Christians over the centuries have been pretty good at throwing stones, and I doubt that it all started with the story in John 8 and the woman who was caught in adultery. But the story that is recounted in the Scripture isn't altogether different than what happens today, and it's certainly something that I've been guilty of in the past. It goes like this: when a Christian sees a non-Christian behaving in a way that is contrary to the way a Christian should act, the Christian calls the non-Christian onto the carpet for his or her behavior. Here's the problem: Jesus never used judging people as a means of bringing them to repentance. The woman who was caught in adultery knew that what she was doing and the way she was living were wrong. The condemnation of the surrounding people didn't help her address the sin in her life. It was Jesus' kindness ("Neither do I condemn you") that led her to repentance. Shocking, huh? It shouldn't be since Paul told us that in Romans 2:4. He said that it is God's kindness that leads us to repentance. The next time you're tempted to judge a non-Christian for his or her behavior, step back and remember the example of Jesus. He didn't condemn, but He called her to a higher way of living.
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