Topic: DON’T CONDEMN PEOPLE – Bishop Mike Okonkwo Devotional 14 MARCH 2024 The Redeemed Evangelical Mission

Topic: DON’T CONDEMN PEOPLE – Bishop Mike Okonkwo Devotional 14 MARCH 2024 The Redeemed Evangelical Mission

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DON’T CONDEMN PEOPLE

“She said, no man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more”.

John 8:11(KJV)

In today’s scripture, a woman was caught in adultery. The mistake those who caught her made was that they took her to Jesus, expecting Him to endorse their plans after the judgment pronounced in the Old Testament. They forgot that they were coming to Mercy personified.

When they bring somebody overtaken in a fault to you, how do you look at it, mercifully or mercilessly? Do you judge the person? Or do you offer the person a lifeline, a safety net to survive? Do you stomp on them and tell them, ‘I am better than you’? You will be shocked by the number of people who were driven from church because of this Pharisaic spirit. Jesus did not come for the church. He came for the world. When the world comes to Him, they will become the church. Should you ignore or welcome sin? No, but rather than seek ways to condemn the person, seek ways to restore the person.

They brought the woman to Jesus, not to the church. It was church folks who were carrying heavy stones, waiting for the instruction to go ahead. The law says we must stone her and kill her. But the subtlety of the law is that a woman cannot commit adultery alone. It takes two to commit adultery. They only brought the woman. So where was the man? The law always points at the mistakes of others, forgetting that other fingers are pointing at you.

When people enter the church, celebrate the fact that at least the person is in church, and there will be a transformation as long as the word of God is coming.

Years back, I asked the church, what will you do when the earring and dreadlock generation begin to come to church and when ladies begin to come to church in trousers? Will you drive them? It looked absurd. This was a time when no woman dared to wear trousers, even in their homes. Now it is happening! The message is the same, but the method has changed. If Jesus does not condemn people, why should you condemn them?