Light In A Confused World

A crowd presses forward with stones in their hands, certain they’re on God’s side. Then Jesus kneels, writes in the dust, and turns a courtroom into a rescue. We journey through one of Scripture’s most gripping collisions of law, conscience, and grace to ask a hard question with a hopeful answer: what happens when unflinching truth stands shoulder to shoulder with radical mercy?

We start by naming the confusion many feel around sexuality and identity, then anchor the conversation in God’s design. If God crafted human intimacy, he defines its goodness and its guardrails. Drawing from Old Testament commands often misunderstood today, we unpack why boundaries protect people, families, and community trust. We also examine how spiritual leaders can twist law to win arguments or trap rivals, and how Jesus refuses the game—calling sin what it is while dismantling the cycle of shame. When he says, He who is without sin, let him throw the first stone, the moment becomes a mirror. Stones drop. Hearts wake up.

From there, Jesus declares, I am the light of the world. We explore that claim through the lens of the Feast of Tabernacles, the pillar of fire in the wilderness, and the psalms that call God’s word a lamp. Light exposes, but it also guides—showing a path out of secrecy, fear, and self-justification. Along the way, we address the legal backdrop of witnesses, the selective accusation that ignored the man involved, and the deeper trap meant for Jesus. His response reframes everything: Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. Not a shrug at sin, but an invitation to freedom.

If you’ve ever wondered how to hold conviction without cruelty, or how to extend mercy without losing moral clarity, this conversation offers a way forward. We speak as pastors and neighbors, urging courage, compassion, and a return to the source of truth that brings life. Listen, share with a friend, and help us spread this light—subscribe, leave a review, and tell us where you’ve seen mercy change the story.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com. 

Transcript

Opening And Cultural Confusion

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Come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.

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Welcome to Come On Up, the radio ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

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If we have these thoughts, these convictions, it's not because we're weird, it's because the Lord has put these things in our hearts. This isn't right. And now it's gone to the next level. You've got guys going in the girls' room because they call themselves girls, or something else in between. And it's just not right. It's destructive for everybody involved.

God’s Design For Sexuality

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Can we stand up and say that? It's insane how certain subjects have become so controversial in our culture today. People have come to a point where they no longer see what the big deal is when it comes to distortions of moral sexuality. But as Pastor Carl says, somebody needs to stand up and say something. In his message today, Pastor Carl gives you the raw, unfiltered truth concerning what the Bible has to say about human sexuality. God designed sexuality. And so shouldn't he have the final word on what it is and isn't supposed to be? And now, here's Pastor Carl.

