The Heart of the Gospel

First off, let me state the obvious. I love preaching. Yes, I love preaching. I know that this is not a traditional way to begin writing a book, and it may even seem a little awkward. Anyhow, I love preaching and teaching. Not only do I love preaching, but I am a student of preaching. I study preachers from different ages of time. I love to listen to preachers from different reformations and denominations ranging from Pentecostals, Baptists, independents, Methodists, and holiness. I love listening to and observing the different styles of preaching and the various approaches that are used in sermons. I listen to their sermons and, even more than that, I love to hear their interviews so that I can understand the motives behind the different modes of preaching and pastoring.

However, I notice that there is a great dilemma in modern-day preaching. The great dilemma of today's preaching is that on one hand we have preachers who have a right understanding of biblical doctrine and law but with hearts that are in error. On the other hand, we have the preachers whose hearts outwardly display compassion, but their hearts cause them to neglect biblical text even to the point of error. How can we resolve this great dilemma that is present among modern-day preachers? We look to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, let us look to the passage of passage of scripture whose context addresses this exact issue, and it is found in St. John Chapter 8:1-11 (KJV). And it reads:

[1] Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. [2] And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. [3] And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, [4] They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. [5] Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? [6] This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. [7] So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. [8] And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. [9] And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. [10] When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? [11] She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

May God add a blessing to the readers, hearers, and doers of his Word. On January 13, 2012, there was a roundtable conference held at Columbia University of New York City, New York. The participants of the roundtable were scholars and theologians who are revered and admired by many in the world including those such as: Prof. Anthea Butler, Associate Professor and Graduate Chair of Religion - University of Pennsylvania, Prof. Obery M. Hendricks, Jr.; Visiting Scholar-Religion & African American Studies, Columbia; University; Professor of Biblical Interpretation - New York Theological Seminary, Rev. Dr. Eboni K. Marshall, Assistant Minister for Christian Education, Abyssinian Baptist Church-Harlem, New York, Rev. Otis Moss, III, Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ-Chicago, Illinois, Prof. Josef Sorett, Assistant Professor of Religion & African-American Studies - Columbia University, Prof. Fredrick Harris; Professor of Political Science & Director of African-American Studies, Columbia University; and last but not least Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.; Professor of Religion & African American Studies and Chair, The Center for African-American Studies - Princeton University.

This particular roundtable conference was entitled “Is the Black Church Dead,” and there were many pastors, preachers, and laymen in attendance. The university claimed that the roundtable was put together in order to discuss religious pluralism, gender exclusion, marriage equality, class divisions and the persistence of racial inequality. Also, the participants of this roundtable argued that the black church should overlook the laws of the bible in order to accurately fight against what they believe to be injustice. In other words, the participants of this roundtable argued that the black church has failed and has been hypocritical, because of three reasons. 1) Most black churches believe that there are only two genders which include man and woman. In Genesis 1: 27 (KJV), the prophet Moses writes, “...God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” Because of scripture, many black churches reject the ideas of same-sex relationships and marriages, and they also reject the idea that there are more than two genders. 2) The participants of the roundtable argued that the black church has failed, because it does not teach equality in marriage. 3) Lastly, the participants have argued that the black church has failed in fighting against racial inequality. However, in Romans 3: 4 (KJV), St. Paul admonishes all Christians to “...let God be true and every man be a lie.” Even if that man is a pastor, “...let God be true and every man be a lie.” Even if a man is a professor of religion in the world’s best schools, “...let God be true and every man be a lie.” The bible says, “...let God be true.”

Therefore, let us look to God in Christ Jesus to see how He responded when he was faced with this type of situation in our original text John 8: 1-11 (KJV). In St. John 8: 1-11 (KJV), the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus saying that, “she was caught in the very act of adultery.” So, Jesus was confronted with a group of Pharisees who had put together a plan to sabotage his ministry. The scribes and the Pharisees, knowing that Jesus was a teacher who had surpassed their works and teachings by stark leaps and bounds with great power, they resorted to methods of entrapment, hoping that they could find him in contradictions or error. That is exactly what happens here in the text. They found and caught a woman in the very act of adultery.

