-20)

            -- so, let’s get right into it -- if you would, turn over to Matthew 28:16 

16.  Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.

 17.  When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

            -- this passage occurs after the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday but before His final ascension to heaven -- in the verses before this, Matthew tells us that Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden where He had been buried -- He instructed her to tell the disciples to meet Him in Galilee

            -- and, so, as we open this passage again, that is where we find the disciples -- they have come to Galilee at the direction of Jesus -- and it is there that Jesus meets them and tells them what they are to do now

            -- Matthew's account of the resurrection and of Jesus' appearances to the disciples is briefer than the other gospel writers -- he doesn't mention the appearance of Jesus to the disciples in the upper room -- he doesn't tell us about Jesus appearing again in the presence of Thomas -- or of Jesus walking along with Cleopas and his friend on the way to Emmaus          

            -- Matthew gets right to business -- for him, what is important is the fact that Jesus has risen just as He said and that He is leaving them to carry on His ministry on earth -- and so he carries us straight to Galilee -- which begs the question, "Why Galilee?"

            -- surprisingly, most of the commentaries I looked at were silent on this -- they didn't say anything -- but as I studied this passage, it occurred to me that this made perfect sense given the context of these verses and the Great Commission that was to come

            -- you see, Galilee was the starting place -- it was in Galilee that Jesus lived most of His life -- it was in Galilee that most of Jesus' public ministry took place -- especially in Nazareth and Capernaum -- and, it was in Galilee that most of the disciples were originally called -- it was in Galilee where Peter and James and John heard Jesus say, "Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" -- and now, it is in Galilee where Jesus will once again call the disciples -- this time to an even greater ministry

            -- typically, when people read the Great Commission, they skip verses 16 and 17 -- I think one reason they do so is because of verse 17 -- Matthew tells us that when the 11 disciples saw Jesus, they worshiped Him -- but, he says, some doubted -- and that part of the verse troubles us

            -- Jesus had appeared to the disciples several times -- in response to Thomas' doubt, He had appeared to him in the upper room and told him, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe," -- and even Thomas believed

            -- so, why does Matthew say here that some doubted?

            -- some commentators make the case that Jesus was not just speaking to the 11 remaining apostles in this passage, but that He was speaking to a large group of people there by the Sea of Galilee -- they say this gathering, probably the 500 eyewitnesses who Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:6 saw the risen Christ, included some who believed and put their faith in Christ and some who doubted that Jesus was really risen from the dead and was really the Messiah -- so that’s the reason for Matthew’s statement that “some doubted”

            -- but I think there may be another reason -- when Matthew says that “some doubted,” I’m not sure he means they are doubting Christ -- I think he may mean they were doubting themselves -- there’s several ways this could be the case

            -- first, they doubted their own preconceived notions about who the Messiah was and what He would do -- as Jews, they had believed their whole life that the Messiah would come to overthrow the oppressive Roman government and establish the throne of David in Israel once and for all

            -- but instead of having them meet Him at the temple or at the Roman Governor's mansion where His conquest would begin -- Jesus has them meet Him in the wilderness of Galilee -- it was becoming evident that Jesus was not going to be a conquering Messiah -- at least, not as they originally thought

            -- second, they doubted their own traditions and orthodoxy -- Jesus was not only rearranging what they thought about the Messiah -- He was rearranging what they knew about being Jewish -- He had already changed the Passover Meal and introduced a new sacrament -- Holy Communion -- and, He had instituted a new covenant, fulfilling the old Jewish Law and making a new covenant of grace through His death on the cross -- all that they knew -- all that they believed -- was being shaken before their eyes

            -- and, finally, they doubted themselves in the sense of who they were and what they might accomplish -- remember, the majority of Jesus’ followers were not men and women of position or power or prestige -- they were fishermen -- tax collectors -- common, everyday folk -- they were not priests or scribes -- they were not Pharisees or rulers -- but now Jesus was calling them to go and change the world -- and they doubted their abilities -- they doubted whether they could do it

            -- which brings us to verse 18

18.  Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

             -- in response to their doubt and their feelings of inadequacy, Jesus said, "Don't doubt" -- I have the authority over heaven and earth -- it was I who established who the Messiah was and what I would do -- it was I who fulfilled the Jewish Law -- it was I who poured out myself for your sins and the sins of the world -- and it is I who will fill you and who will empower you to go forth in My name to do great things

            -- and just as the world does not define Me or what I will do as the Messiah, the world does not define you -- I do -- the world does not give you position -- I do -- the world does not give you power -- I do

