WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:00.220 Amen. 00:00.860 --> 00:03.540 Men, this morning I wanna focus on this story 00:03.540 --> 00:05.860 at the beginning of John chapter eight, 00:06.020 --> 00:09.420 the famous story of the woman taken in adultery 00:09.420 --> 00:10.740 that is brought to Jesus. 00:11.300 --> 00:13.580 And this is a really famous story. 00:13.660 --> 00:16.360 And in fact, I would say that it's a beloved story 00:16.800 --> 00:19.380 that has been preached on and talked about 00:19.380 --> 00:20.300 over and over again. 00:20.460 --> 00:22.460 It's probably one of the most famous stories 00:22.460 --> 00:24.120 in the Bible in a lot of ways. 00:24.420 --> 00:25.760 And the funny thing about this 00:25.760 --> 00:30.240 is that the modern so-called textual scholars 00:30.240 --> 00:34.020 and textual critics are actually attacking this passage 00:34.020 --> 00:36.780 and trying to claim that it doesn't belong in the Word of God. 00:37.180 --> 00:39.660 And in fact, if you have any of these modern versions 00:40.020 --> 00:43.760 like the NIV, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, 00:44.040 --> 00:47.260 the ESV, all of these modern versions of the Bible 00:47.700 --> 00:51.060 will take out entire verses out of the New Testament. 00:51.480 --> 00:54.840 They'll typically take out approximately 16 complete verses. 00:54.840 --> 00:56.360 But then another thing they'll do 00:56.760 --> 01:00.220 is they'll put a note around this passage saying, 01:00.260 --> 01:02.360 oh, this probably isn't real. 01:02.720 --> 01:04.260 This probably isn't original. 01:04.620 --> 01:07.700 Some of the oldest, most reliable manuscripts don't have. 01:07.840 --> 01:09.980 This would, of course, a total lie and a fraud 01:09.980 --> 01:12.380 because the two manuscripts that don't have it 01:12.380 --> 01:15.580 are the most unreliable pieces of junk ever discovered 01:15.580 --> 01:16.960 in the history of archeology. 01:17.260 --> 01:20.040 But they'll attack a giant section 01:20.040 --> 01:22.520 at the end of the Gospel of Mark, 12 verses. 01:22.520 --> 01:24.800 And they'll say, oh, this doesn't belong here. 01:24.940 --> 01:28.480 And then they'll take these 12 verses from John 7.53 01:28.940 --> 01:33.480 to John 8.11 and claim, oh, this isn't real, whatever. 01:33.880 --> 01:35.500 But here's the thing about God's Word 01:35.500 --> 01:39.000 is that God's Word is self-authenticating, right? 01:39.400 --> 01:42.280 God's Word proves itself to be God's Word 01:42.280 --> 01:45.540 because the sheep hear the voice of the shepherd 01:45.540 --> 01:47.500 and they know the voice of the shepherd 01:47.500 --> 01:48.840 and they don't know the voice of strangers. 01:49.160 --> 01:50.920 And it's interesting how Christians 01:50.920 --> 01:54.800 have universally loved and accepted these passages 01:54.800 --> 01:56.420 and these stories as the Word of God. 01:57.740 --> 02:00.220 So you expect me to believe that spirit-filled, 02:00.600 --> 02:02.940 spirit-led Christians and preachers 02:02.940 --> 02:05.140 just absolutely love counterfeit scripture? 02:05.840 --> 02:06.940 No, what they actually love 02:06.940 --> 02:08.380 is the actual real Word of God. 02:08.900 --> 02:10.960 And people love the Gospel of John 02:10.960 --> 02:12.420 because it's the Word of God. 02:12.800 --> 02:14.260 They love this story in particular 02:14.260 --> 02:16.000 because it's the Word of God. 02:16.400 --> 02:18.660 Okay, and because the Lord speaks to us 02:18.660 --> 02:19.420 through this passage. 02:20.140 --> 02:21.920 Now here's what's funny about this 02:21.920 --> 02:26.740 is that if you go all the way back to the year 420 AD, 02:27.320 --> 02:29.140 so going back 1600 years, 02:29.640 --> 02:32.320 of course the famous theologian slash philosopher, 02:32.600 --> 02:36.880 Augustine wrote and said that there were people out there 02:36.880 --> 02:41.520 who were removing this passage from the Gospel of John 02:41.520 --> 02:43.760 because they were nervous about the fact 02:43.760 --> 02:47.400 that it seemed like Jesus is going too easy on adultery 02:47.400 --> 02:50.180 or that it could promote loose living 02:50.180 --> 02:53.340 or somehow go soft on sin or something like that. 02:53.640 --> 02:56.160 So it's not like we're just making this up, folks. 02:56.580 --> 02:58.980 The Word of God, there are people out there 02:58.980 --> 03:01.500 that have tampered with it and removed passages 03:01.500 --> 03:04.260 and you can easily see when you're investigating 03:04.260 --> 03:07.360 the crime here of mutilating God's Word, 03:07.700 --> 03:09.360 you can see the motive. 03:10.040 --> 03:11.700 Anytime you're investigating a crime, 03:11.880 --> 03:12.680 well what's the motive? 03:13.280 --> 03:16.380 Here's the motive for removing this story 03:16.380 --> 03:19.220 is that people are misunderstanding the story 03:19.670 --> 03:21.680 and because they misunderstood the story 03:21.680 --> 03:24.040 because they have a wrong interpretation of the story, 03:24.340 --> 03:26.640 they're like, oh, this is teaching anarchy. 03:27.040 --> 03:30.100 This is teaching us to go soft on sin and adultery. 03:30.480 --> 03:31.760 Get rid of it, cut it out. 03:32.080 --> 03:34.480 Folks, cutting things out of the Word of God 03:34.480 --> 03:36.440 is damnable, right? 03:36.700 --> 03:38.320 Remember the curses in Revelation 03:38.970 --> 03:41.980 on those who would add to or remove from God's Word? 03:43.160 --> 03:46.280 Taking this out is heretical and damnable 03:46.280 --> 03:47.420 and here's what's funny too, 03:47.420 --> 03:50.120 is that the modern version crowd, as I said, 03:50.360 --> 03:53.320 NIV, ESV types, the people are putting these Bibles together 03:53.320 --> 03:54.640 don't believe this is authentic 03:55.280 --> 03:58.020 and yet they include it anyway in their Bibles, why? 03:58.340 --> 04:00.080 Because you couldn't sell a Bible 04:00.080 --> 04:02.000 that doesn't have this story in it, 04:02.020 --> 04:04.040 it would freak people out, like where's my story? 04:04.560 --> 04:05.660 Where's my Bible story? 04:06.760 --> 04:07.500 Where is it? 04:07.640 --> 04:08.880 Everybody expects it to be there. 04:09.200 --> 04:11.720 Nobody wants the book of John, chapter eight, 04:11.720 --> 04:14.260 to start with verse number 12, right? 04:14.600 --> 04:17.300 That'd feel weird when you're reading, it just goes eight, 12. 04:19.900 --> 04:22.920 So if it's a big sin to remove from God's Word, 04:23.500 --> 04:24.580 we shouldn't remove, right? 04:25.320 --> 04:26.820 But these bozos are hypocrites 04:26.820 --> 04:29.060 because it's also a big sin to add to God's Word. 04:29.260 --> 04:30.500 So if they believe it's fake, 04:30.600 --> 04:31.720 why do they put it in their Bible? 04:32.400 --> 04:33.920 Because they're big-time hypocrites 04:33.920 --> 04:36.560 because what they're doing is trying to make a buck, 04:36.740 --> 04:37.540 trying to make money 04:37.540 --> 04:38.580 and what they're trying to do 04:38.580 --> 04:40.320 is wean people off of it slowly 04:40.320 --> 04:41.920 by just putting notes like, 04:42.000 --> 04:43.880 yeah, this probably isn't real or whatever. 04:44.340 --> 04:45.260 You wanna know another verse 04:45.260 --> 04:46.300 that they don't believe is real? 04:46.580 --> 04:47.980 The verse where Jesus says father, 04:48.120 --> 04:49.560 forgive them for they know not what they do. 04:50.080 --> 04:52.820 I mean, what a cool verse that everybody loves 04:52.820 --> 04:55.020 and everybody quotes that speaks to our hearts 04:55.020 --> 04:56.520 because it's the Word of God. 04:57.120 --> 04:59.060 They're like, oh, this probably isn't authentic. 04:59.200 --> 05:02.960 Well, nobody asked you egghead fool, nobody cares. 05:03.780 --> 05:05.000 This is the real Word of God. 05:05.280 --> 05:07.160 And again, what's the motive for removing it? 05:07.660 --> 05:08.840 A misunderstanding of it. 05:08.840 --> 05:11.600 Because if we actually get the right understanding, 05:12.060 --> 05:14.660 we would know Jesus is not teaching anarchy. 05:15.040 --> 05:17.820 He's not teaching us to go soft on sin. 05:18.300 --> 05:21.280 And he's not teaching for a criminal justice system 05:21.280 --> 05:24.020 that just forgives everyone and doesn't punish anything. 05:24.480 --> 05:25.600 Those are dumb interpretations, 05:25.800 --> 05:27.720 but unfortunately, that's the interpretation 05:27.720 --> 05:30.040 I seem to hear the most in 2026 America. 05:30.720 --> 05:32.800 You hear a lot of preachers mixing this up 05:32.800 --> 05:33.460 and getting it wrong. 05:33.800 --> 05:35.800 So let's actually look at the story this morning 05:36.180 --> 05:39.280 and let's enjoy this powerful passage in the Word of God 05:39.280 --> 05:41.820 and let's actually get a real interpretation 05:42.460 --> 05:44.440 based on comparing scripture with scripture. 05:44.920 --> 05:46.840 So look if you would at John chapter eight verse one, 05:46.940 --> 05:48.540 it says Jesus went under the Mount of Olives 05:48.540 --> 05:49.900 and early in the morning, 05:50.240 --> 05:51.800 he came again into the temple 05:52.260 --> 05:54.000 and all the people came unto him 05:54.380 --> 05:56.000 and he sat down and taught them. 05:56.120 --> 05:59.320 Now look, Jesus Christ is preaching to huge crowds 05:59.700 --> 06:02.140 and the Jews, especially the Pharisees 06:02.140 --> 06:04.600 and the scribes are super envious. 06:05.200 --> 06:08.600 They cannot stand how popular Jesus is 06:08.600 --> 06:09.820 and how people are coming to hear him 06:09.820 --> 06:11.660 because they want the attention, 06:11.880 --> 06:13.900 they want the glory for themselves. 06:14.180 --> 06:17.020 And the whole book of Acts, they're super envious. 06:17.420 --> 06:20.280 So what they always wanna do is destroy Jesus 06:20.280 --> 06:21.580 and take him down. 06:21.900 --> 06:24.220 We saw last week that they were literally 06:24.220 --> 06:25.420 trying to kill him, 06:26.520 --> 06:29.300 but in the crowds they can't get away with killing him. 06:29.380 --> 06:31.640 So what they wanna do is they wanna make him look stupid. 06:31.860 --> 06:33.980 That's their goal is to embarrass him publicly. 