The apostle John describes Jesus as
“full of grace and truth” (John 1:14)
Because of misunderstandings about both grace and truth, many people
struggle to hold onto these two virtues without tremendous tension developing.
To
resolve the tension some people develop a commitment to “graceless truth” which
is good at pointing out faults and sins, but is completely ineffective at
producing repentance. People on the receiving end of graceless truth generally
feel like they have been spiritually mugged in the name of Jesus. They learn to
avoid practitioners of graceless truth like the plague. Practitioners of
graceless truth are generally dumbfounded at the inability of sinful people to “handle
the truth.”
Others
resolve the tension by practicing “truth-less grace.” Truth-less grace is
usually a commitment to live and let live without doing the frightening work of
actually looking at the fruit of our lives. Truth-less grace only works until
someone sins against you in such a painful and devastating way that “live and
let live” is no longer an option. Too often, at that point, the truth of their
sin trumps your weak sense of grace and unwillingness to forgive rules the day.
Neither
graceless truth, nor truth-less grace, are helpful in moving people from sin to
salvation. What is needed is a truthful grace or a graceful truth. Jesus
was able to offer grace without ignoring the truth of the bitter consequences
of sin in our lives, and to speak truth without making our situation seem
hopeless and irredeemable. Jesus was able to hold truth and grace in perfect
harmony.
You can see
Jesus offer people truthful grace/graceful truth in many of his encounters in
the gospels. To the religious leaders he often spoke blunt truth – concerning their
shortcomings and their hypocrisy – but at the same time he held out the offer
of grace and a heart cleansed by repentance. This is clearly seen in the
encounter Jesus had with Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a religious leader, a member
of the Jewish high court, and he came to Jesus one night to discuss the life of
faith. Jesus shocked him with descriptions of spiritual life and health that
were unfamiliar to him and were surrounded by mystery. Jesus pointed out that
he knew truth that Nicodemus could not even imagine. Rather then being angry
with Jesus and turning away, Nicodemus became intrigued and apparently started
learning from Jesus. Jesus told him the truth and graciously gave him the space
to grow in both truth and grace.
To “sinners” Jesus offered abundant
grace, but never at the expense of ignoring their sins or implying that sin is
not a big deal. This is clearly seen in the story of the woman caught in adultery.
Facing strong criticism and judgment from the angry religious leaders, the
woman must have been preparing herself for approaching death. Yet Jesus turned
the focus off of the woman and caused the men in the crowd to look at their own
lives and hearts. Rocks began to fall and convicted men began to walk away.
Once they were alone Jesus asked the woman about her accusers: “Has no one
condemned you?” “No one, sir” she replied. “Then neither do I condemn you. Go
now and leave your life of sin.” Jesus pointed out the truth about her sinful
life, but offered her the grace to stop sinning and start a new life. According
to graceful truth or truthful grace the most important truths about us are that
God loves us deeply and we are able to receive redemption from his generous
hand. That is something to share!
-
Kenny Payne
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