When Grace Met Truth

When Grace Met Truth

We are in week 5 of our series “Christian”.

We’ve been talking about how that word Christian is not very well defined in the Bible.

However, this word Disciple is something that is extremely well defined.

As a “Christian” we can pretty much do whatever we want because we can define “Christian” to be whatever we want it to be.

But Jesus never called us “Christians”

He called us “DISCIPLES”

Last week we were in Matthew 5 where Jesus tells his disciples you are the SALT of the earth and the LIGHT of the world.

As salt we are the preservers of the truth

And we are to share the light of Jesus by not blending in with the darkness of this world but standing up and living a life that stands out. That glorifies God!

Today we’re going to talk about two things that have caused some tension amongst Christians.

The title of this message is, “When Grace Met Truth”.

Maybe you grew up in a church where one of these things was stressed WAY more than the other.

“Christians” have had a hard time balancing these two issues.

And it all comes back to what we talked about in the first two weeks of this series.

Jesus told His disciples in John 13:35 “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Jesus showed us how to love.

And when you look at how Jesus loved you will find out a few things.

His love was MESSY

Maybe even INCONSISTENT

UNFAIR

And definitely CONFUSING

And if you’ve ever tried to truly love people like Jesus, I’m sure you would say there’s been times when it’s been messy, inconsistent, unfair, and confusing.

You see there’s a tension there when you love people.

As a preacher I’m not afraid to preach on heavy topics just because it might cause a little tension amongst some people.

I’m not going to be afraid to say that sex before marriage is wrong because we might have people in the church who are doing that.

Many times it’s that tension that causes people to change their hearts.

Jesus NEVER strayed away from the tension.

This is why He drove people crazy.

But John writes something interesting about Jesus that I think a lot of us miss today about this topic.

John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

What a great way to describe Jesus.

I have these water pitchers here.

One is full of grace

One is full of truth.

You see a lot of us look at these and if we were honest we would say we lean heavy towards one or the other.

Truth is, you need to be accountable.

Grace is, you’re forgiven.

Truth says, you’re broken

Grace says, you’re going to be fine

Grace says, I love you know matter what you do

But again truth says, but you’re accountable for how you live.

And we all tend to lean towards one.

Some of you may have grown up in a home where you had one of each when it came to your parents.

One was Grace, and the other was Truth!

We all liked the Grace parent more right?

Just tell me how much you love me no matter what and it doesn’t matter what I do.

But the truth is a good home has both.

And this is what John is saying.

John says, I spent three years with this man and what I saw was a man that was FULL of grace AND truth. (Pour water pitchers in bowl)

And as disciples we can’t push Jesus towards one or the other.

We like to push other people towards truth when it’s about them, but lean more toward grace when it’s about me!

John 1:16 “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.”

In other words we have received grace upon grace, upon grace.

John 1:17 “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Jesus didn’t find a balance between grace and truth

He was the embodiment of grace and truth.

He was the full measure of it.

And when you look at Jesus’ encounters with people you see this.

This is also what made Him so confusing at times.

Because in those moments you thought it was going to be all about truth, He would turn to grace.

Or the moments you thought He would lean more towards grace, He spoke truth.

Remember the story of the Samaritan woman at the well?

Jesus is alone and He approaches this Samaritan woman who is getting water at this well and Jesus starts to talk to her.

This is an example of Grace right here because Jews DID NOT associate with Samaritans.

But Jesus has Grace for her.

So they start having a friendly conversation and then Jesus does something that if we saw anyone do this we would be extremely uncomfortable and shocked.

He tells her to go get her husband.

She then says I don’t have a husband.

To which He dives into probably the darkest part of her life.

Where she has the most shame.

He says, I know you don’t.

In fact you’ve had FIVE husbands and the man you’re with now isn’t even one of them.

OH HE WENT THERE!

Who calls someone out like that?

But then Jesus tells her something that He hasn’t told anyone yet!

He says, Do you know who I am?

I’m the long awaited Messiah.

He tells a SAMARITAN that He’s the Messiah first!

He then tells her that He can offer her living water.

That what He can give her can make it so she never has to feel like she has to run into the arms of another man again to feel accepted, to feel loved, to feel fulfilled!

She then runs into the city and evangelizes to the people saying she has met the Messiah!

How about Matthew?

Matthew who wrote the Gospel of Matthew.