The Gospels provide several instances where Jesus expresses his love for sinners. For example, Matthew 9: 11 (KJV) pictures Jesus eating with publicans and sinners, and it causes the Pharisees to ask Jesus’s disciples, “Why does thy master eat with publicans and sinners?” In Luke 5:32, Christ declares, “I came not for the righteous, but for to call the sinners unto repentance.” Then, there’s probably the most famous Scripture known in the world today, John 3:16 where Jesus says to Nicodemus, who was Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” It was no secret that Jesus loved the sinner, and if we are to be faithful ambassadors for Christ, we must also love the sinner. We must allow ourselves to become close with the sinners, and command our souls to care for the sinners. Love for the sinner is indeed at the heart of the Gospel. So, the scribes and Pharisees, knowing that Jesus had a special love for sinners, thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to tempt Jesus.

Jesus Challenges Corrupt Hearts

Immediately, they brought the woman to Jesus and they quote scripture saying, “Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. [5] Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” The error of the Pharisees is not that they were wrong about the law of Moses. However, the error of the Pharisees was an error of the heart. How do we know this? We know that there was an issue of the hearts of the Pharisees, in that Christ chose to address the greater sin among the Pharisees before addressing the sin of the woman caught in adultery. When the Pharisees brought the woman to Jesus, the Bible says that Jesus was kneeling down drawing in the sand. He gave specific instructions to the Pharisees, saying, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”

The sins that were evident in the hearts of the scribes and Pharisee were the sins of pride and hatred. It is no secret that they hated our Lord Jesus without a cause. The Gospels tell of several instances when the scribes and Pharisee unsuccessfully attempted to kill Jesus prior to the crucifixion. Only this time, they attempt to kill him at the expense of the woman. You see, Pharisees knew that Jesus did not agree with their ministry, and they knew that Jesus loved sinners. So, they brought the woman caught in the very act of adultery before Jesus hoping that he would defend the sinner by contradicting or rebelling against the Law of Moses. In Deuteronomy 13:5, the Law of Moses declares that a prophet that rebels against God must be put to death. So, the ultimatum they brought before Jesus was that he would have to choose “either kill the woman for breaking the commandments of God, or be put to death for rebelling against the commandments of God.” However, Jesus, in his omniscient power as the Son of God, does not contradict the Law of Moses nor does he execute the woman. Rather, he calmly shines the light of his glory upon the hidden sins of the Pharisees.

Not only did the Pharisees have secret sins of hatred and pride in their hearts, but they were corrupt in the form of justice that they were trying to carry out upon the woman. The text says that they caught the woman in the very act of adultery. If they caught her in the very act of adultery, they must have also seen the man that the woman was committing adultery with. Even though the Pharisees saw the man and the woman committing adultery with each other, they only brought the woman before Jesus to be killed and not the man. Jesus was able to see the injustice that the Pharisees were committing against the woman, and he chose to take a stand and speak out against the injustice.

Just like Jesus, we the children of God must be willing to take a stand and speak out about the injustice we see in the world. We must have something to say about gang violence and poor education. We must have something to say against the overpopulation of black, brown, and poor white people in the American prison system. Something about 2.3 million souls locked behind prison bars and 5 million souls that are currently under state and federal community supervision should be bothersome to us. Something must be said about the lack of access to healthcare among the elders and seniors of America. Something must be said about the unethical and negligent practices that are used against black men and women in regard to health and wellness in America. Something must be said about the genocide of unborn babies in black and brown communities.

Whether the government deems abortion legal or illegal, we, the church, must be willing to take a stand based on the word of God. The word of God says, “Thou shalt not kill.” Regardless of the political parties that we belong to, God said, “Thou shalt not kill!” The bible tells of two occasions when particular governments have mandated of abortion, and each time it was commanded against an oppressed people called the Israelites. The first time was in Egypt during the days of Moses’s birth (Exodus 1:16 KJV), and the second time was in Bethlehem around the time when our Lord was born (Matthew 2: 16 KJV). Each of these instances is looked upon as sinful and godless acts of violence against an oppressed people. Modern-day abortion is committed four times more among black people than white people in America. This form of legalized murder must be troubling to the church of God.

