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Grace and Truth


Dr. Henry Cloud has written a book called "Changes That Heal" that highlights the two natures of God that people tend to embrace. The problem is that people in Church either decide to be disciples of Christ's Grace or disciples of  Christ's Truth. Those who are Grace disciples often fail to walk in Truth, and confront evil; which fosters a faith where sin is not confronted and it slithers into rest of the Body of Christ . The other polar extreme is to be disciples of Truth to the point that people become rigid, legalistic, and judgmental. As Dr. Cloud says, "Grace and Truth apart harm, but together they bring wholeness." As Christians we need to walk in God's Grace and Truth, one cannot be separated from the others. In order to appreciate God's grace (free gift of mercy, unmerited favor and acceptance) through Christ's sacrifice you have to believe the Truth that you are weak, and sinner in need of His grace descending from the cross.

Walking in Grace and Truth is difficult. As aforementioned, people tend to join one or the other. Churches either become Grace Churches or Truth Churches. Grace Churches are seeker friendly churches that say, "come as you are, we accept you as you are, the church isn't a club for saints, but a hospital for sinners." The problem with this view is that sin and bad choices are allowed to incubate in the assembly of Immanuel's Disciples and just as the Apostle Paul quoting King Solomon said, "bad company corrupts good character," (1 Corinthians 15:33); slowly people will begin to become more accepting of vices and antichrist behaviors if they are not addressed (confronted). The Truth Churches are opposite, they tend to be Bible Churches and they condemn anything that conflicts with Scripture in people's behavior. While their vigilance is to be commended, they tend to become judgmental and cruel towards people who are recovering and in process of having their lives redeemed.

Jesus Christ said, "worship in spirit and truth," (John 4:23-24, paraphrase). Paul mentions, "the spirit of law gives life, but the letter of law kills." (2 Corinthians 3:6, paraphrase). There is tension between Grace and Truth that must be kept in perfect balance. Too much grace and you get lawlessness, habitual sin, presumptuous sin, and corruption of the church. Too much truth and you get legalism, hatred if sinners, perfectionism, and cruelty in the church. Only Jesus Christ can balance Grace and Truth because they both flow from Him! "For the law came from Moses, but Grace and Truth came from Jesus Christ." (John 1:17). Jesus is the "Way, the Truth, and the Life," (John 14:6). It is by His "Grace that we have been saved, not of our own merit lest we should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9). In order to keep the church from swinging in either pendulum, the church must focus on Christ.

It is Jesus who by His Grace saved us from Hell and Death if we believei n Him (John 3:16, Romans 10:9). It is Jesus who is the Truth an shall one day "judge the quick and dead," at the Last Day. We must as Christians seek in our relationship with Christ Jesus the answer to balancing Grace and Truth. As believers we need to ask Jesus to teach us how to best be gracious and truthful with people. We have to tell people the Truth in love, but also be gracious and "bear one another burdens," (Galatians 6:2). In this new year, let us learn from the Master Jesus how to combine Grace and Truth which are in Him in our daily lives and with others. Amen.

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