The Grace-Truth Balance
We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 HCSB
Jesus is full of grace and truth! As Christ followers our desire ought to be growing to become more like Him. Jesus is all grace and all truth. Is there an inconsistency or difficulty for us, His followers, to rightly balance the two sides?
Understanding the Two Sides
Grace is defined as “favor given freely out of goodwill, kindness, unmerited [undeserved] love.”1 Further defined as “grace, mercy, steadfast love, [and] compassion.”2 When we fully grasp the depth of God’s grace, it brings us to a deeper realization our sin. As we recognize the reality of sin, we also recognize all the more our need for God’s grace. God was so gracious to us by providing His One and Only Son, Jesus, “bringing salvation for all people” (Titus 2:11) . God was rich in mercy and loved us so much, that He sent Jesus, while we were still sinners to pay our debt since the wages of sin is death. It is only by God’s grace, through faith (belief) in Christ that we have been saved from eternal death and sin (Romans 6:23; John 3:16-17; Eph 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7). How thankful we ought to be that God demonstrated His great grace toward us by sending Jesus to deliver us from our sin debt. Our debt was placed upon Jesus so that we can live free — no longer bound by sin but free in Christ! God gifted us with so much more than we deserve — that’s grace! In turn, we, too should treat others with grace. We are called to show the same grace, kindness, and tenderheartedness toward each other (Ephesians 4:32). So, on one hand, we ought to be splashing grace everywhere so that others know we are followers of Christ. On the other hand, we also ought to be abiding/walking in truth (3 John 1:3-4).
Truth is defined as “conformity to fact or reality; true state of facts or things.”3 Further defined as “factuality, faithfulness, firmness, reality, [and] reliability.”4 In writing his third letter, John tells us that there is no other truth — it is always the truth. Specifically he says we are to love in the truth, be faithful in the truth, walk in the truth, and be co-workers with the truth.
John also tells us that Jesus is the Truth; He is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. He was with God from the beginning and was sent to earth full of grace and truth (John 1:1-2, 14, 17). Further as Christ followers, we are commanded to know truth and speak truth by means of love so that we help each other grow to be like Christ (Ephesians 4:15). Moreover, we are to have no foulness come from us, rather only what is good (truth) so that we build each other up, and it gives grace to those who hear (Ephesians 4:29). Thus, truth is grace! They are not contrary to each other. So, why is it so difficult for us to balance rightly?
It seems that those who are heavily “bent” to truth may produce quick judgments and be slow to forgive. Being strong in truth yet lacking in grace produces a rules rule type of person or a “legalist.” Often times this person will “seek out” the rule breakers in order to have control and/or exalt themselves, forgetting about Christ’s grace. This is a Pharisee type person. Truth without grace pushes people away from Christ.
Also, it seems that those who are heavily “bent” to grace may lack wisdom in judgment and misunderstand of forgiveness. The danger of being strong in grace is the lack of truth. Often times this person misunderstands the importance of Bible study and seeking God’s truth in order to grow in Christlikeness. This person may “seek out” the legalist in order to argue Christ is all about love and forgiveness, forgetting about His truth. Grace without truth causes people to wrongly believe they don’t need Christ. Yet, again, Christ is all truth and all grace.
How do we know if we are “bent” to one side or the other? Perhaps, situationally or with certain people, we are are unbalanced. While other times and with other people we find ourselves to be rather balanced.
Legalism - Lawful - Pharisee type
A Pharisee type sees life as having no “wiggle room.” They strive to live by the letter of the law and are rigidly strict. This type of person is self-righteous, has sinful pride, and thinks that they need to work hard enough to earn and deserve God’s favor. Sadly, they look down on those who they think aren’t “spiritual” enough. “Legalism seeks to exalt self and gain merit rather than to glorify God because of what He has done. The power source is self not the Holy Spirit.”5 Where’s the focus? Self not Christ.