He was a tax collector before Jesus.

Tax collectors were the worst of the worst.

They were fellow Jews who collected taxes for Rome but then would tax extra for themselves.

They were greedy traitors to the Jewish people.

So Matthew is sitting at his tax collectors table one day and Jesus shows up and just looks at him and says, “Follow me.”

Can you imagine what the other disciples were thinking?

“But Jesus, he’s a tax collector.

Tax collectors were so bad the Bible lumps them in their own category outside of sinners.

How many times in the New Testament do you see it say “sinners AND tax collectors”?

So they’re probably thinking, “what are people going to think if you have a tax collector walking around with us?”

They’re going to think you approve of tax collectors!

To which Jesus is probably thinking, “if they have a problem with him walking with us just wait! Oh yeah, we’re going to his house next”!

Oh and their tax collector friends are going to be there along with other “sinners”.

So I guess say goodbye to your reputation!

Then when they were at Matthew’s house the Pharisees even asked the disciples, “why does your teacher hang out with tax collectors and sinners?”

Which Jesus heard and of course He puts them in their place by saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”

Healthy people don’t need to spend time with a doctor all the time.

Sick people need that attention.

They need the doctor to examine them, to see what’s wrong, and ultimately help them.

That’s what Jesus was doing.

Like we talked about last week we are called to make disciples.

How can we do that unless we spend time with those who need Jesus?

You can’t reach someone if you avoid them.

Jesus understood that making disciples is messy.

It can be confusing to some people.

How about one of the most famous stories in the Bible dealing with Jesus.

The woman caught in the act of adultery.

The pharisees bring this woman that they caught red handed.

They tell Jesus, “the law says that we should stone her, what do you say?”

Jesus could’ve said, “you’re right, it does”.

Or He could’ve been snarky and said something like, “based on Roman law you actually can’t kill her.”

But instead he says, “ok you can stone her, but the person without sin can cast the first stone.”

So everyone ends up leaving and it’s just Jesus and this woman.

And He says, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

He says I don’t condemn you. (There’s grace)

But go and sin NO MORE.

Did you really have to mention the sin no more part? (That’s TRUTH)

Again we like to read that story and we stop at the, “neither do I condemn you part.”

We don’t like to mention the part where He says to go and sin no more!

It’s like if a dating couple comes to us and says they want to help with the Jr high group.

And we’re excited and think that’s great.

But then they tell us that they’re living together and that one of them is technically still married.

Now what??

Because the grace side of us says, we all sin, we all have issues so it’s all good.

But the truth side says, that’s wrong. That’s blatant sin.

You shouldn’t be able to serve.

So I would say to them, we love you and we want you here and a part of this church.

However, what you are doing is clearly sin.

It’s adultery.

So it may seem a little strange if we’re trying to teach these students about purity and faithfulness and two of their leaders are doing the exact opposite.

We love you, we want to be there for you.

But the truth is we can’t have leaders in youth ministry who are living in such blatant sin.

It’s the idea that I love you so much that I’m willing to keep you accountable.

To call things out in your life.

And I hope you would do the same for me.

It’s like Proverbs 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

The enemy is going to tell you what you WANT to hear no matter what the consequences are.

A true friend will tell you the truth even if it hurts.

WHY? Because they LOVE you.

I love people too much to let them live in sin and act like it’s no big deal.

“The church is at its best when it embraces both Grace AND Truth and refuses to let go of either!”

So ask yourself this morning, do I lean towards one or the other?

Do I need to have more grace for people?

Do I need to listen to the Truth of the Word of God a little more than I have?

Ask God to show you.

Ask God to give you wisdom in every single situation.

That He would show you where you need to show grace and where you need to speak truth.

Because every situation may be different.

Jesus told the rich young ruler if he wanted eternal life he had to sell all his things and give them to the poor.

But when He was on the cross He looked over at a thief about to die and because this thief acknowledged Jesus in his final minutes on earth, Jesus said, “today you will be with me in paradise.”

Wait, one man had to sell everything and live for you and this dude in the last seconds does something that gives him the result of what the rich young ruler was looking for, eternal life!

How’s that fair?

Every situation is different.

We need to give grace where grace is needed

And speak truth when truth is needed.

We can’t pick just one to live by.

Jesus was FULL of grace AND truth.

As His disciples we are called to be the same.

Altar call