James 8

John 8:2-11: Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them
 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,  
4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  
5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”
 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”  
8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 
  9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 
  10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
 11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

​The first thing that should jump out at you is the closing commandment from Jesus Christ for her to “SIN NO MORE.” Jesus did NOT ignore her sin (as the people misquoting verse 7 want you to do). Nor did He brush it aside by saying something like, “Don’t worry about it. Everybody else sins too.” No, Jesus Christ directly CONFRONTED her sin at the close of His conversation with her by adding the command “SIN NO MORE.” Thus, the hypocrisy of people replying with what Jesus said in verse 7 about throwing stones should be clear. When you are confronting them about obvious sin (or the sins of their favorite wolf-preacher), you are actually doing what Jesus did. You are probably trying to tell them to “sin no more” or to stay away from false teachers that would lead people into sin and apostasy. Is that not what Jesus was doing with this woman? Moreover, did you notice that Jesus ALSO confronted the sins of her accusers? Yes, the idea that somehow this story is intended to deter someone from addressing one’s sin is rather absurd, since Jesus opposed EVERYBODY’S sin in this story! So if you are trying to get a person to repent and they “throw” the “stone comeback” at you, then you could quickly reply with a short-version response along these lines: “Yes, Jesus said that. However, Jesus also said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and SIN NO MORE!’ I am not condemning you for your sin, but telling you in the light of the Bible that your own sin has condemned you before God already!” (Please note John 3:14-21.) “Moreover, Jesus has already commanded you in the very story that you have referenced to stop it! Thus, you have just confirmed even more strongly that you need to repent.” Be clear about this biblical fact: Confrontation of sin is NOT the same thing as condemnation of the person. (So please do not confuse the two, regardless of whether you are on the “sending” or “receiving” end of the correction.) There is a difference. Jesus clearly confronted the woman’s sin BUT openly said that He did NOT condemn her when He did so. In fact, confrontation about sin is a demonstration of pure biblical love, and thus, a commandment in and of itself: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:19, NKJV, words of Christ in red) Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20, NKJV) Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. (Luke 17:3, NKJV, words of Christ in red) Jesus REBUKES the people that He loves. Moreover, compare the first and last quote above. Jesus also commands us to do the same thing! Thus, for a person to omit (or ignore) the fact that Jesus DID confront/rebuke the woman for her sin by addressing it at the close of His conversation with her, while using Jesus’ earlier statement in an effort to get you to stop confronting/rebuking them (or their favorite wolf-preacher), is utter hypocrisy. This is especially true in the light of the fact that Jesus also confronted the sins of her accusers very plainly. There is also a second point of difference here between confronting a person with their obvious sin (or exposing a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” with factual evidence of their true nature) with the events of story at hand: Namely, the men in this story were planning to actually KILL the woman, not just rebuke her so that she might get her life straight. In other words, while it is true that people have used the “casting stones” statement as a metaphor for insults and criticism for as long as anyone can remember, it is equally true that this demonstrates BAD logic (i.e., error in reasoning). This story is not about “insults” or “criticism,” but about killing people by a misapplication of God’s Word. There is an informal fallacy known in the field of logic as “false analogy.” That is what people are using ( often unintentionally) whenever they attempt to improperly connect the REAL stones of the story and their false interpretation with regard to “word stones.” I will explain how we properly use analogies first, so that the fallacy becomes more clear. We think using analogies all of the time. (Click here to read the definition of analogy if you are not familiar with this term.) We learn about things by comparing them with the things with which we are already familiar, and drawing conclusions due to the similarities. The Bible demonstrates this principle frequently. For example, here is one use of analogy for comparing two things, so that something about the second thing can be understood more clearly: For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11, NKJV) The Lord God made great use of analogies throughout the Bible, such as in the example above (and the parables of the New Testament). Here we see the Word of God compared to rain, and we are to learn a lesson about God’s Word from the behavior of the earth’s water cycle (i.e., the rain comes down, waters earth, returns to the atmosphere by evaporation, and the cycle begins again). Instruction by analogy is quite biblical, and we even think in analogies (but I will refrain from explaining this concept more fully for the sake of time). The fallacy of “false analogy” occurs whenever a person tries to compare two things that are NOT similar, in hope of drawing a false inference from the bad comparison. Typically, people do this in order to support a preferred belief or agenda. The two things being compared are NOT similar (except perhaps in superficial ways), and thus, the analogy is NOT valid, NOR are the proposed inferences true. In this specific case, people who use the “throwing stones” analogy in order to apply it to criticisms. This is a violation of many passages of Scripture that tell us TO CRITICIZE people for their actual sin (three examples of which I have already provided above). Other valid types include the public rebuke of wolves and ministers in error (e.g., 1 Timothy 5:19-21; Galatians 2:11-21; Titus 1:10-16; Matthew chapter 23; etc.), confrontation of people who are leading people astray into false doctrines (e.g., Acts chapters 5 and 8; Acts 13:6-12; Revelation 2:12-29; Jude; 2 Peter chapters 2-3; etc.). In fact, Paul said quite clearly that we are to expose error openly: Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” Walk in Wisdom See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians 5:1-17, NKJV, emphasis mine) But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. (2 Thessalonians 3:13-15, NKJV, emphasis mine) Jesus said to rebuke them—even publicly! Moreover, both Jesus and James said that is true agape-love for the people being rebuked (as we saw in the passages further above). Now Paul weighs in on the subject by making the very same point! In short: If you do NOT confront sin in others when it is necessary, or expose wolves when they are evident, then you do NOT love people with true biblical love (despite any false claims that you may make otherwise). Thus, the threat of a LITERAL EXECUTION of this woman by REAL STONES does NOT compare with imagined “stones” of criticism or TRUE accusation. It is a false analogy to assert that people should never criticize/confront others simply because Jesus spared this woman from being stoned to death with REAL stones. That is quite absurd and unscriptural. Jesus was NOT trying to convince His audience to stop CRITICIZING the woman, but rather He was trying to keep them from KILLING her! Yes, there is a big difference between what really happened on that occasion and what people try to make it out to be. Stated another way: NOBODY is trying to LITERALLY “stone” a person (i.e., KILL them) when they point out their sin, or when they expose a wolf-preacher for being what they truly are (i.e., with evidence of what they are doing or teaching). Thus, for the sinner (or wolf-follower) to claim otherwise is tantamount to them to “hurling” a false accusation in response. So once again, we see the utter hypocrisy of a person saying “He that is without sin let him cast the first stone!” Nobody is throwing REAL rocks here, nor is anyone trying to physically hurt anyone. Thus, this story does NOT apply to the things to which people falsely try to apply it. --Rich Vermillion

Jesus does, indeed, not judge the woman taken in adultery. She is guilty under the law of Moses because she was caught in the act, and the penalty was clear. But Christ reminded her accusers that they too were sinners, and interestingly, this effected them to the extent that they backed away from stoning her. Christ told her to go away – and sin no more. He did not invite her to establish a polyamorous community in which all that mattered was that no one got harmed and everyone loved each other.  --All Along the Watchtower