Old Testament Admonitions And Conscience

Incest, Boundaries, And Care For Others

Law, Witnesses, And Twisted Motives

The Woman Caught In Adultery

Mercy, Conviction, And New Life

I Am The Light Of The World

Scripture As Light And Guidance

Pharisees Challenge Jesus’ Witness

Jesus’ Origin, Truth, And Judgment

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Verse 15. You know, these things were written because people were doing it. And we like to think we're in an advanced society where these things won't happen, but we've already looked back at these admonitions that we're doing all these things. I don't know how soon this will be legalized. But we're on that track. Unless we stand up and say, no, this is wrong. This is an abomination. But look at this. He not only is the man to be put to death, but the animal should be put to death as well. Does that seem a little cruel? Well, first, there are two thoughts that I have on this. One is that, you know, animals are made lower than man. And so we kill animals to eat animals, and so just killing an animal is is not a something that is cruel necessarily if you do it right. But the other thought is if you see that animal walking around on the hillside, there's Billy the goat. Isn't that Frank's friend who was stoned to death because of that? It brings back those images, it brings back that sin. It uh it makes it a joke, and so we we wouldn't get totally out of our thinking. So you need to get rid of the person who committed it and the animal as well. Now, something interesting I noticed in a lot of these admonitions, most of the time it's talking about a man. If a man comes upon a woman in adultery, his neighbor's wife, and so forth, it seems like the man usually is the one that pushes these ideas and causes these actions to happen. And yet sometimes it's the woman that does it. In this case, it's the woman that doesn't want to have anything to do with a man. But, verse 16, if a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, he shall kill the woman and the animal, they shall surely be put to death, their blood is upon them. I don't know how much to comment on some of these things. And I like to think that we have consciences that are aligned with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that help us to understand this is just not right. And yet we live in a society that more and more is moving towards this idea that why isn't that okay? Because we've abandoned the Lord. We need to lift up the banner of the Lord. We need to declare what's right, we need to stand up for truth. This is what God has called us to do: to be salt and light in this world that desperately needs truth. Verse 17 says, if a man takes his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing, and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people, and he has uncovered his sister's nakedness, and he shall bear his guilt. Again, it could mean that there is some sexual encounter there. It could just mean exposing the nakedness of his sister. Either way, it is not right. I don't know about you, but I had problems in high school going to gym and undressing and taking showers and with other guys. It just didn't seem right. And there's a reason why it doesn't seem right, is because it isn't. If we have these thoughts, these convictions, it's not because we're weird, it's because the Lord has put these things in our hearts. This isn't right. And now it's it's gone to the next level. You've got guys going in the girls' room because they call themselves girls or something else in between. And it's just not right. It's destructive for everybody involved. Can we stand up and say that? And of course, we're going to be attacked that we're hateful. But I hope that you hear my heart that I'm not hateful about this. I want them to know the Lord. I want them to experience the freedom that God gives them to walk in the blessings that He's given us to walk in. And not to walk in these things that the enemy brings up to trip us up and to kill, steal, and destroy. Verse 18 says, if a man lies with a woman during her sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has uncovered the flow of her body. Both of them shall be cut off from their people. When women are in their monthly cycle, they're considered unclean. And you don't want to expose her uncleanness. And so there's that as well. We need to be careful. We need to be considerate. We need to look out for the interest of others. Do things that lift up and not break down. Verse 19 you shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, nor of your father's sister. For that would uncover his near of kin, they shall bear their guilt. And in uh chapter 18, there are all sorts of ancestral uh rules there. And you you sit back and you go, Wow, did these things really go on? Do these things really go on? And you know, I might be naive in in my thinking, and I might not want to really know what's going on out there. But one thing I know for sure, it's not what God intended. And as much as the world thinks, or our flesh thinks that, wow, this is great, if I only did this, this just gives me a wild high, it really is destroying. Our flesh, or they're physically we're being destroyed, but even more so, our spirits, our souls are being destroyed. Jesus has a way for us that has life, an abundant life, uh a fulfilling life. But the enemy wants to distract us from it and just destroy things. If a man lies with his his uncle's wife, he has uncovered his uncle's nakedness, and they shall bear their sin, and they shall die childless as a a consequence of their sin. Verse 21 If a man takes his brother's wife, it's an unclean thing, he has uncovered his brother's nakedness, they shall be childless. Now, of course, with this, there was an exception to this. If a man is married to a woman and he passes away, and they have not had children together, the law stipulates that his next of kin would take her on to be his wife in order to pass on the family name so that she would have children. But that's not what this is about. This is about my brother isn't treating