            -- it is My authority and My will for you to go forth and to change this world in My name -- don't doubt who you are -- you are Mine -- and I have given you this charge today

            -- verse 19-20a

19.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 20.  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

            -- we’ve been talking a lot over the last several weeks about what it means when God tells us to “Go” -- Jesus uses the same word here in what we know as the Great Commission when He tells us to Go to all the nations -- to go into all the world -- and make disciples of them

            -- now what’s important to understand here is that in the original Greek, the word translated as “Go” here actually means to “Go” -- everybody clear? -- when Jesus tells us here to “go,” He literally means for us to get up and to go

            -- the Greek word for “Go” actually means, "as you are going" or "go and keep going" -- it implies a continuation of movement -- an action on our part -- and we haven’t been doing a very good job of that in the church today -- church membership and church attendance is at an all-time low in America -- every mainline denomination in this country has been losing members over the past 50 years -- why is this? -- it’s because somewhere along the line we quit going and started waiting

            -- honestly, I think we've gotten complacent -- since the time of Constantine, the Christian church has been the dominant religion of the world -- at least, the western world -- and I think we've gotten used to being in a position where we're the only game in town

            -- why bother to go and seek disciples when there's nowhere else for them to go? -- it's easier to just sit here within the walls of our churches and wait for them to come to us -- and for most of the history of Christianity, that approach worked -- the churches were built -- the bells rang out on Sunday morning -- and the people came

            -- but, now they're not coming -- and instead of going after them, we just ring the church bells louder -- we come up with catchy slogans and snappy bumper stickers -- we put little Jesus fish on our car and say, "Follow us -- we're going to church" -- and we wait and we wait and we wait while the culture drifts away

            -- instead of going, we are just sitting and waiting for people who aren’t ever going to come on their own -- that’s not what Jesus told us to do

            -- look at verse 19 again

19.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations

            -- "Go and make disciples" -- not “sit around and wait for people to come” -- but to get up and go out and make disciples -- we’ve forgotten the going part

            -- one thing that I’ve learned in the past several years is that Christianity is, first and foremost, about relationships -- I always thought that it was about going to church -- about reading the Bible -- about prayer and the sacraments -- and those are important -- they are a part of what it means to be a Christian

            -- but, if we are going to do what Jesus says in this passage -- if we are going to “Go” and make disciples of all nations -- then we have to be intentional about making relationships with other people -- about sharing with them the good news of Christ -- about showing them the presence of Jesus through our love

            -- this means we go where the people are -- we don’t just stay where we are at -- we don’t just stay at church or stay at home but we go out and meet others and tell them about Jesus -- that means where we work and where we play and everywhere we find ourselves, whether at the coffee shop or the grocery store or the park

            -- Jesus says here that we are to go to all the nations -- in the Book of Acts, Jesus told His disciples that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth -- in other words, the disciples were to go out and make disciples first in their hometown -- then their community -- and then beyond that to the ends of the earth

            -- we can do the same -- we don’t immediately have to jump on a plane and head out to Africa or Asia or to parts unknown -- we can begin to go and make disciples right where we are -- beginning with our family and friends and branching out from there

            -- and, whether you’ve considered it or not, you have the unique ability to impact the world right from where you live -- just look around you when you’re in town this week at the diversity of people in our community -- with the university and the Air Force Base and with the large migrant worker community -- we have a lot of people right here in our midst from the ends of the earth we can reach with the gospel of Christ

            -- who knows what impact you can have just by reaching out to a migrant worker and sharing with them the good news of Jesus? -- what if you reach just one worker or one student or one airman who then carries the message of Christ back home? -- you may just have impacted an entire region for Christ

            -- and think about the internet -- right in your home -- probably right in your pocket if you have a smart phone -- you have the ability to speak to people from around this world in an instant -- you can share God’s message with people on the other side of the world, even people in countries where Christianity is outlawed or persecuted -- with my blog, with as few people as I reach, I have people from around the world come to that site and read my messages -- I’ll never know what the impact of that is, but it is a form of “going” as Jesus tells us to do here in this passage

            -- the methods are many -- the key is to actually start “going” -- to just get up and do something

            -- now, you might be thinking, “I can’t do this -- I can’t talk to others about Jesus -- I don’t know the Bible good enough -- I don’t know what to say” -- that brings us to the rest of this passage