06:34.400 --> 06:38.000 Now there's a theme throughout the gospels 06:38.000 --> 06:40.280 of them trying to kind of catch Jesus 06:40.880 --> 06:43.200 between a rock and a hard place like a catch 22. 06:43.840 --> 06:45.040 Here's a famous example. 06:45.300 --> 06:47.520 They come to Jesus elsewhere and they say to him, 06:47.680 --> 06:51.400 hey, is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not? 06:51.720 --> 06:54.060 Do we give the tribute or do we not give the tribute? 06:54.240 --> 06:55.300 Here's what they're trying to do. 06:55.380 --> 06:56.680 They're trying to get him to break the law. 06:57.140 --> 07:00.540 They want Jesus to say, oh, don't pay your taxes 07:00.540 --> 07:02.940 and then they can go run to the Romans 07:02.940 --> 07:06.780 and hey, this guy's telling us not to pay our taxes, right? 07:07.080 --> 07:09.660 And then if he says, yes, do pay your taxes 07:10.120 --> 07:12.760 and yes, do give Caesar the taxes, 07:12.920 --> 07:15.700 then they're gonna go to all the like radical, 07:16.760 --> 07:20.020 libertarian factions of the Jews who wanna be free. 07:20.200 --> 07:21.960 Oh, this guy's just pro-Roman. 07:22.300 --> 07:23.520 He's a FEMA pastor. 07:23.880 --> 07:25.280 He's a government shill. 07:26.040 --> 07:27.660 He's just in bed with the Romans. 07:28.000 --> 07:29.820 So it's like they're trying to catch him 07:29.820 --> 07:32.320 in these situations where he can't win 07:32.960 --> 07:35.300 and he always outsmarts them, right? 07:35.400 --> 07:37.340 He's always has this clever answer. 07:37.840 --> 07:39.940 Like he says, okay, give me the tribute money. 07:40.100 --> 07:40.660 Show me the coin. 07:41.040 --> 07:42.440 Okay, whose face is on this coin? 07:43.240 --> 07:43.800 Caesar's face? 07:44.040 --> 07:46.560 Okay, render unto Caesar the things that be Caesar's 07:46.560 --> 07:47.840 and render unto God the things that be God. 07:48.080 --> 07:49.400 Just kinda makes them look dumb. 07:49.620 --> 07:51.860 Or they come to him and try to trick him 07:51.860 --> 07:52.920 and trip him up and they say, 07:53.120 --> 07:55.840 hey, there was this woman and she was married 07:55.840 --> 07:57.680 and she didn't have any kids 07:58.160 --> 07:59.860 and then her husband died 07:59.860 --> 08:01.580 so then she has to marry his brother 08:01.580 --> 08:04.380 and then he dies and then she ends up marrying 08:04.380 --> 08:06.060 all seven brothers in succession. 08:06.540 --> 08:07.860 None of them has any kids. 08:08.060 --> 08:11.280 Last of all, the woman dies also, just this wild scenario. 08:12.180 --> 08:14.500 And then they're like, in the resurrection therefore, 08:15.300 --> 08:16.900 whose wife shall she be? 08:17.340 --> 08:19.500 They all seven had her, hmm? 08:20.200 --> 08:23.220 And of course, Jesus proves the stupidity 08:23.220 --> 08:24.260 of this question because he says, 08:24.320 --> 08:26.600 well, in the resurrection, they neither marry 08:26.600 --> 08:27.920 nor are they given in marriage 08:27.920 --> 08:29.240 but they're like the angels in heaven. 08:29.800 --> 08:30.740 You know, we're not Mormons 08:30.740 --> 08:32.860 where we believe in these eternal marriages 08:32.860 --> 08:34.760 and living on other planets 08:34.760 --> 08:36.800 and producing spirit babies for all eternity. 08:37.200 --> 08:39.140 You know, you only have to do the pregnancies 08:39.140 --> 08:40.700 on this earth, ladies, okay? 08:41.240 --> 08:43.400 And then you're done, you've done your shift, 08:43.540 --> 08:44.120 you've done your time, 08:44.340 --> 08:46.280 you're not gonna be eternally pregnant, okay? 08:47.000 --> 08:48.820 And so they were wrong 08:48.820 --> 08:52.860 and he ends up making the Sadducees look so dumb 08:52.860 --> 08:56.320 because not only does he debunk their dumb objection, 08:56.840 --> 08:58.620 then he says, well, what about when God says, 08:58.680 --> 09:00.580 I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? 09:00.740 --> 09:02.540 God's not the God of the dead, but of the living. 09:03.600 --> 09:05.040 And then it says that after that, 09:05.080 --> 09:07.060 they just dare not ask him any more questions 09:07.620 --> 09:09.920 because every time they try to make him look stupid, 09:10.020 --> 09:10.920 they end up looking stupid. 09:11.260 --> 09:13.280 Every time they try to get him in trouble with the law, 09:13.620 --> 09:14.320 they get in trouble. 09:14.480 --> 09:15.820 And so here's the thing, right here, 09:16.220 --> 09:18.020 we see they're doing the exact same thing, 09:18.100 --> 09:19.820 they're coming to tempt Jesus. 09:20.020 --> 09:21.760 They're jealous that he has the crowds 09:21.760 --> 09:23.680 and so they're trying to tempt him 09:24.140 --> 09:26.640 and put him in a position where he can't win. 09:27.440 --> 09:28.900 With the Romans or the Jews, 09:29.040 --> 09:30.060 somebody's gonna be mad at him. 09:30.140 --> 09:30.800 So look what they do. 09:31.620 --> 09:33.160 It says, the scribes and Pharisees 09:33.680 --> 09:36.300 brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. 09:36.840 --> 09:38.220 And when they had said her in the midst, 09:38.380 --> 09:39.840 they say unto him, Master, 09:40.300 --> 09:43.560 this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. 09:44.040 --> 09:46.000 Now Moses and the law commanded 09:46.000 --> 09:47.540 that such should be stoned. 09:47.840 --> 09:48.960 But what sayest thou? 09:49.160 --> 09:50.160 See, what they're trying to do here 09:50.160 --> 09:53.040 is they're trying to pit Jesus against the word of God. 09:53.520 --> 09:54.240 Because guess what? 09:54.700 --> 09:56.700 It's not Moses that commanded that in the law, 09:56.920 --> 09:59.320 it's God Almighty that commanded that in the law. 10:00.280 --> 10:03.720 Moses did not come up with the law out of his own heart. 10:03.980 --> 10:07.160 He went up to Mount Sinai and God gave him that law. 10:07.480 --> 10:09.580 The Ten Commandments were written in stone 10:09.580 --> 10:11.440 with the very finger of God 10:11.440 --> 10:16.440 and the rest of the law was dictated verbally to Moses 10:16.440 --> 10:20.040 and Moses wrote down as the Lord is dictating it 10:20.560 --> 10:23.120 from the cloudy pillar on the Mount. 10:23.280 --> 10:24.700 And so to sit there and say like, 10:24.920 --> 10:27.500 well, Moses commanded this, but what do you say? 10:27.780 --> 10:30.300 They're trying to get him to contradict the word of God, 10:30.440 --> 10:31.240 to contradict the Bible. 10:31.740 --> 10:33.800 And what has Jesus already preached? 10:33.920 --> 10:35.240 He said, think not that I'm coming 10:35.240 --> 10:36.580 to destroy the law of the prophets. 10:37.100 --> 10:38.940 I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. 10:39.300 --> 10:41.460 For verily I say unto you till heaven and earth pass 10:41.460 --> 10:45.060 one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law 10:45.060 --> 10:48.580 till all be fulfilled whosoever therefore shall break 10:48.580 --> 10:50.920 one of these least commandments and shall teach men 10:50.920 --> 10:53.560 so the same shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven 10:53.560 --> 10:55.260 and whosoever shall do and teach them 10:55.260 --> 10:57.400 the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 10:57.660 --> 11:00.500 So Jesus is reiterating and saying, 11:00.820 --> 11:02.820 the law of Moses is God's word. 11:03.120 --> 11:05.100 The Old Testament is God's word. 11:05.420 --> 11:08.920 The Holy Ghost spake by the mouth of David the prophet. 11:09.000 --> 11:12.380 The Holy Ghost spake through the burning bush 11:12.380 --> 11:14.800 and through the cloudy pillar and so forth. 11:15.080 --> 11:18.640 And so we know that Jesus is not at odds with the Bible. 11:20.260 --> 11:25.080 Jesus Christ came to preach and to fulfill the word of God 11:25.080 --> 11:29.920 not to negate or criticize or twist the word of God. 11:30.500 --> 11:32.300 So what they're trying to do is they're trying to pit 11:32.300 --> 11:34.040 Jesus against the Bible by saying, 11:34.380 --> 11:35.920 well, Moses said she should be stoned, 11:36.220 --> 11:37.220 but what say is that? 11:38.560 --> 11:41.100 Now, what's the other side of this equation? 11:41.520 --> 11:44.440 Because on the one hand, Jesus could say, 11:44.900 --> 11:46.320 well, I'm gonna say something different 11:46.320 --> 11:47.360 than what the Bible says. 11:48.160 --> 11:50.720 Well, then now he's not consistent with the Bible 11:50.720 --> 11:52.900 and they win because they're gonna be able to space. 11:53.100 --> 11:55.060 See, look, Jesus doesn't even agree with the Bible. 11:56.460 --> 11:59.120 But what if Jesus says, well, if Moses said to stoner, 11:59.300 --> 12:00.700 let's do it, let's stoner right now. 12:00.780 --> 12:02.420 Then they're gonna get him in trouble with the Romans. 12:02.840 --> 12:03.500 How do I know that? 12:03.620 --> 12:04.880 Well, same book of the Bible. 12:05.120 --> 12:05.700 Keep your finger there. 12:05.780 --> 12:08.240 Go to John 18, verse 31. 12:08.240 --> 12:11.140 And you see, God has given us all the context 12:11.140 --> 12:13.220 that we need to understand this story. 12:13.840 --> 12:15.860 It's in the same book of the Bible. 12:16.040 --> 12:17.500 Like in John chapter eight, 12:17.940 --> 12:19.560 if you're wondering what's going on here, 12:19.840 --> 12:22.460 we'll go to chapter 18 and you can see exactly 12:22.460 --> 12:23.800 what's going on in verse 31. 12:23.940 --> 12:26.440 It says, then said Pilate unto them, 12:26.960 --> 12:28.340 this is Pilate speaking to the Jews, 12:29.300 --> 12:32.700 take ye him and judge him according to your law. 12:33.540 --> 12:35.280 The Jews therefore said unto him, 12:35.770 --> 12:39.980 it is not lawful for us to put any man to death. 12:40.160 --> 12:40.840 Does everybody see that? 12:41.380 --> 12:44.220 It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. 12:44.580 --> 12:47.920 So they're trying to put Jesus between a rock and a hard place 12:47.920 --> 12:52.300 by saying, okay, he said that she should be stoned. 