Sermon Central
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Don't Throw Stones Series
Contributed by Ron Murphy on May 27, 2007 (message contributor)
Summary: Although my sins are different than your sins, when it comes to sin, we all stand before God in the same place. So be careful when you throw stones.
Introduction
I. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” at least according to one contemporary proverb.
II. I discovered some rather interesting statistics concerning the state of America this past week.
A. Let me begin with divorce
1. We often hear that the divorce rate in America is 50%, but check this out
a. That 50% figure is for first marriages
b. A full 67% of second marriages will end in divorce
c. Further, 74% of third marriages will end in divorce
2. I guess trying again, at least in marriage is not the way to go.
B. Now, let’s consider the facts of marital infidelity
III. Marital Infidelity - The Facts
Polls show that although 90% of married people disapprove of extramarital relationships, statistics from a national survey indicate that 15% of wives and 25% of husbands have experienced extramarital intercourse.
a. These numbers increase by 20% when emotional affairs and sexual relationships without intercourse are included.
b. Another source, The Monogamy Myth, authored by Peggy Vaughan, approximates that 60% of husbands and 40% of wives will have an affair at some time in their marriage.
2. I don’t know about you, but I find those numbers just a bit scary;
a. Is it any wonder that divorce rates are so high.
b. In fact, is it any wonder that so many people choose to “live together” rather than take the step of marriage?
C. In fact, according to the 2000 census, 11 million Americans are currently living with a partner, outside of marriage. That includes
1. 9.7 in a heterosexual relationship, and
2. 1.2 million in a homosexual relationship.
3. 41% of women ages 15 to 44 have been in a “live-in” relationship.
D. The number of people living together has increased by 72% from 1990 to 2000.
E. Even with those numbers, here is an even more astounding one,
1. In the year 2000, the most common household type was a person living alone, a full 27 million compared to 25 million with a husband, wife and child.
F. According to a survey, 75% of live together partners say they plan to marry, while 55% actually do so within 5 years.
1. Of course, 40% break up during that same time, and 10 remain unmarried.
III. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again”, just doesn’t appear to work.
IV. I could go on and on with statistics, but my message this morning does not really concern the moral breakdown in America.
A. Yes there certainly seems to be moral decline, at an increasing rate.
B. But my real point, and I believe the point Christ was making in our text is, “People that live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones” and we all live in glass houses.
V. Our text this morning is found in the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verses 1 to 12.
But Jesus
8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
I. Although we did not look at John chapter 7, allow me to give you a synopsis.
A. In chapter 7, the main idea is one of people making decisions as to who this man, Jesus Christ might be.
1. In the beginning of the chapter it is Jesus brothers, who do not believe in him as savior, pressing him to go to Jerusalem, and make himself more visible.
a. Jesus response, “My time is not yet here...”
b. It was not time for him to become visible enough to end up on the cross.
2. However, Christ did go to Jerusalem, apart from his brothers, and as the crowds came, arguments ensued as to who exactly Jesus was.
3. Towards the end of chapter 7, as calls go up for Christ to be seized, Nicodemus makes a defense for the person of Christ.
B. In that no consensus of identity could be made by the crowd, John 7, verse 53 says, “Everyone went to his home.”
II. Then chapter 8, verse 1, “But Jesus...”
A. I like that phrase “But Jesus.”
B. But Jesus; the phrase is used 102 times in scripture.
C. But Jesus; those words speak to me this way,
1. Everyone else is lost in this life, BUT JESUS, came to give life.
2. Everyone wonders what their next step should be, BUT JESUS, knew and knows exactly what steps to take.
3. Everyone wonders if God really does love this world, BUT JESUS knows that God so loved the world that He made the ultimate sacrifice of His son.
4. I was lost in my sin, BUT JESUS came into my life, forgave me, and gave me a purpose to live.
D. In the case of our passage this morning, everyone in town was prepared to stone a women to death for her transgressions, BUT JESUS came to her defense; forgiving her and yet not allowing her to believe that her continued sin was OK.
