WHO YOU ARE VS. WHAT YOU'VE DONE

'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?' - John 8 vs 10

Notice in this scenario that Jesus called her "woman", not "adulterer". The Bible verse above is about the story of a certain woman who was taken in the very act of adultery by the Pharisees, and she was brought to Jesus. You see, the Lord did not address her by her sin, the Lord did not call her by her sin, unlike the Pharisees;

'Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.' - Luke 7 vs 39 {KJV}

This is another scenario where a certain Pharisee spoke to the Lord about a certain woman who wept at the Lord's feet; the Pharisee called the woman by her sins - he said "for she is a sinner".

But not Jesus! Never did we see Jesus call out people by their sins nor addressed them by their frailties. Rather than calling that woman "sinner" or "adulterer", He called her "woman". See it;

'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?' - John 8 vs 10 {KJV}

• He said unto her, Woman

You see... "woman" is who she is, "adultery" is what she did. You see, there's a difference between who a person is and what he did. - Think about it

There is a message in this. We learn from the Lord in this story that when we do wrongs and we feel condemned in our hearts, we should call to remembrance that "Justified" is who we are, not "sinner". - Selah

'And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.' - Acts 13 vs 39 {KJV}

• All that believe are justified from all things

'Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.' - Romans 8 vs 33 {KJV}

• It is God that justifieth

Beloved, in Christ, we have been justified (declared not guilty from all sins). Therefore just like Jesus addressed that woman by who she is (woman) and not what she did (adultery), likewise judge yourself by who you are in Christ, and not what you have done. - Think on these words

'And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.' - Luke 19 vs 9 {KJV}

• he also is a son of Abraham

This was the Lord Jesus identifying Zacchaeus by who he is "son of Abraham". Zacchaeus was a man who the people despised, because of the job he did; they referred to him as "sinner";

'And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. [6] And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. [7] And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.' - Luke 19 vs 5 - 7 {KING JAMES VERSION}

Take note of the verse 7,

'And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.'

They referred to Zacchaeus as "sinner". See Zacchaeus words;

'And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.' - Luke 19 vs 8 {KJV}

• if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold

This gives us an idea of why the people called him "sinner"; he probably was an oppressor, an extortioner, because he was a tax collector, and in those days the tax collectors in Israel (who were Jews) charged the people more than what was right. You can make your research on this, it's right. So the Jews didn't like tax collectors because of their oppressive extortion from them. Nevertheless, Jesus didn't call him "sinner", rather, Jesus called him "a son of Abraham" - because that's what he was being a Jew. - Selah

Brothers and Sisters, we learn big from Jesus in these stories we have seen in this teaching. We learn from the Lord in these stories that when we do wrongs and we feel condemned in our hearts, we should call to remembrance that "Justified" is who we are, not "sinner". - Selah

'And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.' - Acts 13 vs 39 {KJV}

• All that believe are justified from all things

'Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.' - Romans 8 vs 33 {KJV}

• It is God that justifieth

Beloved, in Christ, we have been justified (declared not guilty from all sins). Therefore just like Jesus addressed that woman by who she is (woman) and not what she did (adultery), He addressed Zacchaeus by who he is (a son of Abraham) and not what he did (scam), likewise judge yourself by who you are in Christ, and not what you have done. - Think on these words

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

- Jenning U. Angel