12:52.640 --> 12:53.480 What do you say? 12:54.220 --> 12:56.000 He either has to go against the Bible 12:56.600 --> 12:58.680 or he has to go against the Roman government 12:58.680 --> 13:00.220 because the Roman government has said 13:00.220 --> 13:01.880 that it is not lawful for them 13:02.310 --> 13:03.900 to just judge people according to the law 13:03.900 --> 13:04.380 and put them to death. 13:04.380 --> 13:06.320 And really, we can understand this 13:06.320 --> 13:08.400 because in 2026 America, 13:09.340 --> 13:13.080 is it lawful for us to just put adulterers to death 13:13.640 --> 13:15.780 or just put sodomites to death or something? 13:16.080 --> 13:17.960 And I've had people literally come at me 13:17.960 --> 13:19.300 with this exact same challenge 13:19.300 --> 13:21.280 and say, all right Pastor Anderson, 13:21.760 --> 13:23.660 if you believe in the death penalty for sodomites, 13:23.880 --> 13:25.940 then show me all the sodomites that you've killed. 13:26.880 --> 13:28.600 And they think it's some kind of a gotcha, 13:28.640 --> 13:29.720 but it's like, hold on a second. 13:30.120 --> 13:31.640 The Bible clearly teaches us 13:31.640 --> 13:33.280 that we should obey the law of the land. 13:34.680 --> 13:36.680 We are supposed to obey the powers that be. 13:37.080 --> 13:38.200 We're not supposed to be out there 13:38.200 --> 13:39.820 doing vigilante justice 13:40.340 --> 13:42.800 and just enforcing things from the Bible. 13:43.180 --> 13:44.040 It's not our place. 13:45.520 --> 13:46.420 Now, the government, 13:46.680 --> 13:48.260 do we want the government to punish stealing? 13:48.680 --> 13:48.860 Yeah. 13:49.660 --> 13:51.200 Do we want the government to punish murder? 13:51.660 --> 13:52.440 Yeah, we want the government. 13:52.480 --> 13:53.860 I mean, I think everybody, 13:54.920 --> 13:56.780 everybody wants the government to punish murder. 13:58.040 --> 13:59.620 I think everybody wants the government 13:59.620 --> 14:00.320 to punish stealing. 14:01.640 --> 14:02.780 I think we'd all agree on that. 14:03.280 --> 14:05.340 But does that mean that we're gonna go out 14:05.340 --> 14:06.580 and enforce those things ourselves? 14:06.800 --> 14:09.060 I mean, if we know that someone's guilty of murder 14:09.500 --> 14:10.960 and they get off the hook, 14:11.600 --> 14:13.820 are we allowed to just go kill that person? 14:14.300 --> 14:15.720 Can we just be like, doggone it? 14:15.780 --> 14:17.780 I know OJ's guilty, you know, let's go. 14:18.940 --> 14:19.920 That's not our place. 14:20.600 --> 14:22.580 We wrestle not against flesh and blood, 14:22.840 --> 14:25.060 but against principalities, against powers, 14:25.500 --> 14:27.480 against the rulers of the darkness of this world, 14:27.620 --> 14:29.340 against spiritual wickedness in high places. 14:29.340 --> 14:33.320 And it is not our job to be in a physical fight, 14:33.540 --> 14:35.720 to go out and physically harm people 14:35.720 --> 14:36.960 or physically kill anyone, 14:37.220 --> 14:40.540 or to enforce criminal laws ourselves 14:40.540 --> 14:42.020 or to come up with, you know, 14:42.100 --> 14:43.440 what we think the law should be 14:43.440 --> 14:44.800 and go out and do that, you know, 14:44.880 --> 14:47.860 we are supposed to follow the laws of the land, 14:47.960 --> 14:48.860 even if they're unjust. 14:49.200 --> 14:51.980 I mean, there are laws in America that don't make sense, 14:51.980 --> 14:53.200 but it is what it is. 14:53.460 --> 14:54.600 We have to just sit back 14:54.600 --> 14:56.520 and hope that God will take care of things from heaven. 14:57.460 --> 14:59.520 You know, if things aren't fair on this earth, 15:00.300 --> 15:01.600 you know, this is what we're stuck with. 15:02.360 --> 15:05.100 And so it says in verse number, 15:05.380 --> 15:07.320 and you say, well, I think you're just making this up, 15:07.700 --> 15:09.000 you know, well, let me prove to you 15:09.000 --> 15:10.040 that my interpretation's right. 15:10.360 --> 15:12.540 Look down at your Bible there in John chapter eight, 15:12.780 --> 15:14.380 because I just showed you in chapter 18 15:14.380 --> 15:16.200 where it's illegal for them to put anyone to death. 15:17.520 --> 15:18.840 The motive is explained. 15:19.080 --> 15:19.900 I'm not making this up. 15:19.960 --> 15:20.720 It says in verse five, 15:21.000 --> 15:23.120 now Moses in the law commanded us 15:23.120 --> 15:24.860 that such should be stolen, 15:24.860 --> 15:25.660 but what says now? 15:25.920 --> 15:28.340 This, they said, tempting him 15:28.720 --> 15:31.280 that they might have to accuse him. 15:31.820 --> 15:34.540 The whole point of this whole song and dance 15:34.540 --> 15:37.500 is finding a way to accuse Jesus. 15:38.560 --> 15:39.340 Accusing of what? 15:40.060 --> 15:41.300 To accuse him of the Romans, 15:41.800 --> 15:45.320 the Romans saying this guy is a vigilante. 15:45.740 --> 15:47.240 He's taken the law into his own hands. 15:47.500 --> 15:49.700 He commanded for a woman to be stoned to death, 15:49.940 --> 15:52.100 and Roman law forbids that. 15:52.240 --> 15:53.200 Or on the other hand, 15:53.200 --> 15:54.840 they could accuse him to the Jews 15:54.840 --> 15:56.840 and say, well, this guy doesn't believe in Moses. 15:57.460 --> 15:59.260 This guy's contradicting the law of God. 16:00.260 --> 16:02.800 So they're putting him in a position where he can't win, 16:03.240 --> 16:05.800 but thankfully Jesus is too smart for this, 16:06.300 --> 16:08.960 and so he's able to just turn this right around on them. 16:09.940 --> 16:11.560 And so they're tempting him, 16:11.680 --> 16:12.540 they're trying to accuse him, 16:12.880 --> 16:14.240 but Jesus stooped down 16:14.240 --> 16:15.840 and with his finger rode on the ground 16:15.840 --> 16:17.020 as though he heard them not. 16:17.700 --> 16:19.800 So he kind of just ignores them 16:20.380 --> 16:22.200 and stups down and rides on the ground. 16:22.840 --> 16:24.320 And by the way, here's the thing, 16:25.180 --> 16:27.500 sometimes people might come at you with something 16:28.020 --> 16:30.000 that kind of puts you on the spot, 16:30.380 --> 16:32.320 puts you between a rock and a hard place, 16:32.520 --> 16:34.120 puts you in a weird situation. 16:34.660 --> 16:36.760 You know, sometimes it's probably a good idea 16:36.760 --> 16:39.560 to just take a break and to just stop and think 16:39.560 --> 16:42.300 and not feel like you have to answer everything 16:42.300 --> 16:42.880 right away. 16:43.000 --> 16:44.600 You can always stop and think 16:44.600 --> 16:46.860 and get back to someone on a question. 16:47.280 --> 16:49.540 And this is part of what I don't like about debates 16:49.540 --> 16:51.220 and the whole debate culture 16:51.640 --> 16:53.920 is that really a debate is just really just 16:53.920 --> 16:54.920 who can think the fastest? 16:55.220 --> 16:56.860 Who can just think on their feet or whatever? 16:56.980 --> 16:57.940 Because if you think about it, 16:58.180 --> 16:59.860 you could just take your time 16:59.860 --> 17:02.140 and slowly respond to things 17:02.140 --> 17:04.540 and you could have someone maybe make a statement 17:04.540 --> 17:06.700 and then two days later come back 17:06.700 --> 17:09.280 and you'll see these kind of online flame wars 17:09.280 --> 17:10.980 where one person says something 17:10.980 --> 17:12.980 and then the next day somebody says something 17:12.980 --> 17:14.640 and then the next day somebody says something. 17:14.880 --> 17:16.700 You know, that is superior to a debate 17:16.700 --> 17:18.780 because at least people are thinking before they talk. 17:18.780 --> 17:21.720 At least people have a chance to think 17:21.720 --> 17:22.820 and reference things. 17:23.280 --> 17:25.840 Really, I feel like debates are more just about ego 17:25.840 --> 17:28.640 and pride of, hey, look how smart I am. 17:28.780 --> 17:29.920 Look how fast I can think. 17:30.100 --> 17:32.180 Look how I can just make the other guy look stupid 17:32.180 --> 17:32.560 or whatever. 17:33.040 --> 17:35.480 It doesn't really prove what the truth is 17:35.480 --> 17:38.500 because maybe one guy has to slowly pull a book 17:38.500 --> 17:39.160 off the shelf. 17:39.560 --> 17:41.160 You know, I'm picturing that cartoon character 17:41.160 --> 17:45.120 that has the little doggy with the bangs over his eyes 17:45.120 --> 17:45.960 and the glasses. 17:46.260 --> 17:47.000 Isn't there a guy like that? 17:47.020 --> 17:47.820 He moves real slow. 17:47.820 --> 17:52.520 I might be mixing a few 1960s era cartoon characters. 17:52.960 --> 17:53.980 Who knows what I'm talking about though? 17:54.060 --> 17:55.540 Isn't there some really slow guy? 17:55.680 --> 17:57.320 What's he called or who is he? 17:58.460 --> 17:59.220 What's his name? 18:00.120 --> 18:00.780 Droopy Dog. 18:01.080 --> 18:01.920 Droopy Dog? 18:02.380 --> 18:03.280 Yeah, that sounds right. 18:03.880 --> 18:06.980 So seriously, you could have a super smart guy 18:07.440 --> 18:08.520 and he's super right 18:08.520 --> 18:10.380 and maybe he's Droopy Dog or whatever 18:10.380 --> 18:12.320 and he's just, I can just picture him 18:12.320 --> 18:15.620 to slowly going over to the shelf, 18:15.620 --> 18:16.800 pull it off a book, 18:17.760 --> 18:18.800 turning to all the play 18:18.800 --> 18:20.720 and just totally being right 18:20.720 --> 18:21.920 and proving the other guy wrong. 18:22.220 --> 18:24.340 But in a debate, it's just whoever's just kind of, 18:24.420 --> 18:26.540 you know, just got all the little quips 18:26.540 --> 18:28.800 and whatever on the fly. 18:28.960 --> 18:30.680 You know, here's the thing, Jesus Christ, 18:31.120 --> 18:33.140 he doesn't just maybe have the one liner 18:33.140 --> 18:34.300 on the tip of his tongue here, 18:34.420 --> 18:36.520 just you know, just shoot right back. 18:37.080 --> 18:39.240 He does come up with a great one liner. 18:40.080 --> 18:41.840 He does end up shutting him down 18:41.840 --> 18:43.660 but he stops and thinks about it first. 18:44.100 --> 18:45.020 Takes a little time. 18:45.020 --> 18:46.420 And you know what, sometimes it's smart 18:46.840 --> 18:49.260 to say to people, hey, I'm not sure on that. 18:49.380 --> 18:50.360 Let me get back to you. 18:50.460 --> 18:51.340 Let me look that up. 18:51.460 --> 18:52.480 Let me think about that. 18:52.600 --> 18:53.740 Let me sleep on that. 18:53.940 --> 18:56.920 You don't always have to just fire back immediately. 