Grace & Truth

From: "Grace Plus Nothing," by Jeff Harkin

We’ve seen how grace can cure pharisaical, judgmental, and critical attitudes. We need not judge others.

But if we do not judge others, does that mean we must flatly accept anything and everything that people do? All sin? All rebellion? All perversion? No way. Jesus certainly didn’t accept it. Real love can’t, and neither can real grace.

For example, say you see your best friend sitting on a railroad track and you know there is a train coming. Because you love him, you do not judge him. You don’t say to yourself, Look at the stupid jerk sitting on those tracks. He deserves to die! You do not have a critical spirit toward him, Howeve, you certainly are not going to let him rest there either and fail to warn him about the train that’s coming. He is your best friend. You are not going to say, "Hey, you do your thing and I’ll do mine, or "Be cool; I know you must express yourself." No, but instead, although you do accept him, you would warn him: "There’s a train coming!"

Grace is like that. It will speak the truth in love.

We know that grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Both grace and truth! These two work together to transform lives. Neither works apart from the other.

God’s transformation, once you are born again, works because you are under grace. God’s transformation works from acceptance, not from rejection – and never from conditional love. The Lord loves you unconditionally. Thus, he cannot leave you in sin. Therefore he speaks the truth in love and he disciplines in love, for your good. That is the confidence you have toward him. That’s how grace and truth work together.

Together, grace and truth express the very nature of Jesus Christ.