JOHN 1:14b | FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH

JOHN 1:14b | FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH

ILLUSTRATION: Just a couple weeks back we had wrapped up with family camp, but before we headed out the kids wanted to take one final walk up into the mountains to show us some things.

There was just one problem, we had to cross the creek to get there.

Now I have two weaknesses in this world, one is olives… and the other is cold water.

Cold water is great for drinking, but I want know part of placing any of my body in cold water.

When I was growing up, we had an above ground pool, and right by the steps leading into the water was a thermometer.

I refused to get into the water unless it was at least 80 degrees.

So when the kids decided we should make our way across the creek, naturally my anxiety skyrocketed.

I scanned up and down the creek looking for a downed log or possibly some rocks to cross on.

I finally found myself a ways up the creek making my way across jumping from one rock to another… and I survived without touching that icy cold water.

After making the trip up the mountain and back down, I was once again confronted with this great arch nemesis.

Only this time, my wife was with me.

She, unlike me, is invincible to all things related to H2O.

She can dive headfirst into the iciest mountain lake and is equally comfortable in water the temperature of lava.

So naturally she just walked in her sandals across the icy creek

Upon looking back and seeing my predicament she decided she would come back and help me walk across the slippery rocks that barely peaked above the water line.

I began to slowly and treacherously make my way across balancing from one rock to another, while my fearless wife held my hand.

I was about halfway through when it happened.

I was balancing on two smaller rocks and I decided to take a quick step onto onto a larger rock.

When I did, the larger rock I was stepping onto rolled and I slipped off with my foot sinking deep into that frigid mountain water.

Tressa, with her normal response, laughed at me and asked why I hadn’t waited for her, and then I drove all the way home in my truck with a cold wet foot.

You know, sometimes, balancing can be hard to do.

EXPLANATION: Here in John’s Gospel, he wraps up this powerful verse describing Jesus in a way that only a perfect deity could achieve: “Full of grace and truth.”

Jesus was the perfect balance of grace and truth.

APPLICATION: For everyone here this morning, you are in a constant battle of finding the balance of grace and truth.

With your kids you are constantly walking the fence of trying to balance grace and truth as a parent.

I don’t want to be all law and truth because then there is no relationship

“Rules without relationship breeds rebellion.”

But on the other side of the coin, there is the temptation to just try to be their friend all the time, and always give grace… but to only give grace isn’t loving either.

If I see Jayce with matches and a gasoline can and I say, “it’ll be ok”, that isn’t being a loving father to him.

So as a parent there is a constant balancing act of grace and truth.

We find the same thing in our marriages.

Truth without grace will lead to a cold relationship.

The way you say things is just as important in your relationship as the words you say.

The actions that follow up your words are often even more important than what you say

Honesty and truth in a relationship is vital for a marriage to flourish

But honesty and truth without grace is just cruelty.

We also find the struggle in the church as well.

Many of us have probably been in churches before that were heavy on standards.

In fact, in the world where I grew up, often standards were elevated to the same level of importance as doctrine.

Doctrines are the core Biblical teaching that we base our faith in.

Things like the deity of Christ, Salvation by grace through faith, God’s absolute authority and preeminence over all… these are doctrines.

But I’ve sat under the preaching in many services in which Christ was scarcely mentioned but dress standards were heavily emphasized.

ILLUSTRATION: Early on in our ministry of evangelism, Tressa and I were invited to attend a conference.

I’ll never forget as the preacher got up behind the pulpit proceeded to preach that our wives should wear a dress at all times, and he proceeded to twist verses from the Bible to fit his position.

APPLICATION: Now I think we all would understand that having standards are important… in fact we all have them to some extent.

We all have dress standards, or music standards, or standards of where we would or wouldn’t go.

And they ought to be based on Biblical principles that direct our lives!

So truth is in fact necessary in our lives…

That’s why we preach the Gospel the way we do here at WBC.

If I just told you that you were a good person and you had nothing to worry about and just gave you grace… but never told you the truth… well that isn’t loving.

That’s dishonest.

We have to have a balance of grace and truth

And the reality for all of us is that we are trying to find that balance between truth and love, and most of us are naturally bent toward one or the other.

Some of you are a natural at giving truth.

You can tell someone the truth and you care very little about how they feel about it.

You are shocked when someone’s feeling are hurt because you told them “what they needed to hear.”

And there are others that you are all about giving people grace.

But what you don’t realize is it comes at the expense of others.

You are willing to suffer or to allow others to suffer, because you don’t want to deal with confrontation… because it’s so uncomfortable.

So each of us is in a constant battle of trying to find the balance of grace and truth.

EXPLANATION: But when Jesus came he demonstrated what it means to be full of grace while also being full of truth.

He was perfect grace and perfect truth.

I heard a preacher define grace as: “God’s undeserved, unearned, unearnable favor”

Now, everyone here understands what grace is, whether you could put a definition to it or not.

Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.

It is the thing you want more than anything for others to give you.

It’s when you were a teenager and your parents found out what you had done.

You knew there was no way you could excuse your way out of this one.

And in that moment when you were unquestionably guilty, there was one thing you wanted more than anything: GRACE

It’s the situation every husband finds themselves in on a regular basis.

