Articles
The Sinner and the Sin
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Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" . . . And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more" (Jn. 8:3-5, 11).
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The scribes and Pharisees had Jesus in a bind: either He would have to honor the Law and call for the death penalty for this woman caught in adultery (Lev. 20:10)--which would land Him in hot water with the Romans--or He would have to dismiss her case, which would dishonor the Law. Either way, Jesus would be open to criticism. It was the perfect trap.
Of course, Jesus deftly dodged the trap by asking his critics to meet their own challenge: "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first" (v. 7). It's easy to talk tough when we excuse ourselves from our own standards. His critics were interested only in scoring points; Jesus was interested in the welfare of this poor soul who was being publicly humiliated.
In one respect, the contempt that the Pharisees had for the "sinners" in their day was logically consistent. They conflated sinners and their sins; they are a package, all bad, and should be treated as such. We are prone to the same kind of sweeping generalization today.
But it's profoundly wrong. Jesus drew a distinction between the two. Clearly, what this woman did was a violation of God's law, so He admonished her to "sin no more." She needed to repent and change her behavior. But before He lectured her, He did the most astounding thing: He forgave her: "Neither do I condemn you." That's unmerited grace.
A popular maxim summarizes Jesus' approach here: "Hate the sin and love the sinner." It's a great motto, but properly applying it in our interactions with others requires the wisdom to maintain a delicate balance.
One the one hand, loving the sinner does not mean that we condone, excuse or endorse his sin. Sin is an affront to God's honor, and must be exposed and repented of. Our love of the sinner is not a license to ignore his sin.
But at the same time, hating the sin does not give us a license to treat the sinner with contempt. We must see the broken heart behind the ugly mask, and feel compassion for the one whose life is being ruined by a lie. This can only be accomplished in a relationship governed by forgiveness, kindness, warmth, and generosity. A sinner who cannot sense our genuine love for him will not be motivated to abandon his sin.
Only by remembering that we, too, are sinners in need of God's mercy, we will be able to minister to those who are caught in the clutches of sin.
--David