18:57.760 --> 18:59.240 You know, sometimes better to think before you talk. 18:59.380 --> 18:59.980 What does the Bible say? 19:00.680 --> 19:01.120 Slow to speak. 19:01.940 --> 19:03.640 Let a man be swift to hear. 19:04.380 --> 19:06.020 Slow to speak, slow to wrath. 19:06.180 --> 19:07.760 Is this not Jesus being slow to speak? 19:09.100 --> 19:10.180 They're hammering him 19:10.680 --> 19:13.060 and he's just kind of just ignores them 19:13.060 --> 19:14.820 and he's just writing on the dirt 19:15.220 --> 19:17.960 and just thinking things over and thinking about it. 19:19.060 --> 19:23.120 And he ends up having time to come up with a great answer. 19:23.240 --> 19:24.540 There's the thing about Jesus Christ. 19:24.900 --> 19:27.000 Obviously we know Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. 19:27.380 --> 19:28.560 Jesus Christ is divine, 19:28.740 --> 19:31.100 but Jesus Christ is also human and has a human brain. 19:31.940 --> 19:33.500 He's actually thinking like a human. 19:33.800 --> 19:35.600 He wasn't just pretending to be a human folks. 19:35.940 --> 19:37.980 He actually became flesh and dwelt among us. 19:38.660 --> 19:40.240 And the Bible even talks about how Jesus 19:40.240 --> 19:42.180 when he was growing up increased in wisdom. 19:42.180 --> 19:45.740 You know, he's learning and going through all the things 19:45.740 --> 19:47.400 that a human being goes through. 19:47.760 --> 19:49.520 And I preached about that in my sermons 19:49.520 --> 19:50.680 on the humanity of Christ 19:50.680 --> 19:53.540 that made a bunch of weird Catholic types heads explode. 19:54.060 --> 19:55.980 But it's still, it's everything I said was true though 19:55.980 --> 19:56.500 and biblical. 19:58.040 --> 19:59.840 So Jesus is thinking about it. 20:00.740 --> 20:03.360 You know, he doesn't just fire off an answer immediately 20:03.360 --> 20:05.740 but he thinks about it. 20:06.980 --> 20:08.040 But then it says in verse seven 20:08.040 --> 20:09.800 when they continued asking him. 20:09.880 --> 20:11.100 So they're not gonna let it go. 20:11.100 --> 20:12.560 They keep badgering him about it. 20:12.960 --> 20:14.660 And so he said unto them, 20:15.040 --> 20:16.400 he that is without sin among you, 20:16.540 --> 20:17.980 let him first cast a stone at her. 20:18.540 --> 20:20.320 And again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 20:20.460 --> 20:23.420 And so the thing that is so clever about this answer 20:23.900 --> 20:27.420 is that basically he's able to neither contradict 20:27.420 --> 20:30.540 God's law nor to say anything 20:30.540 --> 20:32.020 that's gonna get him in trouble with the Romans 20:32.620 --> 20:34.100 because obviously there's no one there 20:34.100 --> 20:36.840 who's actually sinless who can carry this out. 20:37.040 --> 20:38.400 And at the same time, 20:38.400 --> 20:40.800 he's not saying that God's law is wrong 20:41.280 --> 20:43.280 because of course God's law is not wrong. 20:44.420 --> 20:47.080 And so he says, well, whoever's without sin among you, 20:47.300 --> 20:48.480 let him first cast a stone at her. 20:48.640 --> 20:50.200 And again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 20:51.100 --> 20:52.520 And they which heard it being convicted 20:52.520 --> 20:54.520 by their own conscience went out one by one 20:54.520 --> 20:56.640 beginning at the eldest, even under the last 20:56.640 --> 20:57.780 and Jesus was left alone 20:58.260 --> 20:59.560 and the woman standing in the midst. 20:59.900 --> 21:01.480 When Jesus had lifted up himself 21:01.480 --> 21:03.540 and saw none but the woman he said unto her, 21:04.080 --> 21:06.180 woman, where are those thine accusers? 21:06.860 --> 21:08.380 Have no man condemned thee? 21:08.840 --> 21:12.100 She said, no man, Lord, and Jesus said unto her, 21:12.420 --> 21:14.900 neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more. 21:15.500 --> 21:16.720 Now, when we stop and think about 21:16.720 --> 21:19.000 the actual meaning of this passage, 21:19.180 --> 21:21.680 the right interpretation and the right conclusions 21:21.680 --> 21:22.780 that we draw from it, 21:23.460 --> 21:25.600 based on the actual story in the context, 21:25.980 --> 21:29.720 number one, we see that they're trying to trick Jesus 21:29.720 --> 21:31.420 and get him in trouble and get him arrested 21:31.970 --> 21:33.880 and Jesus outsmarts them once again. 21:34.340 --> 21:37.300 It's a fun story about Jesus outsmarting his opponents 21:37.300 --> 21:40.640 one more time, making them look stupid one more time, right? 21:40.780 --> 21:43.740 That's a common theme in the four gospels, okay? 21:44.760 --> 21:47.340 Number two, there's an important lesson here 21:47.340 --> 21:49.540 about the fact that all have sinned 21:49.540 --> 21:50.660 and come short of the glory of God. 21:50.880 --> 21:52.280 Everybody is a sinner. 21:52.700 --> 21:55.000 And so if we stop and think about all the sins 21:55.000 --> 21:56.220 of our own heart and life, 21:56.540 --> 21:58.880 that should actually cause us to feel guilty 21:58.880 --> 22:01.080 and realize, hey, we have sinned too. 22:01.280 --> 22:02.940 Here's another important lesson from the story 22:02.940 --> 22:05.840 is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 22:06.080 --> 22:07.720 has the power to forgive sins. 22:09.020 --> 22:10.980 Now, everyone does not have this power. 22:11.440 --> 22:14.040 I cannot walk down the street forgiving people 22:14.040 --> 22:16.160 of their sins and absolving them of their sins. 22:16.300 --> 22:17.760 I'm not gonna have a line after the service 22:17.760 --> 22:19.140 where you come confess your sins to me 22:19.140 --> 22:20.640 and I forgive you and I absolve you. 22:21.640 --> 22:24.520 You know, who can forgive sins but God only, right? 22:24.940 --> 22:28.060 So Jesus Christ here has the power to forgive sins 22:28.060 --> 22:31.740 even if people are guilty, even if they do deserve, 22:31.740 --> 22:33.740 I mean, look, this woman was caught 22:33.740 --> 22:37.280 in the very act of adultery and flagrante. 22:37.700 --> 22:40.720 She was caught in the very act. 22:40.900 --> 22:41.820 She's for sure guilty. 22:42.260 --> 22:44.500 She deserves to be put to death, 22:44.660 --> 22:46.060 according to the law of Moses, 22:46.300 --> 22:49.500 according to just all decency and morality 22:49.500 --> 22:51.720 in most societies throughout history. 22:51.880 --> 22:54.480 But here's the thing, even people who are guilty 22:54.840 --> 22:59.860 and do deserve a punishment can be pardoned by Jesus, right? 22:59.860 --> 23:01.720 The murderer can be pardoned by Jesus. 23:02.320 --> 23:04.780 The adulterer can be pardoned by Jesus, right? 23:05.240 --> 23:07.720 The thief and the liar and the blasphemer. 23:08.160 --> 23:12.300 Jesus Christ has the power on earth to forgive sins. 23:12.680 --> 23:13.600 That's what the Bible says. 23:14.080 --> 23:16.000 And so really what this should be pointing us to 23:16.000 --> 23:18.040 is Jesus is our savior. 23:18.500 --> 23:21.240 Jesus, because he was going to die for us 23:21.240 --> 23:23.320 and be buried and rise again the third day 23:23.320 --> 23:24.080 and shed his blood for us, 23:24.320 --> 23:27.120 he has the supernatural ability to forgive sins. 23:27.380 --> 23:29.140 Now, here's the thing, in the United States of America, 23:29.140 --> 23:31.900 you know who has the power to just pardon crimes 23:31.900 --> 23:34.440 and just pardon criminals and just let criminals off the hook, 23:34.480 --> 23:35.660 even if they're super guilty, 23:36.080 --> 23:37.360 even if they're 100% guilty, 23:37.740 --> 23:38.840 even if they deserve a punishment, 23:39.140 --> 23:41.040 you know who can pardon them for absolutely 23:41.040 --> 23:43.380 any reason he wants or no reason at all? 23:43.640 --> 23:44.900 The president of the United States 23:44.900 --> 23:46.820 has the power to pardon people. 23:46.940 --> 23:47.420 Did you know that? 23:48.160 --> 23:50.940 The president today could pardon whoever he wants today. 23:51.340 --> 23:52.420 Now, typically what they do 23:52.420 --> 23:54.480 is they do this on their last day of office. 23:55.540 --> 23:58.540 They don't typically do it while they're in office. 23:58.540 --> 24:00.320 They typically like to do it when they're leaving, 24:01.060 --> 24:03.060 you know, because then if people are mad about it, 24:03.080 --> 24:04.700 it's like, well, tough, nuts to you 24:04.700 --> 24:07.940 because it's over, I'm done anyway, so whatever. 24:08.260 --> 24:10.260 So what they do is they usually wait till the very end 24:10.740 --> 24:12.560 and they have a whole bunch of staff 24:12.560 --> 24:15.100 and a whole bunch of people that will bring them 24:15.100 --> 24:17.680 all the letters and people that have written in 24:17.680 --> 24:19.520 saying why they should get a pardon, right? 24:19.900 --> 24:20.880 And so there are a lot of people 24:20.880 --> 24:23.240 that have been wrongfully put in prison 24:23.740 --> 24:25.820 or maybe they've been rightfully put in prison, 24:25.820 --> 24:27.920 but they've shown that they're super sorry 24:27.920 --> 24:29.580 and they're super repentant 24:29.580 --> 24:30.900 and they've done really good 24:30.900 --> 24:32.420 and they're trying to make things better. 24:32.940 --> 24:34.320 And so, hey, you know, the president 24:34.320 --> 24:35.700 might just cut them some slack. 24:36.260 --> 24:39.020 And so there's a staff that goes through the pleas 24:39.020 --> 24:43.760 for clemency and will give like suggestions 24:43.760 --> 24:45.460 to the president whom he should pardon 24:45.460 --> 24:47.280 and it's up to him ultimately though 24:47.280 --> 24:48.080 who he's gonna pardon. 24:48.380 --> 24:49.820 And then also sometimes they'll pardon 24:49.820 --> 24:51.480 like their buddies and friends 24:51.480 --> 24:54.600 and you know, there's like maybe corrupt things going on 24:54.600 --> 24:56.560 where back room deals are happening 24:56.560 --> 24:58.300 and money's exchanging hands or whatever. 