You have pulled out, what you believed was a satisfactory excuse, “That’s not what I meant.”

But it doesn’t matter what you thought you meant… you said what you said.

And now you are in a hole looking up and there is hardly any light, and in that moment there is one thing you want more than anything: GRACE

Grace is something that can never be earned or deserved.

Paul would say it this way in Romans 11:6

Romans 11:6 KJV 1900

And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

If you can work for it, it isn’t grace

If you can earn it, it isn’t grace

If you can deserve it, it isn’t grace.

That is what makes God’s plan for salvation so evident that it wasn’t created by some man.

Man makes religion… things you have to do to get to God.

Good works

Baptism

Going to church

Being a good person.

But Ephesians 2:8-9

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV 1900

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

You cannot earn it, work for it, or deserve it if it is by grace!

The only thing you can do to get to pay for your sins and get to heaven, is receive what Jesus already did for you!

Accept what Romans 5:8 says

Romans 5:8 KJV 1900

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

You didn’t deserve God’s grace and you never could have earned it, because then it wouldn’t have been grace!

And by God’s grace is the only way to get to heaven.

It truly is Amazing Grace!

Grace is both the most desired and most difficult thing in our lives.

It’s desired because it is the thing we want most.

But it is difficult because it is the thing that we most struggle to give when someone has offended us or someone that we love.

You see, we want grace for our lives!

We want grace for our friends and families!

We want grace!

But when the tables turn and someone has hurt us or someone that we love, no longer are we interested in grace.

Not we want judgment.

We want vengeance

We want justice.

We want truth.

Grace is the thing we most struggle to give when someone has offended us.

ILLUSTRATION: Tug of war at camp, boy counselors vs girl counselors.

Big Ray on the end with the rope wrapped around him.

He was drug across the ground because the rope was rapped around him and he couldn’t let go.

APPLICATION: There are some in this room that there is a rope of bitterness and unforgiveness wrapped around you… and you are being drug around by it.

You may not even be able to see it, but everyone else around you can.

And your refusal to give grace to someone that doesn’t deserve it is destroying you!

EXPLANATION: As Jesus was hanging on the cross, with the nails through his hands and feet.

He looked down on those who had put Him there.

And in an act of unimaginable and unfathomable love He said, Luke 23:34

Luke 23:34 KJV 1900

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

And in them moment He was forgiving those who nailed Him to that cross… and that included the roman soldiers there.

It included Judas

It included all the Jewish citizens who has cried out “crucify him.”

And it included you!

You see, Jesus offered you forgiveness before you even realized you had wronged Him.

He poured out His grace on you when you were undeserving and unable to earn it yourself!

Because true forgiveness is a quality that comes from the very person and heart of Christ.

APPLICATION: Friend, your greatest demonstration of grace comes when you are willing to give grace to those who are underserving and unable to earn it.

Maybe you are thinking, “they don’t deserve my grace… you don’t know what they did to me.”

And you know what… You’re right!

They don’t deserve it!

But if they did, then it wouldn’t be grace that you could give.

Forgiveness is a command given by God

When Peter asked how often we are supposed to forgive, Christ’s answer in a nutshell was “every time”

As a Christian we are commanded to forgive.

Now forgiveness doesn’t take away what happened

Forgiveness doesn’t mean we forget everything and act like nothing ever took place.

There may be a need for healthy boundaries and changes.

That’s where truth comes in.

EXPLANATION: In John 8, Jesus was teaching in the temple, and all of the sudden the scribes and Pharisees drag in a woman who they caught in adultery.

In verse 5, they begin to tell Jesus about what the Bible says, John 8:5

John 8:5 KJV 1900

Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

They were trying to trip up Jesus and get him to teach something contrary to the Word of God.

But the Bible says John 8:6

John 8:6 KJV 1900

This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

This frustrated the people and so they continued pressing him until John 8:7-8

John 8:7–8 KJV 1900

So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

Now we don’t know what he was writing on the ground.

Maybe He was writing, “It takes one to know one.”

Some think maybe He was writing the secret sins of each the men standing there.

But all of the sudden the stones in those men’s hands begin to thud as they dropped to the ground, beginning at the oldest all the way to the youngest.

And in an act of incredible grace John 8:10-11

John 8:10–11 KJV 1900

When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Jesus had forgiven her for her sin… incredible grace.

But He didn’t stop there… “go and sin no more” was truth.

It was a command to change… for things to be different.

APPLICATION: Friend, we are commanded by God to give grace… forgiveness!

But may our grace be balanced with truth.

CONCLUSION

Who doesn’t deserve your grace today that you have the opportunity to give it to?

We all want it… but it’s the hardest thing to give to someone else.

Maybe you are here today and you are struggling to find that balance of grace and truth in your life.

You naturally lean one way over the other.

Your relationships are marred because you are struggling with finding that balance.

Why don’t you ask God to help you to learn to be more like Christ and be full of grace and truth.

And maybe you are here this morning, and you’ve never experienced the incredible truth of your sinful condition, met with the undeserved grace of Christ.

Why don’t you make the decision right now to ask God to forgive you for your sins and to receive His Amazing grace this morning!