Have you ever been caught in sin and then publicly exposed? Was it just among your family and friends or did it also include the church and the media? Have you found anyone to help or are you all alone? Where do you go from here and how can you ever get beyond this? Caught In Sin!

When I think about someone being caught in sin, I think about the story of Jesus and the prostitute. Here was this crowd of people and they had caught a woman in the act of prostitution. They wanted to stone her and according to the law then, they could. But they decided to bring this to Jesus to test him and see what he would do.

Before I go on, I want to examine what we would do today. How do we treat others we see in sin? How do we act towards them? Do we look down on them in judgment or do we try to offer some hope and some means of escape? What do we do?

John 8: 1-11 talks about the story of how Jesus handled the situation. In all fairness, I wonder what the teachers of the law and the Pharisees did with the man. It is interesting that whatever Jesus wrote in the sand convicted them all of sin. The reason I know this is that Jesus told them, let the one of you who is without sin be the first to cast the stone. After he said this the story goes on to say that they began to leave with the older ones leaving first. They had all sinned. It wasn’t about judgment but it is about forgiveness. It is about restoration, healing, mercy, and love.

After the whole crowd left and it was only Jesus and the woman, the story says that Jesus told her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

When we come to the knowledge of this truth that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” we might be able to gain some understanding. However, we live in a world of fierce competition and so we constantly battle in the natural with trying to be better, faster, and stronger than those around us. This isn’t the way of the gospel. In fact, the way of the Gospel of Jesus is the exact opposite. It is putting others before ourselves and spreading His love. His love is a sacrificial love. His way is to be a servant to all.

So have you been caught in sin or are you the only one aware of it and are afraid that someone else is going to find out? How can you go on from here? The thing that Jesus told the woman was, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” That is what we are to do. We acknowledge where we are and then, by choice, walk away from it.

But what happens if we are weak and return again and again. If you can’t seem to get the victory you might want to read two of my other posts called Habitual Sin and Habitual Sin 2. If you don’t have anyone to pray with just keep calling out to the Lord for His help. Ask Him to help you hate the sin so that it might be easier to overcome. Ask Him for His grace to overcome. Don’t let go of Him until you have the victory. Read the stories with Jesus and those who sought after Him for different healings. They pressed in and wouldn’t let go until they received what they desired. Keep on keeping on. You can’t lose if you don’t quit.

We all have a journey to walk in our lives. There are obstacles in our way. We have to make choices and it is these choices that shape our destiny. Seek after the Lord and find out what His best is for your life. He loves you so much. He wants to know you personally and He wants you to know Him in the same way. Feel free to write me if you want or comment to this post so that others may know that they aren’t the only ones. May you be blessed abundantly.

Joseph James