            -- verse 20b

20b.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

            -- here’s the good news -- you don’t have to do this alone -- Jesus promises to always be with us -- to never leave us or forsake us -- in Matthew 10:19-20, Jesus told us not to worry about what to say or how to say it -- at that time -- when we need it -- we will be given the words to say, because the Holy Spirit will speak through us

            -- our job is to just trust and obey -- to believe in Him and to go -- to open our mouths and tell others what Jesus has done for us and in us -- and to trust that God will give us the message He wants them to hear

            -- it all begins with the going and with believing that we are not alone, but that Jesus goes with us and that His authority and His power are there for us

III.  Closing

            -- let me close by leaving you with the story of a preacher in a small European village -- He was greatly loved by the people there and they believed he had an especially close relationship with God -- the preacher had this strange habit -- every Friday, he disappeared for several hours and could not be found -- the villagers boasted that during those hours the preacher actually ascended to heaven and talked with God face-to-face

            -- now, there was a newcomer in that village -- he was a skeptic who made fun of the faith of all the other people -- and he got increasingly irritated by all the claims about the minister and his supposed devotion to God -- so the newcomer became determined to find out where the preacher really spent his time on Fridays -- one Friday, the skeptic hid near the preacher's house -- he watched as the preacher rose early, spent time in prayer, and left his house in the clothes of a peasant.

            -- The young skeptic followed the old man from a safe distance -- he watched him cut down a tree and chop up a large stack of firewood -- he continued to watch as the preacher made his way to a shack in the poorest part of the village and stacked the wood -- it was the home of an old woman and her sick husband -- after leaving the couple enough wood to last them a week, the preacher quietly returned to his own home without a word to anyone

            -- The villagers were startled the next Sunday when the young newcomer was in church -- they were even more surprised when he became a Christian shortly thereafter -- the former skeptic thought highly of the church's godly minister and -- upon his death -- became his successor and took over as the preacher for the village -- for the rest of his own life, whenever he heard one of the villagers speak of his predecessor and say, "On Fridays he would ascend to heaven," he would add softly, "If not higher."

            -- this is what Jesus meant when He told us to “Go” here in this passage -- this is a picture of what Jesus envisioned for us and for our churches -- He wanted us to “Go” and make a friend and be a friend and introduce that friend to Christ -- to “Go” and minister to others in His name -- to teach them what it means to follow Him by showing them how a Christian lives and loves and serves

            -- so this week, I want to challenge you to do just this -- to go and do what Jesus commanded in this passage -- to get up and go out and share your life and the message of Christ with the world around you

            -- let us pray

SERMON: GO AND SIN NO MORE

OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO SERIES¹

16 July 2017

I.  Introduction

            -- this evening we’re starting a new sermon series called, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” -- you probably recognized the title from the book by Dr. Seuss -- so let’s begin by listening to just the first part of the book

           

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

by Dr. Seuss

“Congratulations! Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

“You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

“And you may not find any you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town.

“It's opener there in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do
to people as brainy and footsy as you.

“And then things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along. You'll start happening too.

“OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!”

            -- this book by Dr. Seuss has become a common graduation gift -- we give it to our young men and women as they’re graduating high school and heading out to begin life -- it’s a reminder that life begins with going -- it’s a reminder that our lives are journeys into the unknown -- there are paths that will lead us to greatness and to great things -- and there are paths that will lead us into dark and scary places -- but the message is to trust yourself -- to trust your instincts and your education and your experience and to go -- to take that first step and begin this journey of life

            -- this is a message that we hear repeated in the Bible, as well -- throughout scripture, we hear the word of God proclaimed to us to “Go” -- but we have a problem in our churches and in our Christian lives -- too often, we hear the word of God commanding us to “Go,” but we never take that step -- we never begin that journey -- and our spiritual lives never take off -- we don’t grow in grace and the knowledge of God and the streams of Living Water becomes a stagnant cistern in our souls

            -- so over the next several weeks, we’re going to be looking at some of the commands from God to “Go” and commit ourselves to actually stepping out in faith and doing what He has commanded

II.  Scripture Lesson (John 8:1-11)

            -- we’re going to begin this series by looking at a familiar passage in John -- John 8:1-11 -- the story of the adulterous woman

            -- if you would, please join me in John 8 and let’s look at this story together -- let’s back up and begin with the last verse in Chapter 7

7:53 Then they all went home, 8:1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

            -- so here we have the setting -- Jesus has spent the night on the Mount of Olives, and now He is back in the temple courts teaching as He has been doing for some time now -- He is surrounded by a great crowd of people who are all gathered around Him and are listening intently

            -- when, suddenly, a disturbance begins at the back of the crowd -- a group of Pharisees and teachers of the law force their way through the crowd, dragging a woman by the arm -- they go right up to the front -- right in front of Jesus -- and shove her into His face and crow, “Teacher” -- that’s sarcasm, if you didn’t get it -- they call Him “Teacher,” but they don’t accept His teachings

            -- “Teacher,” they say. “this woman was caught in the act of adultery -- the Law says she must be stoned -- now what do you say?”