What makes the modern-day abortion of the American age more dreadful is that godless persons have convinced the oppressed that it is more beneficial to kill the baby than adding the responsibility of the baby to their lives. Whether the baby is black or white, it is a sin to kill that baby. However, we must be disheartened that we the minority (meaning we are 13.6 % of the U.S. population) murder our babies four times more than white people who are the majority of the U. S. population (meaning they are 75.8 %). Someone must be able to look at that situation, and say, “Something is wrong.” If we are going to model the heart of the ministry that Jesus Christ has set before us, we must be willing to take a stand against injustice.

The Ministry of Exhortation

Whatever we do for God we must do from a place of love and humility. The scribes and the Pharisees had a serious issue of pride. God commanded his people through the prophet Micah to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God” (see Micah 6: 8 KJV). That is what Jesus does in the text. After he sheds light on the sins of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus turns to the woman, asking her, “Where are your accusers to condemn you?” She responded, “There are none, Lord.” That is when Jesus says unto her, “Neither do I. Go, and sin no more.” If there was anyone who had the right to be judgmental or cruel against this woman, it is Jesus. Jesus had the right to kill her, firstly because He is God. Jesus also had the right to condemn the woman, because he is holy and without sin. However, scripture lets us know that “…Jesus, knew no sin” (see 2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV). Still, Jesus said to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.” Immediately, Jesus tells the woman he has no intention of condemning her to death. Furthermore, since Jesus had no intention of condemning this sinner to death, neither should we condemn anyone.

Here, Jesus teaches us, with his actions, a beautiful ministry lesson on how we are called to speak out against sin and injustice, but we must do it from a place of love and humility. In order for us to have the heart of the Gospel, it is helpful that we understand the importance of extending mercy to others in order to receive mercy from God. It is helpful if we remember that if we do not forgive, we cannot be forgiven by God our Father. It is imperative that we remember that we have all sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3: 23 KJV). However, Jesus does not ignore the woman’s sin, because he is a just God. In Christian theology, we call the study of sin “hamartiology.” The word “hamartia” is the Greek word for guilt, fault, sin, and error. Many preachers of today have chosen to ignore the sin that they observe, and they are negligent in their duty to exhort and warn sinners to come out of their sins.

Rev. Dr. T. R. Williams once preached a sermon entitled “Something Went Wrong in the Garden.” In his sermon he talked about how the Garden of Eden is where sin entered the world. Adam told Eve that God commanded them not to eat the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, Satan deceived Even into taking and eating the forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Then, she gave the fruit to Adam, and he ate it. God’s order of the earth was that He (himself) would teach the man Adam, and Adam was responsible for teaching Eve his wife. Satan attempted to change the order by causing the woman to rebel against her husband and her God. Instead of Adam rebuking Eve for taking and eating the forbidden fruit, he joined her in her sin and her adultery against God. That is how sin entered the world. Dr. T. R. Williams said that, “The burden of responsibility was on Adam, and Adam was too weak-of-a-man to protect his wife. Adam was too weak-of-a-man to say “no” to his wife.”

Albeit, I’m so glad that there is a Second Adam named Jesus. I’m so glad that Jesus is the Second Adam, and the Second Adam was strong enough to say, “Go, and sin no more.” If we are going to preach the gospel, we must be strong enough to say, “Go, and sin no more.” Jesus, the Second Adam, strong enough to be beaten with thirty-nine lashes of a Roman scourge. Jesus was strong enough to be crucified for the sins of the whole world. Jesus was strong enough to be smitten of God. Jesus was strong enough to die. He was buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s new tomb, and three days later, Jesus, the Second Adam, was God enough to be resurrected from the dead with all power in his hands; power, to make us new; power, to make us holy; power, to make us the children of God.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, thank you for being the Word of God who lived as a perfect example of how we should live. Thank you for displaying to us what it means to have the heart of the Gospel. Help us so that we can stand against injustice. Give us the grace to love you and your people with pure hearts. Endow us with your power and strength so that we can exhort and warn sinners to run towards you and run away from lifestyles of sin. Help us to be true to your Word, because you are the truth. In Jesus name we pray,

Amen,