his wife well. I'm gonna go and I'm gonna show him how to treat her well. And it's just a mess. It's just not right. It's just how corrupt our minds get when we think in ideas of the flesh, in ideas of the world, in ideas of it's all about me and my fulfillment, which is a big lie anyway, isn't it? Well, getting back to the study, this is what the situation was. They brought this woman caught in adultery, and he and they start quoting Moses. In the last chapter, they were talking about the people being accursed because they didn't know the law. And here are the people that represent the law that are twisting the law to get Jesus in trouble. They're trying to corner him. But then Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger as though he did not hear. What was Jesus doing on the ground? Writing? Anybody have an idea? There are a lot of ideas out there, but basically we don't know. We're not told. However, there is an interesting verse in the Old Testament that uh a couple of commentators I was reading brought up, and I said, wow, yeah, that that may fit very well. Let me share this with you. It's from Jeremiah 17, 13. O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be ashamed. He is the Lord, he is the hope for Israel. Is not Jesus declaring that he is the hope? He is the Savior? He's come to save Israel and the Gentiles as well. He's come to save the whole world. Those who depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord the fountain of living waters. What an interesting verse. Didn't he just get done saying that out of him will pour living waters, fountains of living waters? Come to me, all you are thirsty, and I will give you drink. Living waters coming from the Lord. If this is what Jesus had in mind when he was doing this or not, it sure fits, doesn't it? So, anyway, they have forsaken him. They don't realize what he's doing, they reject the fact that he calls himself the fountain of living waters. So, verse 7, when they continued asking him, because he just sat there writing in the ground, listen, we we have this person here that we brought, you need to answer us. He raised himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, which is a good sign, they still have some consciences that work. They were convicted, they were cut to the heart for some reason, and they went out one by one, beginning with the oldest, even to the last. And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised himself up and saw no one but the woman, he said to her, Woman, where are those accusers of you? Has no one condemned you? And she said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. This is why Jesus has come. He has come to forgive, he's come to give life. And in less than a year, he would be hanging on that cross, paying the price for this woman's sin, and for yours and mine. And just imagine what it was like for this woman. If indeed she was caught in the act of adultery, did they pull her out just as she was, or did they cover her? One way or another, it was a shame for her. She knew it was wrong, but now she's just totally embarrassed and dumbfounded by the whole thing. She thinks she's about to be killed. And she said it's probably right that I'm condemned and I'm stoned to death. But at the same time, it's just like you're exposed. When we stand before the Lord again, don't you feel exposed? Where he sees all your sin? Lord, how can you accept me with the things that I've done, even the thoughts that I've done? You know, later on, Jesus would describe people, if you even look to a woman in lust, you've committed adultery in your heart, taken this adultery thing to the next level. How many people were innocent in that situation? But the thing is, the Lord took our place so that he can accept us, forgive us, cleanse us, and make us new. Give us new hearts and a new direction. Well, this was interesting when he said, you know, whoever is without sin, let him throw the first stone at her. Again, in the context of they're not allowed to do this by Roman law and they're going to cause more trouble. If you're innocent, now if you toss that first rock, you're going to be guilty before Rome. That's one aspect. But here's another aspect to consider because uh, yes, these things were punishable by death, but how was it supposed to be dealt with? In Deuteronomy 17, verses 6 and 7, it says this whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses. He shall not be put to death on the testimony of just one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you. So, in light of that prescription, Jesus said, All right, the first one that's innocent, implying the first one who was the first witness to this situation, you be the one that throws the first rock. And they were convicted and walked away, which it doesn't say it, but you just as you try to figure out what's going on, putting yourself in this situation, there must have been something else going on. First of all, they only brought the woman instead of the man and the woman. Second, how do you witness somebody having an adulterous affair in the act? I mean, most of the time when people do that sort of thing, it's very much in a private area where nobody else sees. So did somebody just stumble upon them? But then it would be one person that stumbled upon them. And when they bring another witness, they're not doing anymore, so the other person can't say, Well, I didn't see them doing that. You see how it gets kind of w wishy-washy here? And then could you even go as far as because they were so intent of entrapping Jesus that they would do whatever it took to create a situation that he would have to get trapped in. So I hesitate this, but could it have been that maybe this might have been a oh, who was the guy with Gomer? Hosea and Gomer. Gomer was a prostitute, and Hosea was told to marry a prostitute because she represented Israel, and she represents those who have committed spiritual adultery against the Lord. Could it be that this woman was a prostitute and married? And so it'd be very easy to trap her in something. All the guys needed to do was to