24:58.740 --> 25:00.400 But you know, that's all bad 25:00.400 --> 25:02.640 but the idea of a president pardoning isn't bad. 25:03.140 --> 25:05.200 You know, and I believe that the governor 25:05.200 --> 25:06.840 can pardon people as well. 25:06.960 --> 25:08.800 The governor of the state, I'm not 100% sure about that 25:08.800 --> 25:11.420 but I think governors of states also have abilities 25:11.420 --> 25:12.560 to pardon people as well. 25:13.000 --> 25:13.960 And so here's the thing. 25:14.320 --> 25:17.360 Just because the president pardons one person, 25:17.680 --> 25:19.280 does that mean we're just never gonna punish 25:19.280 --> 25:19.940 a criminal again? 25:20.820 --> 25:22.200 Think about how stupid this is. 25:22.620 --> 25:24.100 I mean, what if somebody commits murder? 25:24.540 --> 25:26.100 The president says, you know what? 25:26.100 --> 25:27.540 We're gonna show mercy on this guy. 25:27.780 --> 25:30.380 In this one particular case, we're gonna make an exception. 25:30.800 --> 25:31.640 We're gonna show mercy. 25:31.800 --> 25:32.960 I'm gonna pardon this guy. 25:33.940 --> 25:36.300 Does that mean well every murderer gets out of prison? 25:36.540 --> 25:37.300 Is that what that means? 25:38.480 --> 25:40.880 You'd say that's absurd, that's stupid, that's crazy. 25:41.280 --> 25:42.900 He's pardoning this one person. 25:43.340 --> 25:44.820 He's not pardoning everybody. 25:45.640 --> 25:46.200 Does everybody understand? 25:47.540 --> 25:51.100 Jesus Christ is pardoning this one person. 25:51.480 --> 25:53.200 That's what actually happened in this story. 25:53.200 --> 25:57.040 This woman is super guilty, deserves the punishment, 25:57.680 --> 25:59.840 and yet Jesus pardons her. 26:00.400 --> 26:01.660 Does he have the power to do that? 26:01.800 --> 26:03.560 As the king of kings, Lord of lords, 26:03.820 --> 26:05.540 son of God, savior of the world? 26:05.840 --> 26:06.580 Yes, absolutely. 26:07.040 --> 26:08.900 And by the way, every time the president 26:09.520 --> 26:11.940 pardons someone, every time the governor pardons someone, 26:12.060 --> 26:13.700 you know, it's a picture of salvation 26:14.180 --> 26:16.240 because we all are going to heaven 26:16.240 --> 26:18.220 because we've been pardoned by the Lord 26:18.220 --> 26:20.600 because we're all sinners, we're all guilty. 26:20.860 --> 26:22.780 We all deserve to go to hell when we die 26:22.780 --> 26:24.740 but we've been pardoned. 26:25.620 --> 26:27.580 Now think about King David in the Old Testament. 26:28.980 --> 26:30.140 Because people will try to say, 26:30.260 --> 26:32.200 no, no, no, what the Bible saying here is 26:32.200 --> 26:34.440 in the New Testament it's all different 26:34.440 --> 26:37.320 and just, you know, it's just an adultery, 26:37.900 --> 26:39.460 free for all, legally speaking. 26:39.760 --> 26:42.040 You know, it's a sin but no more punishment for adultery. 26:42.140 --> 26:43.100 Adultery is just legal now. 26:43.500 --> 26:44.920 This is a stupid interpretation. 26:45.820 --> 26:47.640 To sit there and say, or people will say this, 26:47.900 --> 26:49.720 this is Jesus abolishing the death penalty. 26:50.700 --> 26:52.840 They will literally read this and say, 26:53.060 --> 26:55.420 Jesus is doing away with the death penalty here 26:55.420 --> 26:56.480 and we're going to prove that's false 26:56.820 --> 26:59.400 but this is the kind of bad doctrine that's being taught today 26:59.400 --> 27:01.280 even in independent fundamental Baptist churches 27:01.280 --> 27:03.380 and it's, I think it's stupid and absurd 27:03.380 --> 27:04.760 and you know what, when I was growing up 27:04.760 --> 27:07.360 in the 80s and 90s, only the most liberal churches 27:07.360 --> 27:08.000 would teach this. 27:08.720 --> 27:10.740 Super liberal, like United Methodists, 27:10.820 --> 27:12.920 yeah, you'd expect them to be anti-death penalty 27:13.420 --> 27:16.580 but no fundamental Baptist were against the death penalty. 27:16.760 --> 27:17.900 It's absurd, okay. 27:19.020 --> 27:21.920 But what they'll try to do is try to pit the Old Testament 27:21.920 --> 27:22.900 against the New Testament, 27:23.540 --> 27:25.560 which is exactly what the Pharisees are trying to do. 27:25.780 --> 27:28.000 They're trying to pit Jesus against the Old Testament. 27:29.460 --> 27:31.500 But here's what's actually going on. 27:31.760 --> 27:33.840 If we go back to the Old Testament, 27:34.380 --> 27:37.680 when the law was in full force, what did King David do? 27:38.060 --> 27:40.720 King David committed adultery. 27:41.520 --> 27:43.600 He committed adultery with Bathsheba, 27:43.800 --> 27:45.720 the wife of Uriah and you know what, 27:45.720 --> 27:48.660 he deserved to be put to death for that. 27:49.180 --> 27:51.460 According to the law, the correct punishment 27:51.460 --> 27:53.980 was that David be executed for that crime. 27:54.320 --> 27:57.640 But you know what, the Lord God pardons him in that story 27:57.640 --> 27:59.320 and Nathan the prophet tells him, 27:59.680 --> 28:02.760 you have been pardoned by God, you shall not die. 28:03.000 --> 28:05.060 He didn't say, hey, the death penalty doesn't exist 28:05.060 --> 28:06.040 so you're not gonna die. 28:06.240 --> 28:08.300 He didn't say, hey, we're abolishing the death penalty 28:08.300 --> 28:08.940 so you're not gonna die. 28:09.080 --> 28:12.140 He just said, no, God has put away your sin, 28:12.540 --> 28:13.360 you will not die. 28:13.960 --> 28:17.380 So he actually gives him a presidential pardon. 28:17.600 --> 28:20.720 He gives him a Lordly pardon there, okay? 28:21.460 --> 28:22.640 Because God has the power to do that. 28:22.660 --> 28:24.560 He can forgive whomever he wants. 28:25.360 --> 28:26.920 And so this is what we see, 28:27.060 --> 28:29.860 a beautiful story about Jesus forgiving sin. 28:30.640 --> 28:33.100 Not everybody and their brother forgiving sin, 28:33.620 --> 28:34.980 but Jesus forgiving sin. 28:35.480 --> 28:37.040 I can't go around just, I mean, 28:37.080 --> 28:38.480 otherwise I could just go to the prison 28:38.900 --> 28:40.200 and I could be like, I'm a man of God, 28:40.460 --> 28:42.260 I'm a pastor here, let this guy out. 28:42.820 --> 28:45.840 I'm pardoning him and then I'm gonna pardon this guy over here 28:45.840 --> 28:47.300 and then I'm gonna pardon this guy over here. 28:47.300 --> 28:48.200 They're gonna be like, get out of here, 28:48.200 --> 28:50.260 visiting hours are over bro, get out of here. 28:52.460 --> 28:55.220 I mean, what an absurd interpretation to read this 28:55.220 --> 28:57.120 as Jesus abolishing the death penalty. 28:57.840 --> 28:59.000 Now here's the thing, go if you would 28:59.000 --> 29:00.200 to Romans chapter 13, 29:00.420 --> 29:02.300 Romans chapter number 13 in the New Testament. 29:03.540 --> 29:05.800 And by the way, Jesus already reiterated 29:05.800 --> 29:08.460 the death penalty in Matthew chapter 15 29:08.460 --> 29:10.880 when he said that the scripture said, 29:10.880 --> 29:12.740 whoso curseth father or mother, 29:13.120 --> 29:14.180 let him die the death. 29:14.760 --> 29:18.680 And he criticized the Pharisees for compromising on that. 29:19.180 --> 29:22.020 That's probably why they're even doing this in John chapter 29:22.020 --> 29:24.340 eight is probably a reaction to that. 29:24.960 --> 29:26.640 Because now they say, well, you know, 29:26.660 --> 29:28.200 you're not backing up the law either. 29:28.460 --> 29:30.800 Well, he is though, he just understands 29:30.800 --> 29:32.760 that we gotta follow the law of the land. 29:33.340 --> 29:36.200 Look what the Bible says in Romans chapter 13 verse one, 29:36.460 --> 29:37.800 it says, let every soul be subject 29:37.800 --> 29:39.060 unto the higher powers, 29:39.400 --> 29:41.340 for there is no power but of God, 29:41.800 --> 29:44.180 the powers that be are ordained of God. 29:44.700 --> 29:46.720 Whosoever therefore resists at the power, 29:46.900 --> 29:48.580 resists at the ordinance of God, 29:48.920 --> 29:51.160 and they that resist shall receive themselves damnation. 29:51.280 --> 29:52.040 The Bible is saying here, 29:52.120 --> 29:54.660 and damnation is just a strong word for condemnation. 29:54.860 --> 29:56.540 It's not talking about going to hell in this condo. 29:56.700 --> 29:58.100 It's just talking about being condemned. 29:58.740 --> 30:01.800 And he says, look, if you are living 30:01.800 --> 30:03.460 in an area, a certain jurisdiction, 30:03.700 --> 30:06.400 you are supposed to obey the higher powers. 30:07.020 --> 30:09.140 You're supposed to obey the powers that be, 30:09.440 --> 30:11.360 the powers that be are ordained of God. 30:11.600 --> 30:13.940 God has ordained human government 30:14.960 --> 30:16.740 for the punishment of evildoers. 30:16.960 --> 30:18.380 We are not anarchists. 30:18.740 --> 30:22.140 We do not believe that stealing and murder 30:22.760 --> 30:24.500 and rape and pillage should be legal. 30:24.600 --> 30:25.960 We believe that they should be illegal 30:26.560 --> 30:28.060 and that it's the government's job 30:28.060 --> 30:29.540 to punish those people, not our job. 30:30.140 --> 30:33.120 So if somebody commits a murder or a theft or whatever, 30:33.460 --> 30:34.000 you know what we're gonna do? 30:34.140 --> 30:34.980 We're gonna call the police. 30:35.560 --> 30:37.460 We're not just gonna just, all right, guys, 30:37.640 --> 30:38.580 let's load up our guns 30:38.980 --> 30:40.540 and we're gonna go take care of this ourselves. 30:41.140 --> 30:42.420 I'm putting together a posse 30:42.840 --> 30:44.560 and we're gonna go enforce laws here. 30:44.620 --> 30:47.440 No, we have to be subject unto the higher powers. 30:47.860 --> 30:48.240 Why? 30:48.400 --> 30:50.360 Because the Bible says in verse three, 30:50.720 --> 30:51.960 rulers are not a terror to good works, 30:52.060 --> 30:52.640 but to the evil. 30:53.240 --> 30:54.920 Will that then not be afraid of the power? 30:55.340 --> 30:56.480 Do that which is good 30:56.480 --> 30:58.040 and that shall have praise of the same, 30:58.300 --> 31:00.700 for he is the minister of God to thee for good. 31:01.220 --> 31:02.760 But if thou do that which is evil, 31:02.760 --> 31:06.820 be afraid for he beareth not the what? 31:07.900 --> 31:08.460 The sword. 31:08.580 --> 31:10.080 What kind of punishment is this talking about? 31:10.680 --> 31:13.180 Sword is talking about killing people. 