Should Christians Ever Throw the First Stone? What Jesus Really Said

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Should Christians Ever Throw the First Stone? What Jesus Really Said

Should Christians Ever Throw the First Stone What Jesus Really Said
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We’ve all heard the verse: “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone” (..: John 8:7 :..). But what does that really mean in today’s church? Should we avoid all correction—or is there still a place for speaking hard truths?

Jesus didn’t dismiss sin. He acknowledged it—but refused to let religious pride do the judging. That moment with the woman caught in adultery wasn’t about ignoring wrong—it was about confronting it without hypocrisy.

So how do we follow His example? When someone in our church falls, do we restore them gently… or reach for a stone?

Where do you draw the line between loving correction and harmful judgment? Have you ever been on the receiving end of either?

“Truth doesn’t excuse sin—but it also doesn’t excuse pride.”

Watch this short video devotional:

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The verse in John 8:7—“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone”—was not a license for moral indifference, nor was it a rebuke of moral clarity. It was a direct confrontation of hypocritical judgment, not righteous correction. Jesus was exposing the Pharisees, not abolishing discipline.

Jesus never condoned her adultery—He told her plainly in verse 11: “Go, and sin no more.” That’s not permissiveness. That’s repentance. The woman’s accusers wanted death without mercy, but Christ offered mercy that demanded change.

The Church today should follow that exact model: truth and tenderness, holiness and humility. Galatians 6:1 commands:

“If anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.”

Restoration, not humiliation. Correction, not condemnation. We don’t trade stones for silence, we trade them for shepherd’s staffs.

Loving correction is marked by brokenness, not superiority. Harmful judgment is when truth is wielded like a weapon to crush, rather than a scalpel to heal.

And yes, I’ve been on both ends. It humbles you. Because real love tells the truth, even when it wounds, but always to heal, not to exile.

So the question isn’t whether we should speak hard truths. The question is whether we can do it with clean hands and a broken heart.

Truth never excuses sin. But it also never excuses pride.
If we can say that and mean it, we’re walking in Jesus’ footsteps, not the Pharisees’.