            -- a trap, pure and simple -- these men did not care about the holiness of the Law -- their concern was not over a sin committed -- their concern was Jesus -- they were seeking a way to trap Him and force Him to act in a way they could use against Him

            -- the Law was clear -- a woman caught in adultery was to be stoned -- they were right -- but if Jesus condemned the woman and commanded her to be stoned, He would be facing several problems -- first, His credibility -- His authority -- His compassion and love for the sinner -- would be called into question -- who could trust Him with their sins from this point forward? --who could trust Him to speak grace and truth into their lives with love when He reacted so harshly to this woman, who had obviously been set up by these Pharisees and teachers of the Law? -- so that’s the first issue

            -- the second problem was one of authority -- the Pharisees had repeatedly questioned Jesus’ authority, just as they had done with John the Baptist -- Jesus was not a priest -- He was not part of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council and court of the people of Israel -- He had no apparent right or authority to condemn someone to death -- and, without that authority, His pronouncement of a punishment of stoning would be akin to murder -- so He couldn’t do what they were requesting, and they knew that -- so that’s the second issue

            -- finally, they were setting Him up against the Romans -- remember why the priests carried Jesus before Pontius Pilate for His trial? -- it was because they had condemned Jesus to death, but did not have the authority from the Romans to execute anyone -- if Jesus commanded the woman to be stoned here, He would be in trouble with the Romans for killing someone without authority

            -- so the trap is set -- and it looks like is Jesus is boxed in -- here He is -- confronted with an obvious sinner -- someone caught in the act -- someone with no defense -- her sin was obvious and irrefutable -- and the Law was clear -- the penalty for this sin was death -- so what was Jesus to do?

            -- look at the second part of verse 6

6b But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 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.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

            -- He bent down and wrote with His finger in the dirt -- confronted with an angry mob with the Law on their side -- intent on trapping Him and forcing His hand -- Jesus didn’t say a word -- He simply bent down, and wrote on the ground

            -- the Pharisees and the teachers of the law stood there, staring, as Jesus wrote -- was He just buying time? -- was He just collecting His thoughts? -- they questioned Him again -- “What should we do with this woman?”

            -- He straightened up and looked them in the eyes and said, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” -- and then He stooped down, and began to write on the ground again

            -- what did Jesus write? -- this is one of the greatest mysteries of all time -- you know, this is the only recorded instance of Jesus writing in the entire New Testament -- and He wrote on a temporary medium -- He wrote in the dirt -- which time and nature would erase within a matter of days, if not before -- what did Jesus write? -- we don’t know, but the people who were there with Him that day knew

            -- in all likelihood, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law hadn’t paid any attention to what Jesus was writing the first time He bent down -- their eyes were on Him, waiting for Him to respond -- waiting for Him to speak

            -- but now, having stooped down and beginning to write again, I am sure their eyes were drawn to the words on the ground -- what do you think was written there?

            -- most people have suggested that Jesus wrote the personal sins of the accusers on the ground -- that as the words of Jesus, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” reverberated in their ears, their eyes would have seen their own sins written in the dust for all to see

            -- as Barclay points out, this is probably the case -- the normal Greek word used for the term, “to write” is graphein -- but here in this passage, John used the word, katagraphein, which can mean to write down a record against someone²

            -- whatever was written there, it affected them greatly

            -- verse 9

9 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.

            -- the accusing mob began to break up -- the men began to go away -- it is telling that the older ones left first -- those who had lived a lifetime trying to live up to the standards of the Law, but failing -- those who, as David wrote in Psalm 51:3, knew their transgressions, and whose sins were always before them -- for try as they might, they could not live a sin-free life -- they could not fulfill the Law and its righteous demands

            -- and, assuming they saw their own sins written in the dust before their feet, they recognized their own guilt and the punishment due them -- and so they left first, followed by the younger men, one by one, until no one was left standing there expect Jesus and the adulterous, sinful woman

            -- verse 10

10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

            -- “Where are they?” He asked. “Has no condemned you?”