31:14.400 --> 31:16.840 So when the Bible says the powers that be 31:17.520 --> 31:20.480 bear not the sword in vain, 31:20.720 --> 31:23.820 he is saying that they were ordained by God 31:24.360 --> 31:26.320 to execute criminals. 31:27.300 --> 31:29.820 That is what God has ordained, human government. 31:29.820 --> 31:34.160 He has established human government to kill criminals. 31:35.000 --> 31:39.300 So if somebody commits first degree murder, death penalty. 31:39.920 --> 31:40.880 Now when I was a kid, 31:41.260 --> 31:42.580 it wasn't just first degree murder 31:42.580 --> 31:43.440 that got the death penalty. 31:43.880 --> 31:45.900 Many child molesters would get the death penalty. 31:47.880 --> 31:49.980 And not only that, when I was a kid, 31:50.240 --> 31:51.600 there was a problem with kidnapping 31:52.260 --> 31:53.860 and kidnapping was rampant. 31:54.080 --> 31:57.240 And so there was a time in the late 20th century 31:58.200 --> 32:01.300 when kidnapping was punished by the death penalty 32:02.020 --> 32:02.800 in America. 32:03.840 --> 32:06.440 And in fact, my dad was telling me a story the other day 32:06.440 --> 32:09.480 about this guy that they, 32:09.860 --> 32:12.600 I don't remember what his connection was to the story, 32:12.680 --> 32:14.240 but it was like someone that they knew 32:14.240 --> 32:16.400 or their family vaguely knew or something. 32:16.660 --> 32:19.440 But this creepy guy and his mom had warned them, 32:19.800 --> 32:21.540 hey, we need to stay away from this guy. 32:21.680 --> 32:22.440 This guy's a creep. 32:22.620 --> 32:23.540 This guy's a weirdo. 32:24.000 --> 32:26.000 Well, what ended up happening is the guy, 32:26.000 --> 32:27.400 and I hope I'm getting the story right, dad, 32:27.600 --> 32:31.100 but the guy ended up raping a woman. 32:32.160 --> 32:34.320 And normally that would not carry 32:34.320 --> 32:36.740 the death penalty in America, okay? 32:37.360 --> 32:40.500 It should, biblically it does, biblically it should, 32:40.840 --> 32:41.940 but it doesn't. 32:42.480 --> 32:43.440 But here's the thing though, 32:43.780 --> 32:46.680 is that the guy, he not only did that, 32:46.760 --> 32:49.440 but he also kept her locked up in his car 32:49.440 --> 32:50.800 for like an hour or something. 32:52.020 --> 32:54.600 So then they were able to get him on kidnapping 32:55.140 --> 32:56.040 and put him to death. 32:56.820 --> 32:58.280 And this was someone that they knew 32:58.280 --> 33:00.960 getting executed for kidnapping. 33:01.480 --> 33:03.380 Because they're like, well, this falls under kidnapping 33:03.380 --> 33:05.040 because not only did you rape her, 33:05.120 --> 33:07.560 you also wrongfully imprisoned her 33:07.560 --> 33:09.220 for X amount of hours or whatever. 33:09.580 --> 33:11.960 That's kidnapping, that's the death penalty. 33:12.180 --> 33:15.340 Okay, so this is not some crazy idea 33:16.040 --> 33:17.360 that people would be executed 33:17.360 --> 33:18.640 for things other than murder. 33:19.140 --> 33:21.580 Throughout history, throughout American history, 33:22.080 --> 33:23.120 the death penalty has been there. 33:23.120 --> 33:24.780 You go back to those laws of Connecticut 33:24.780 --> 33:26.260 that Pastor Shelley loved so much, 33:26.360 --> 33:28.120 1673 laws of Connecticut, 33:28.380 --> 33:30.380 and they're pretty much executing people 33:30.380 --> 33:31.620 for everything the Bible says. 33:32.200 --> 33:34.400 They're pretty much just following the Bible's 33:34.400 --> 33:37.080 recommendations in the Old Testament on how they do it. 33:38.020 --> 33:41.520 So notice, human government is the minister of God 33:41.520 --> 33:45.800 ordained by God, he bears not the sword in vain, 33:46.120 --> 33:48.280 for he is the minister of God, 33:48.680 --> 33:51.680 a revenger to execute wrath upon him 33:51.680 --> 33:53.940 that doeth evil, wherefore you must need to be subject. 33:54.800 --> 33:57.900 He's saying, look, this guy, I mean, look, I'm a minister. 33:58.660 --> 34:00.460 He said, well, of course, a Baptist pastor is a minister. 34:00.800 --> 34:02.100 You wanna know who else is the minister of God? 34:02.520 --> 34:06.500 The executioner putting people to death 34:06.500 --> 34:10.520 who are evil violators of whether it's first degree 34:10.520 --> 34:12.340 murder, kidnapping, rape, whatever. 34:13.440 --> 34:16.080 That's also, he's, I mean, the executioner 34:16.080 --> 34:18.220 could literally say he should park 34:18.220 --> 34:19.820 in the clergy park and say, I'm a minister. 34:20.300 --> 34:21.400 I'm a minister of God. 34:22.520 --> 34:24.240 I mean, that's what the Bible says. 34:25.600 --> 34:27.940 You know, these people are doing the Lord's work 34:28.380 --> 34:29.780 when they're executing criminals, 34:29.860 --> 34:31.600 but I'm supposed to believe that Jesus 34:31.600 --> 34:32.540 is against the death penalty. 34:33.220 --> 34:34.500 See how crazy this is? 34:35.020 --> 34:37.500 First of all, if Jesus is against the death penalty, 34:37.560 --> 34:39.180 he's basically saying that God's law is wrong. 34:40.060 --> 34:44.740 But then these bogus, confused, illiterate, 34:44.740 --> 34:47.480 old IFP types will come along and here's what they'll say. 34:47.880 --> 34:49.200 They'll say, no, no, no, this is difference 34:49.200 --> 34:50.380 between the Old Testament and the New Testament. 34:50.560 --> 34:52.180 We're under grace, we're not under the law. 34:52.620 --> 34:55.840 Folks, please, being under grace, but not under the law 34:55.840 --> 34:57.840 does not mean we have an anarchy 34:57.840 --> 34:58.980 from a civil perspective. 35:00.400 --> 35:02.780 Otherwise, every time the cops pull me over for speeding, 35:02.940 --> 35:05.240 I could just say, excuse me, we're under grace. 35:06.040 --> 35:08.000 You're trying to bring me under the law right now. 35:08.720 --> 35:09.480 What do you want? 35:09.560 --> 35:10.660 You want circumcision next? 35:10.940 --> 35:13.620 Like, you know, it's the New Testament, brother. 35:15.080 --> 35:17.040 Nobody would agree, and nobody would agree 35:17.040 --> 35:19.320 that stealing should be legal because New Testament. 35:20.620 --> 35:21.920 Think about how stupid it would be. 35:22.220 --> 35:23.960 How can you have a law against stealing 35:23.960 --> 35:24.800 in the New Testament? 35:25.040 --> 35:26.080 This is the New Testament, brother. 35:26.560 --> 35:27.880 And you say, no one would ever say that. 35:27.980 --> 35:28.320 Oh, really? 35:28.600 --> 35:30.000 That's funny, because you know what? 35:30.200 --> 35:32.400 Cities all over America now are saying 35:32.400 --> 35:34.160 that they're not gonna prosecute shoplifting. 35:34.360 --> 35:35.880 They're not gonna prosecute stealing. 35:36.160 --> 35:38.360 You're not allowed to stop people from stealing, right? 35:38.460 --> 35:39.880 And now you have all these businesses 35:39.880 --> 35:43.340 having to lock everything up and put things in, 35:43.400 --> 35:44.140 behind lock and key. 35:44.220 --> 35:45.400 I saw this one business owner. 35:45.400 --> 35:47.100 He labeled every item. 35:47.340 --> 35:49.880 It was like you can't get anybody in trouble 35:49.880 --> 35:51.460 for shoplifting under $75. 35:51.780 --> 35:54.400 So he labeled every single thing in the store $75. 35:54.840 --> 35:56.620 Candy bar, $75. 35:57.080 --> 35:58.920 Can of Coke, $75. 35:59.180 --> 36:00.560 Stick of gum, $75. 36:00.900 --> 36:02.220 But then when you walk up to the register, 36:02.340 --> 36:03.440 he has a coupon for you. 36:03.640 --> 36:05.160 When you actually bring it to the register 36:05.160 --> 36:07.000 and he'll bring it down to its actual price. 36:07.200 --> 36:08.440 With a coupon, you know, 36:08.520 --> 36:10.580 just kind of showing how stupid it is 36:10.580 --> 36:12.540 that you have people that would just think, 36:12.720 --> 36:14.620 hey, we should just let people steal. 36:15.100 --> 36:16.520 And hey, does everybody remember 36:16.520 --> 36:19.220 when the food stamp benefit was held up 36:19.220 --> 36:20.340 for like a month or two? 36:20.620 --> 36:22.420 And you have all these people going to TikTok 36:22.980 --> 36:24.960 and going on whatever social media 36:24.960 --> 36:27.940 and saying like, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna shoplift. 36:28.120 --> 36:29.900 Don't you dare try to stop me from stealing. 36:30.280 --> 36:31.360 I gotta feed my kids. 36:31.500 --> 36:32.480 I gotta feed my family. 36:32.780 --> 36:33.680 I'm gonna be stealing. 36:34.000 --> 36:34.620 I'm gonna be shopping. 36:34.760 --> 36:37.340 And then there were all these libtards 36:37.840 --> 36:38.920 that were literally saying, 36:39.220 --> 36:41.720 hey, don't stop people from shoplifting. 36:41.980 --> 36:44.020 It's our duty to look the other way 36:44.020 --> 36:45.500 while poor people shoplift 36:46.460 --> 36:48.200 because they need this stuff. 36:48.960 --> 36:51.180 And then remember, they all freaked out when it was like, 36:51.220 --> 36:54.840 hey, you can't spend food stamps on soda pop and ice cream, 36:55.600 --> 36:57.560 which has zero nutritional value. 36:57.620 --> 36:58.640 It's not keeping you alive. 36:59.340 --> 37:01.340 It's literally called a supplemental nutritional. 37:02.220 --> 37:03.940 I don't remember what the AP stands for. 37:04.780 --> 37:05.880 Snap, right? 37:06.220 --> 37:11.860 Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, thank you. 37:11.960 --> 37:13.140 I was trying to think of something funny 37:13.140 --> 37:14.700 to make it stand for instead, but. 37:17.460 --> 37:20.260 But supplemental nutritious and party in my mouth 37:20.260 --> 37:22.200 is what a lot of these people think it is, right? 37:22.780 --> 37:24.520 Nutrition and a party in my mouth. 37:24.680 --> 37:27.100 That's what the AP said, A party in my mouth. 37:27.280 --> 37:28.660 That's what I think it stands for, right? 37:29.360 --> 37:30.520 But the snap them. 37:31.200 --> 37:35.260 But the point is that everybody would agree 37:35.940 --> 37:38.180 that the New Testament doesn't mean 37:38.180 --> 37:39.600 we don't criminalize stealing. 37:40.120 --> 37:41.660 The New Testament doesn't mean 37:41.660 --> 37:42.720 we don't criminalize murder. 