Still, we cannot live without rules and regulations. By rules we are able to live together and be protected. We have rules in homes, churches, schools, and government. We must consider whether these rules have been created from God’s standard (His Word) and if man has changed, added, or twisted God’s standard. Often, a legalist will have wrong thinking toward rules which ultimately shows the problem of their heart. If the root of their heart is sinful pride and self-righteousness, the fruit produced is harsh speech & behavior, out bursts of anger, and they can have a cast iron exterior.
How does this affect others? This legalist type may mislead others to believe or think wrongly. For example, a legalist parent or leader may lead children to think they need to obey Jesus better or perfectly in order for Him to like/love them. The child doesn’t see or experience any grace resulting in wrong thinking that they have to “work” their way to Jesus or try to be good enough before He will accept them.
Lawless - Foolish Type
A Foolish type see life as “anything goes.” Perhaps they think, “Believing in Jesus means I can go on with my life and hardly have to think about my sin anymore. I’m glad it’s so easy and doesn’t require much change!”6 Freedom in the gospel doesn’t mean we can go on living as we choose, merely forgetting about sin and having the attitude that God forgives — like He’s supposed to. Easy -peasy, right? This is foolish, wrong thinking! The gospel is not “cheap forgiveness.” Christ gave His life so that you and I could be released from the bondage of sin and rescued from living eternally separated from God. Nothing cheap about it! The gift of God’s grace is our salvation when we believe through faith in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:1-10).
How does this affect others? This foolish type may mislead others to believe or think wrongly as well. “What should we say then? Should we continue to sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2 HCSB) Thus, we cannot go on living as we choose. Jesus died to give us new life. As His followers, we find joy in living for Him!
So what? Now what?
How does this, then, apply to our ministries (home, church, community)? A too heavily grace-filled approach is not a biblical approach. It results in superficial leading and gives the message “anything goes.” Yet, anything can’t go because God is not a God of disorder but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). The opposite of peace is chaos. Anything goes or too much grace creates chaos. And, a too heavily truth-filled approach is not biblical either. It results in exalting self, sinful pride, and seeking control. It can mislead others resulting in missing the true message of Christ’s gospel.
Thus, we strive for balance in truth and grace. Thankfully, we have a perfect model in Jesus who shows us the perfect balance. In John 13, we read about Jesus’ final fellowship and meal with His disciples. First we see how He displayed His grace/kindness/love by performing the dirty job of washing the disciples’ feet. Then we hear Him speak truth, in love, by saying the disciples must be washed by Him to be a part with Him. The truth is that unless Jesus has washed your sin (taken away your sin), you can have no part with Him. Next, we read how Jesus graciously washed the feet of the disciple He knew would betray Him. Also, we hear Jesus speak truth to His disciples even when it would be difficult to hear or understand. Finally, we hear Jesus give His command to “love one another” so that all people will know who are His disciples.
Jesus loved with all truth and with all grace. I encourage you, dear reader, to be aware if you are too focused on the “do’s and don’ts” appearing to be a legalist or heavily bent toward rules. Likewise, be aware if you are too focused on “anything goes” appearing to be foolish and heavily bent toward cheap grace.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6) and He asked the Father to sanctify us by the truth. “Your word is truth,” He said (John 17:17). God has delivered to us His grace through His truth. There is only one right response: accept the truth that we are sinners, underserving of God’s grace. Yet, in His great love for us, He poured out His grace through Christ Jesus. And, when we fully embrace this life changing truth, then we are able to live a life balanced in truth and grace. Practice living a godly life in this balance. The truth is we are not yet perfect (as Jesus is), but we can pour out grace while we are growing to be more like Him — full of all truth and all grace.
1 http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/grace
2 The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. 2016
3 http://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/truth
4 The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press. 2016
5 Peace, Martha. Damsels in Distress: Biblical Solutions for Problems Women Face. Phillipsburg, N.J: P&R Pub, 2006. 123
6 Harrell, Deborah. what’s Up? Student Guide, New Growth Press, Greensboro, NC, 2015