            -- those who had condemned -- those who had judged the woman -- were gone -- and without at least two witnesses, the Law clearly stated that no accusation could be brought -- the immediate threat of punishment through the Law was lifted

            -- “No one, sir.”

            -- but the woman knew her sin -- it was obvious to her -- and it was obvious to Jesus -- the question still hung in the air unanswered -- what would Jesus do with this sinner?

            -- with His words, Jesus pronounced judgment -- “Then neither do I condemn you.”

            -- let’s not forget why Jesus came -- the reason He chose to leave His heavenly home to be born of a woman and live among us -- we all know John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

            -- but, too often, we forget the next verse -- John 3:17, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him”

            -- when Jesus declared to the woman, “Then neither do I condemn you,” He was proclaiming His mission -- not to condemn, but to save the world -- to offer salvation to those who believed in His name -- who trusted in Him for the forgiveness of sins

            -- some would argue that Jesus just discounted her sin here -- that He didn’t fulfill the requirements of the Law when He refused to enact the punishment due her

            -- but that’s not true -- her sin was forgiven, but not wiped away -- it was transferred, from her to Him -- and Jesus took it to the cross where the penalty was paid -- as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God”

            -- the woman was not condemned because Jesus took the condemnation on Himself

            -- at the end of this passage, Jesus gives the woman -- and us -- her “Go” command: “Go now, and leave your life of sin”

            -- other translations put this as Jesus saying, “Go and sin no more,” but I think the NIV has the intent of this declaration of Jesus correct here -- to leave a life of sin implies an act of repentance and of faith -- a change in attitude and belief -- a change in allegiance from bondage to sin and death to new life through Christ

            -- Jesus addressed the two greatest needs in humanity -- forgiveness and a challenge to holiness³

            -- as Chris Benfield wrote: “She had been delivered from her sin and she was expected to live a life that honored the Lord. That isn’t to say that He expected her to live without sin, but that she was to seek the righteousness of God. She was no longer to willfully seek sin. Her life was to reflect the One who had forgiven.”

            -- the adulterous woman had been given a do-over -- a second chance -- a new beginning -- a clean slate -- and now Jesus commands her, and us, to “Go” and leave our lives of sin

III.  Closing

            -- too many Christians have bought into the lie of Satan that we cannot live lives free of sin -- that we have no choice but to sin -- that it’s just part of being a human

            -- and, like all that Satan tells us, there is some truth to that -- we do still have this sin nature within us -- the old flesh -- the old man, as Paul called it -- that same bent towards sin that we inherited from Adam and Eve

            -- but just because this old sin nature is still within us, that doesn’t mean we have to follow that sin nature any longer -- that is the lie that Satan tells us -- that is the lie so many Christians have believed

            -- let me read 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 for you

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

-- do you see what that said? -- in every temptation, God has provided a way out so we can stand up under it -- we don’t have to sin -- we can choose the way out that God has provided

            -- in his epistles to the early church, John pointed out that he was writing his letters so that the Christians could choose not to sin -- 1 John 2: 1 -- “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin” -- sin is not a certainty -- sin is a choice -- we don’t have to sin, we can choose not to sin

            -- but how? -- how is this possible? -- how was it possible for the adulterous woman to leave her life of sin and to sin no more? -- because of the death of Christ on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit within us

            -- let me share with you two passages that make this clear, and then we’ll close

1 Thessalonians 5:22-24 (NIV)

22 Avoid every kind of evil.

23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

Jude 1:24-25 (NIV)

24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy--

25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

            -- do you see what these passages are saying? -- God Himself will keep us from falling -- God Himself will sanctify us through and through -- God Himself will keep us from sin -- if...if...

            -- if we trust in Him -- if we have faith in His power and strength in our lives -- if we really want to be free from sin

            -- it’s a choice -- it’s a choice between continuing to live in sin or to “Go, and sin no more” -- to “Go, and leave our lives of sin behind”

            -- so, as we close tonight, remember this command of Jesus and the places we will go through Him -- if you trust Him -- if you have faith in Him and in His Spirit to bear you up when tempted -- if you trust that He has the power to keep you from falling and to sanctify you and keep you blameless until His return -- then go with Him, just as the adulterous woman did

            -- “Go, and sin no more”

            -- let us pray

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1 Series idea and title borrowed from Eric Bryant, Gateway Church, Austin, TX [http://www.ericbryant.org/]

2 William Barclay, Commentary on John

3 http://archives.calvarymurrieta.com/brian/studies-books/new-testament/43-john/43-john-007-040-09.pdf