37:42.720 --> 37:45.880 Okay, well now let me just shock everybody 37:45.880 --> 37:47.560 with this wild bombshell, 37:47.760 --> 37:49.300 is that the New Testament doesn't mean 37:49.300 --> 37:51.020 we decriminalize adultery either. 37:52.060 --> 37:53.980 Because adultery is not just a sin. 37:54.240 --> 37:55.880 Adultery is also a crime. 37:56.860 --> 37:59.900 It has been illegal throughout history 37:59.900 --> 38:03.380 in the United States of America for hundreds of years. 38:04.100 --> 38:05.460 Adultery is illegal. 38:05.600 --> 38:06.820 And by the way, if you're in the military, 38:06.980 --> 38:07.840 adultery is still illegal. 38:08.480 --> 38:11.060 If you're in the military and you say, 38:11.060 --> 38:12.860 well I can do whatever I want when I'm on leave 38:12.860 --> 38:15.040 or whatever, you commit adultery while you're in the military, 38:15.140 --> 38:16.340 you'll be court-martialed. 38:16.560 --> 38:17.600 You can be put in prison. 38:18.340 --> 38:20.980 You get tantamount to a felony on your record 38:20.980 --> 38:22.360 for committing adultery. 38:22.780 --> 38:26.540 What kind of a stupid, bizarre doctrine is it that says, 38:26.840 --> 38:28.100 well, because we're free in Christ, 38:28.500 --> 38:31.000 now there's no criminal penalty on adultery 38:31.000 --> 38:31.720 that's absurd. 38:33.000 --> 38:33.840 It's absurd. 38:34.660 --> 38:36.800 And you know what, this is such a modern doctrine. 38:37.360 --> 38:42.960 Because guess what, until the year 2003, 2003 folks, 38:43.980 --> 38:45.120 that's not ancient history. 38:45.480 --> 38:47.280 That's the same dispensation, okay? 38:47.460 --> 38:48.720 And no, I'm not a dispensationalist. 38:52.560 --> 38:54.280 2003 homosexuality was still illegal 38:54.280 --> 38:55.420 in a lot of places in America. 38:56.480 --> 38:57.440 Until 2003. 38:58.280 --> 39:02.000 It was pretty much illegal everywhere until the 1960s. 39:02.480 --> 39:04.420 And I mean, we're not just talking about some law 39:04.420 --> 39:07.120 on the books in some crusty office somewhere. 39:07.540 --> 39:11.420 No, I'm saying the police were literally raiding 39:12.100 --> 39:15.340 these queer establishments in the 1950s, 39:15.380 --> 39:17.940 in the 1960s, in the 1970s. 39:18.140 --> 39:20.020 I mean, they are enforcing this stuff. 39:20.400 --> 39:23.320 They are actually taking these people to court. 39:23.740 --> 39:24.440 They're punishing them. 39:24.640 --> 39:26.260 And they weren't giving them the biblical punishment, 39:26.260 --> 39:27.460 but it was still illegal. 39:27.820 --> 39:30.060 But now you have a bunch of independent, 39:30.060 --> 39:34.040 fundamental Baptists that are so spiritually bankrupt 39:34.040 --> 39:37.820 and theologically bankrupt and so messed up on their doctrine 39:37.820 --> 39:40.280 that they think homosexuality should be legal. 39:41.280 --> 39:43.780 And they're like, well, you can't legislate morality. 39:44.200 --> 39:46.340 Okay, well then you can't legislate against stealing. 39:47.740 --> 39:49.680 If you can't legislate morality, 39:50.300 --> 39:52.020 then you can't legislate against murder. 39:52.700 --> 39:54.540 Why are you trying to impose your morality? 39:56.360 --> 39:58.300 You know, I mean, think about how dumb that is. 39:58.640 --> 40:00.980 Now look, I'm not saying that all sin should be illegal. 40:01.460 --> 40:03.660 You know which sins I think should be illegal? 40:04.000 --> 40:06.880 The ones that are illegal in God's perfect criminal code. 40:07.100 --> 40:09.120 God had a perfect criminal code. 40:09.620 --> 40:10.840 That's what should be illegal. 40:12.440 --> 40:15.900 You know, so yeah, adultery is not just a moral sin. 40:16.140 --> 40:18.040 You know, our favorite new buzzword. 40:18.620 --> 40:20.500 It's also a crime. 40:21.540 --> 40:21.980 It's a crime. 40:22.140 --> 40:23.940 I mean, you're entering into a legal contract. 40:24.080 --> 40:26.180 I'm entering into a legal contract with my wife, 40:26.700 --> 40:28.800 saying that we will keep ourselves 40:28.800 --> 40:31.080 only unto each other so long as you. 40:31.160 --> 40:33.180 Can you see how this will protect both parties 40:33.180 --> 40:36.080 so that I'm not raising some other dude's kid 40:36.080 --> 40:37.980 because my wife is out committing adultery? 40:38.780 --> 40:41.120 I mean, can you see why that would be stealing from me? 40:41.660 --> 40:44.160 Robbing me, ripping me off, right? 40:44.640 --> 40:47.500 So you know, if I'm out there impregnating 40:47.500 --> 40:49.300 some other dude's wife or something like, 40:49.580 --> 40:51.740 this is destructive to society. 40:52.220 --> 40:53.820 It is violating the contract. 40:54.200 --> 40:55.840 It is violating the law. 40:55.840 --> 40:58.640 And just because America has decided 40:58.640 --> 41:01.560 to just make all this weird stuff legal, 41:01.740 --> 41:03.540 doesn't mean that it should be legal. 41:03.580 --> 41:05.460 Just because Jesus pardoned one person 41:05.800 --> 41:08.080 does not mean he's saying, let's have anarchy. 41:08.820 --> 41:10.300 Look, does Jesus pardon a thief? 41:10.700 --> 41:12.540 Yeah, does Jesus pardon a murderer? 41:12.920 --> 41:14.800 Yeah, does Jesus pardon sinners? 41:15.280 --> 41:17.300 Yeah, Jesus Christ came to the world to save sinners, 41:17.320 --> 41:19.980 but that doesn't mean that the government shouldn't exist 41:19.980 --> 41:21.880 or that the government shouldn't punish criminals. 41:21.880 --> 41:24.820 The minister of God to punish criminals. 41:26.240 --> 41:27.640 Homos should be illegal. 41:28.400 --> 41:29.700 Adulteries should be illegal. 41:30.140 --> 41:31.360 Stealing should be illegal. 41:31.840 --> 41:33.600 I mean, I think this is the biggest no-brainer ever. 41:34.060 --> 41:36.020 But what they wanna do hypocritically 41:36.020 --> 41:37.540 is they wanna say, well, yeah, 41:37.640 --> 41:40.600 let's make murder and stealing illegal, 41:41.000 --> 41:44.020 but let's make adultery and homosexuality legal. 41:45.140 --> 41:46.960 Now, why is this hypocritical? 41:47.100 --> 41:49.920 Because it's all the same type of stuff. 41:50.580 --> 41:53.840 In God's, I mean, God's lumping it in the same category. 41:54.120 --> 41:56.620 I mean, it's explained in the same breadth 41:56.620 --> 41:58.960 in so many places, these different things. 41:59.260 --> 42:01.300 But I'll tell you exactly why the disconnect. 42:01.880 --> 42:04.080 Why suddenly, well, yeah, criminalize this, 42:04.160 --> 42:04.600 but don't do that. 42:04.720 --> 42:06.660 Because basically they're basing their doctrine 42:07.200 --> 42:09.240 on exactly what America does. 42:10.520 --> 42:12.180 So like whatever America does 42:12.180 --> 42:14.300 is automatically the perfect government to them. 42:15.000 --> 42:18.200 Whatever the Republican party is saying, that's what it is. 42:18.200 --> 42:21.440 So if the government says it's that way, 42:21.480 --> 42:25.100 but here's the thing, God is more wise than the government. 42:25.600 --> 42:27.520 Like, how can you think that everything 42:27.520 --> 42:29.440 the American government does is perfect and right? 42:30.220 --> 42:31.880 Look, maybe you love the American government, 42:31.960 --> 42:33.360 maybe you love the U.S. Constitution, 42:33.820 --> 42:35.820 maybe you love America, you love Arizona, 42:35.880 --> 42:38.180 and you love the way that they do business, great. 42:38.520 --> 42:39.680 You know what, I like your attitude, 42:39.840 --> 42:41.660 I like how positive you are about the country 42:41.660 --> 42:44.060 that you live in, rah, rah, shish kumbah, 42:44.220 --> 42:46.640 God bless America, pass the apple pie, and the fireworks, 42:46.640 --> 42:50.440 but at the end of the day though, God's law is perfect, 42:50.760 --> 42:53.040 and don't you dare insult God's law 42:53.740 --> 42:55.820 because you think American law is better 42:55.820 --> 42:57.500 than God's law because it isn't. 42:57.960 --> 43:00.240 And some day Jesus Christ is coming again. 43:01.680 --> 43:03.500 And when Jesus Christ comes again, 43:03.940 --> 43:06.500 the Bible says he will rule all nations 43:06.500 --> 43:07.720 with a rod of iron. 43:08.480 --> 43:12.040 He's not gonna come back and be super soft on crime. 43:12.620 --> 43:14.060 He's not gonna, you think Jesus is gonna come back 43:14.060 --> 43:16.460 and say, hey, shoplifting's okay, up to $75. 43:18.920 --> 43:20.260 Rod of iron over here. 43:21.060 --> 43:22.180 You think that's what he's gonna say? 43:22.620 --> 43:24.920 No, he's gonna be punishing criminals. 43:25.120 --> 43:28.700 Now look, do we have to wonder what it's gonna be like? 43:29.140 --> 43:29.960 You know what it's gonna be like? 43:30.060 --> 43:32.340 It's gonna be like the laws that he has in the Bible. 43:33.020 --> 43:34.740 If he says, hey, first degree murder 43:34.740 --> 43:36.740 should be put to death, second degree murder 43:36.740 --> 43:37.700 does not get put to death. 43:38.920 --> 43:40.660 First degree murder gets put to death. 43:41.500 --> 43:43.760 So when Jesus returns, he's not gonna be like, 43:43.760 --> 43:45.380 all right guys, got whole new laws 43:45.380 --> 43:46.260 that you've never heard of. 43:47.300 --> 43:48.980 Everything you've learned from reading 43:48.980 --> 43:51.740 Leviticus, Numbers Deuteronomy, forget all that, 43:52.220 --> 43:53.820 whole new criminal code. 43:54.400 --> 43:57.800 And I'm here with Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson 43:57.800 --> 44:00.440 and John Adams, and we've got it all figured out for you. 44:00.740 --> 44:03.020 And it's a whole new word of God. 44:03.440 --> 44:05.040 The third Testament, Book of Mormon, 44:05.220 --> 44:06.420 other Testament of Jesus Christ. 44:06.560 --> 44:07.880 What kind of stupidity is that? 44:09.040 --> 44:12.480 I know exactly how Jesus Christ is gonna rule and reign 44:12.480 --> 44:14.760 because I already have the mind of Christ right here 44:14.760 --> 44:17.320 out of the Bible telling me what God thinks 44:17.320 --> 44:19.000 is a fair punishment for a crime. 44:19.940 --> 44:21.020 I mean, think about it. 44:21.320 --> 44:22.760 Doesn't the punishment need to fit the crime? 