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Grace and Truth: The Perfect Love that Brings Healing



Grace and truth are two foundational elements of Christianity that are often overlooked or undervalued. Yet, without these two, the message of the gospel cannot be fully understood or appreciated. 


Grace is the undeserved favor and mercy of God. Truth represents the unchanging and objective nature of God's Word. Together, they form a powerful combination that can change the world.


The world needs the truth, and indeed, truth is crucial in a world filled with lies and deception. 
However, truth alone is not enough. The Bible tells us that the truth will set us free, but it is the grace of God that draws us to repentance and salvation. In other words, truth without grace can be harsh, condemning, and divisive.


On the other hand, grace without truth can be misleading, compromising, and even dangerous. It is the combination of grace and truth that leads to genuine transformation and healing. 


Unfortunately, many churches and individuals tend to lean more towards one side than the other. Some may emphasize truth to the point of legalism and judgment, while others may emphasize grace to the point of compromise and permissiveness. However, it
is only when we embrace both grace and truth that we can truly embody the love of God and impact the world for Him.


Generally, we tend to see 4 different types of people when it comes to grace and truth.


4 Types of PEOPLE:

APATHY: The “DON’T CARE” type people. 
They couldn't care less about grace and truth. They don’t funnel grace or truth in their lives. They reject it. They have no interest in loving God or loving others. Some might consider themselves atheists or agnostics. 

In many ways, you can easily see apathy in our world. People are numb. They are going through life with themselves as the center and are apathetic to the things around them. They aren’t moved by the hurt, tragedy, and turmoil going on in the world. They are indifferent to the injustices that are in their own backyard. They are focused on one thing and one thing alone, SELF. 


These don’t care types of people sadly can be found both within the church and outside of it. Many people may feel callous toward religion and fail to connect with God due to a variety of reasons but regardless, their choice of apathy causes grace and truth to be absent from their lives altogether.


SHAME: The “TRUTH ONLY” type people. 

People like this only funnel truth. They talk about truth in a way that makes it sound self-righteous. They are normally very judgmental. 


Unfortunately, shame is very much inside the church in our day. Shame also brings about a lot of legalism in the church. Legalism places the focus all on what we, as humans, do and not on what Christ has done for us in regards to salvation. Shaming people is not the job of the church. 


We cannot shame people into following Christ! It just doesn’t work like that. John 3:17 says,For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”


If Jesus Christ, who has ultimate authority, did not condemn, then his followers cannot, nor are we supposed to, condemn anyone. Truth only focused people tend to forget that everyone, including them, need Jesus’ amazing grace to save them from their sins and that nothing they can do can save them in their own strength. 


SYMPATHY: The “GRACE ONLY” type people. 

Sympathy is the “feeling of pity and sorrow for someone else’s misfortune.” 

 

Some people like to show sympathy for others because they have received grace before and want to give it. Ultimately, it is not bad to extend grace but we also can’t forsake the truth. Grace only people tend to extend grace to others but oftentimes lack holding people accountable for sin. They tend to stay silent over issues of sin that they see in others lives because they are afraid of being offensive. 

 

Grace without the TRUTH, leads to apostasy. People completely reject their faith because they did not completely receive the truth. You can see many leaving the church or not walking in the way of Christ because they have followed a false view of what it means to be Christ-like. 


People in this camp tend to be very social justice focused. They love to rally around a cause and give their lives and resources to humanitarian aid but they can sometimes detach this from following in the truth of God. Once again, being concerned for the injustices of the world is not a bad thing, but ultimately Jesus Christ is the only true hope of the world so the good that we do must be paired with the desire to bring glory to Him and Him alone. 


EMPATHY: The “BOTH GRACE AND TRUTH” type people (LIKE JESUS).

Empathy means to “enter into the feelings of another.”

 

Ultimately this is where compassion comes in. Compassion means “to suffer with.” The compassion of Christ shows us what both grace and truth looks like lived out. 

Jesus embodied this balance perfectly. John chapter 1 verses 14 and 17 tell us that He was full of grace and truth.

An example of this can be found in the story of the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11. We see here how Jesus demonstrated empathy, which is the ability to enter into the feelings of another. While the Pharisees wanted to shame and condemn the woman, Jesus extended grace to her, telling her that He did not condemn her and instructed her to go and sin no more. This is a powerful example of how grace and truth can work together to bring healing and redemption.

People don’t need just sympathy and the reality is shaming never helped anyone. However, empathy is the full embodiment of truth and grace and helps heal hurting hearts. 

 

TRUTH WITHOUT GRACE is WRONG.

Truth without grace is mean. 

Truth without grace is cruel. 

Truth without grace beats up on people.

Truth without grace repels people away from Jesus.

Truth without grace tends to try to scare the Hell out of people…literally!

Truth without grace is not really truth.

 

GRACE WITHOUT TRUTH is also WRONG.

Grace without truth is foolishness.

Grace without truth lacks honesty.

Grace without truth chooses not to confront sin.

Grace without truth is being nice at the expense of being real.

Grace without truth waters down the Gospel.

Grace without truth is not really grace.

 

Most of us tend to be more of a TRUTHER…or a GRACER! *Yes, I created these words, but they serve a purpose here. 


The challenge is to all walk in Empathy: Grace and Truth!

So, what does it mean to walk in empathy, which is the full embodiment of grace and truth? 

  1. It means to love others as Christ loved us, to be willing to enter into their pain and struggles, and to offer them the same grace and truth that we have received from God.

  2. It means to confront sin and speak the truth in love, while extending mercy and compassion to those who are hurting. 

  3. It means to be authentic, honest, and transparent, while also being kind, patient, and forgiving.

Grace and truth are a big deal. They are essential for anyone who wants to follow Christ and make a difference in the world. 

May we be a people who walk in empathy, embracing both grace and truth, and may our churches be known as communities of love and healing, where the grace and truth of God are evident in everything we do.

Watch Pastor Dustin’s full sermon on Grace and Truth here and if you are interested in diving deeper into the discussion, reach out!


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