find a guy that would be willing to do that, and they'd be waiting and trap him. And so that just takes it to another angle. They participated in the sin of trying to trap Jesus and this woman. And so when they're cut to the heart, they realize, well, I can't, I I've got I was a participant in this, I should be stoned as well. You see, the the situation just got very strange all of a sudden. And it's because they're not seeking the Lord. They're seeking how to destroy the Lord. And when our perception and our agenda becomes more important than the Lord's agenda, we we tend to twist and turn Scripture to work in our behalf, but it it violates the whole spirit of what God intended from the beginning. Wouldn't it be so much better for us to seek the Lord, his heart, to allow him to convict us and to change us from the inside out, rather than finding ways to make ourselves look better and to nullify the words that he says because they're just too inconvenient for us to say the least. Well, after that was done, everybody that was accusing the woman was gone, and so Jesus got back to the business of why he was there. He started teaching again. He says, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness but have the light of life. Interesting when he says this because it's right after the Pharisees came with this furious accusation for this woman, this whole scene that just there were a lot of question marks and something's fishy going on here. They were operating in the darkness. They were operating in lies and deceit, thinking that they were doing something noble, something right. And Jesus says, Look, I am the light of the world. I have come to bring light into the darkness. And you know what it is. If you know your scriptures, he's telling the crowd, you know what I'm talking about. And there are just a couple of places I want to bring up in the book of Psalms where he talks about the light. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. We need the light of the Lord. His word, the scriptures, illuminate the truth before us. And of course, John declared that Jesus Christ is the word. So he is the light. And then in Psalm 43, uh an appeal to the Lord, oh, send out your light and your truth, let them lead me. Do we have that heart? Lord, I am in darkness, and I need you to lead me. You are the light of the world. And of course, this is day eight of the Feast of Tabernacles, and they're wrapping things up. But all throughout the Feast of Tabernacles, one of the things that they did was to look back at what the Lord did amongst the Israelites in the wilderness. And one of the things that God did was to lead them, right? By a smoke pillar during the day and a pillar of fire at night. The light would guide them. And Jesus is saying, I'm the light. And now I'm amongst you. And I'm declaring the truth. I'm declaring why I'm here, who has sent me, and I'm bringing salvation to anyone who would listen, anyone who would believe, anyone who would follow. Well, after that, another group of Pharisees come out, it seems like, and they say to him, You bear witness of yourself, yet your witness is not true. He is saying he is the light of the world. And of course, he's not on trial. He's not being convicted of a crime. He doesn't need two or three witnesses, like that verse we just looked at, like the other group of Pharisees that came before, where are your witnesses? Where's the other guy? And now they're trying to corner him and trap him. Jesus answered and said to them, Even if I bear witness of myself, my witness is true. You see, I'm a man, but I became a man. I'm the incarnation of God, the Creator. I cannot speak untruth. Because I am God, I am faithful. There is no darkness or shadow returning in me. My witness is true. For I know where I came from and I know where I'm going. He came from heaven. And he humbled himself to become one of us. A helpless babe born in a barn and placed in a manger, a feeding trough. But you do not know where I come from and where I am going. I mean, he said something similar in the last chapter, and they don't seem to be wanting to study, but they try to figure out what it is. You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. This is an interesting phrase. First part we we totally understand. You judge according to the flesh. You're not using the mind of God in your judgments. You're coming up with your own reasoning, just like any good worldly person would do. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't. But your thoughts are not my thoughts. Your ways are not my ways, says the Lord.

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That's Pastor Carl of the Mountain Cross on Come On Up. We're currently going through the book of John. We're so glad you've been with us, and we know there's so much to get out of this gospel book. One of the most powerful moments is in a well-known passage in John chapter 3. Jesus is meeting with Nicodemus and explaining what it means to be born again, not physically, but spiritually. As you might have memorized, Jesus speaks this to Nicodemus, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What a promise from God! It sounds so easy, right? But sometimes the pressures of life can push you further away from wanting a relationship with God. Let me tell you, the most important decision you'll ever make is being in right relationship with God. He wants you with him for eternity. So don't be waiting around for the right moment. The best time to choose Jesus is now. If you'd like to learn more about what all of this means, head over to themountencross.com and click on How to Know God. The Mountain Cross is a group of believers in Jesus who seek to grow in faith by simply teaching the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We meet on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville. We look forward to worshiping with you. Well, that's all for today, but come on up to the mountain with us again as we seek to learn more from the Lord through His Word. Come On Up is sponsored by the Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.