44:24.340 --> 44:26.560 If somebody stole a stick of gum up, 44:26.680 --> 44:28.380 cut off one of their fingers, you'd say, whoa, 44:29.500 --> 44:31.580 that's way too much of a punishment, amen? 44:32.760 --> 44:35.580 If somebody stole a pencil and you permanently maimed them, 44:36.000 --> 44:38.700 that's horrible, that's overkill, that's too much. 44:40.960 --> 44:42.800 I mean, what if somebody stole a car 44:42.800 --> 44:43.800 and they got the death penalty? 44:44.220 --> 44:44.560 Too much. 44:45.200 --> 44:47.560 And by the way, there have been times in history 44:47.560 --> 44:53.060 where cattle wrestling is a hanging offense in these parts. 44:54.820 --> 44:57.260 But is that biblical to kill cattle wrestlers? 44:57.540 --> 44:59.220 To kill someone for stealing a horse? 44:59.580 --> 45:01.140 To kill someone for stealing cows? 45:01.660 --> 45:02.660 No, it is not biblical. 45:03.080 --> 45:04.860 That is going too far in the other direction. 45:05.640 --> 45:07.300 So where do we find the sweet spot 45:07.300 --> 45:08.360 we study the Word of God? 45:09.280 --> 45:11.820 Nobody's trying to bring us back under the Old Testament. 45:12.320 --> 45:15.480 Amen, we're in the New Testament, we're under grace, 45:15.740 --> 45:17.460 we never wanna go back to the old covenant 45:17.460 --> 45:19.160 that God made with the children of Israel 45:19.160 --> 45:21.900 on Mount Sinai, don't wanna be in the Old Testament, 45:22.320 --> 45:24.620 Old Testament's done, we're New Testament, 45:25.120 --> 45:27.680 but all scripture is still profitable for doctrine 45:27.680 --> 45:28.980 and for instruction and righteousness. 45:29.360 --> 45:32.020 And if I were king, I would be governing 45:32.020 --> 45:35.220 based on what God did when he was king. 45:35.220 --> 45:35.440 Amen. 45:36.700 --> 45:38.840 Oh, what a crazy idea, what a wild idea. 45:39.900 --> 45:42.960 But people wanna twist this story to say no death penalty, 45:43.800 --> 45:44.940 adultery should be legal, 45:46.140 --> 45:47.700 and then they'll take it another level 45:47.700 --> 45:49.840 and say homos should be legal also. 45:50.060 --> 45:53.940 Even though until the last generation, 45:54.060 --> 45:55.020 until the boomer generation, 45:55.540 --> 45:57.560 that idea was unhurt, nobody would have said that. 45:58.340 --> 46:00.280 Everybody agreed to criminalize it. 46:01.060 --> 46:03.720 So I guess we finally came into the New Testament 46:03.720 --> 46:05.440 around 1960, 1970. 46:06.960 --> 46:08.920 The Old Testament was really hanging on 46:08.920 --> 46:09.740 for a long time there. 46:10.680 --> 46:12.440 2003, we finally entered the New Testament. 46:12.620 --> 46:14.640 So we've been in the New Testament for about 23 years now. 46:15.460 --> 46:17.880 So don't get too anxious about the second coming of Christ 46:17.880 --> 46:19.500 because according to these people, 46:19.600 --> 46:21.320 the New Testament just started 23 years ago. 46:21.480 --> 46:22.880 Let it cook for a little bit, right? 46:24.100 --> 46:25.160 Finally, we get it. 46:26.580 --> 46:27.960 I mean, can you imagine a pastor 46:27.960 --> 46:30.580 in the year 2003 rejoicing and saying finally, 46:31.040 --> 46:32.140 be in a homo's legal? 46:32.340 --> 46:33.380 We're finally following the Bible. 46:33.880 --> 46:36.040 You'd say this guy is a sick weirdo, 46:36.380 --> 46:39.040 but yet in 2026, you have independent, 46:39.060 --> 46:40.880 fundamental Baptist pastors who believe 46:40.880 --> 46:42.660 that homosexuality should be legal 46:42.660 --> 46:44.680 simply because 23 years have gone by. 46:46.100 --> 46:50.040 I mean, does anybody see how crazy that is, right? 46:50.300 --> 46:53.140 Or how crazy it is to think that marriage 46:53.140 --> 46:56.180 should just have no punishment for violating it 46:56.180 --> 46:58.200 when it's a legally binding contract 46:58.930 --> 47:01.160 and that you can just go out and just ignore it 47:01.160 --> 47:03.140 and just sleep around when you're married 47:03.610 --> 47:10.140 and you potentially risk exposing your mate to diseases 47:10.140 --> 47:14.460 and fathering bastard children and all these things. 47:14.620 --> 47:17.860 I mean, folks, this stuff destroys society 47:17.860 --> 47:19.660 just like the shoplifting and the stealing 47:19.660 --> 47:21.480 and the murder and everything else. 47:22.120 --> 47:25.620 And so I think that as we read the Bible this morning, 47:25.620 --> 47:28.760 I think you see that John chapter eight is a great story. 47:28.840 --> 47:32.080 We don't need to discard the story, Mr. NIV man. 47:32.360 --> 47:35.060 We don't need to discard the story, Mr. ESV man. 47:35.260 --> 47:38.220 What we need to do is just understand it properly, right? 47:38.440 --> 47:39.720 Because it's a beautiful story. 47:39.820 --> 47:40.400 It's a great story. 47:40.940 --> 47:43.700 Jesus once again outsmarting his enemy 47:43.700 --> 47:45.880 fits in with the rest of the New Testament. 47:47.020 --> 47:51.500 Jesus showing clemency, showing pardon, right? 47:51.940 --> 47:52.920 Forgiving the guilty. 47:53.700 --> 47:55.500 And look, can murderers get saved? 47:55.960 --> 47:56.520 Absolutely. 47:57.180 --> 47:58.440 Can adulterers get saved? 47:58.800 --> 47:59.340 Absolutely. 48:00.440 --> 48:04.040 The Lord Jesus Christ is ready to forgive anyone 48:04.040 --> 48:06.480 and everyone who believes on his name. 48:07.860 --> 48:10.560 Anyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus 48:10.560 --> 48:14.060 will be saved, right? 48:14.180 --> 48:17.000 Nobody is too sinful to where if they came to Jesus, 48:17.160 --> 48:19.520 he'd be like, no, can't do it. 48:20.180 --> 48:22.800 Now is the president telling yes to everyone? 48:22.980 --> 48:24.720 No, the president's saying, nope, can't pardon, 48:24.900 --> 48:27.160 can't do it, can't do it, can't do it. 48:27.240 --> 48:28.540 I mean, look, there are prisoners 48:28.540 --> 48:30.240 who keep writing letters to the president, 48:30.560 --> 48:31.420 writing letters to the president, 48:31.720 --> 48:32.680 writing letters to the governor, 48:32.980 --> 48:34.900 writing to the governor, writing to the president, 48:35.120 --> 48:36.880 writing to the president, writing to the president. 48:37.080 --> 48:37.600 And you know what? 48:37.860 --> 48:40.360 That same criminal who's writing to the president, 48:40.520 --> 48:42.760 getting ignored, you know what all he has to do 48:42.760 --> 48:44.720 is drop on his knees in his jail cell 48:45.760 --> 48:47.680 and write one letter to the Lord. 48:47.680 --> 48:57.020 Lord, dear Mr. President, our Father in heaven, be merciful to me as sinner. I'm putting all 48:57.020 --> 49:00.660 my faith and trust in your shed blood, your death, throne, and resurrection, save me right 49:00.660 --> 49:05.900 now, and the pardon is guaranteed, because Jesus said, him that comeeth to me, I will 49:05.900 --> 49:14.180 in no wise cast out. It reminds me of the song, Wider Than Snow, where he says, 49:14.180 --> 49:19.620 you know, he never said no to anybody who came to him, asking for pardon. Somebody 49:19.620 --> 49:24.360 who comes to him and puts their faith and trust in him, he's never said no. Him that 49:24.360 --> 49:27.440 comeeth to me, I will in no wise, whosoever shall call upon the name of 49:27.440 --> 49:31.680 Lord shall be saved. So, you know, I walk away from John chapter 8 and I'm 49:31.680 --> 49:35.940 thinking about the forgiveness of Christ, his power to forgiveness, his 49:35.940 --> 49:40.640 special power to forgive sins that not everyone has. Only one person has it. 49:40.640 --> 49:45.960 Jesus. So, I'm reading John 8 and I'm just like, wow, this is awesome. Jesus just 49:45.960 --> 49:49.320 has the power to forgive sins. Here's a super guilty person and he just 49:49.320 --> 49:53.460 forgives her and she's super guilty. There's no question and she's doomed and 49:53.460 --> 49:56.400 she should be killed, but bam, he's just able to just forgive and just 49:56.400 --> 50:01.340 pardon. Wow. Isn't it cool that I'm forgiven too? I'm pardoned too. I'm 50:01.340 --> 50:04.900 saved too. I'm glad that it's the easiest presidential pardon that 50:04.900 --> 50:14.340 anybody could ever get. Meanwhile, a bunch of compromised, libtard, bozo, fake 50:14.340 --> 50:18.780 fundamentalists, neo-evangelical pastors with a KJV pretending to be 50:18.780 --> 50:23.580 fundamentalists with their little ultra-modern doctrine of reading it like, 50:23.880 --> 50:28.280 oh, look, the death penalty is unscriptural. Oh, look, adultery should be 50:28.280 --> 50:32.980 legal. And because, you know, everybody loves fags now, I think even 50:32.980 --> 50:37.400 phagotry should be illegal. This is great. I can prove Stephen Anderson, all 50:37.400 --> 50:43.960 those darn Andersonites. It's like, bro, everybody was an Andersonite. When I 50:43.960 --> 50:48.820 was a kid, they just, before there even was an Anderson, I was a themite. I 50:48.820 --> 50:58.680 was a, I was an old IFBite. As if I made any of this up. Don't throw out 50:58.680 --> 51:03.720 the passage. Throw out the dumb interpretation. John 8.1 through 11 is a 51:03.720 --> 51:05.880 beautiful passage. I love it. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. 51:06.140 --> 51:09.300 Father, we thank you so much for your word. We thank you so much for the 51:09.300 --> 51:12.440 clarity that you give us, Lord. Please help people to understand the 51:12.440 --> 51:15.880 difference between old and New Testament Lord and that people would 51:15.880 --> 51:20.940 be able to understand your word and understand that we need to stand up 51:20.940 --> 51:25.240 against sin and we should take a hard line against things like murder and 51:25.240 --> 51:29.420 adultery and rape and kidnapping, Lord. We should really take a hard line 51:29.420 --> 51:35.020 against things like stealing and other sins, but at the same time realize that 51:35.020 --> 51:39.720 spiritual forgiveness comes through the Lord Jesus Christ and how we are 51:39.720 --> 51:44.020 super thankful for that part in, Lord. And Lord, sometimes even a 51:44.020 --> 51:47.480 presidential pardon comes in handy or a gubernatorial pardon comes in 51:47.480 --> 51:51.460 handy on this earth, even Lord. But Lord, I pray that you just bless us 51:51.460 --> 51:53.900 now as we go our separate ways and it's in Christ's name. We pray. Amen.