Balancing grace and truth

Bob Russell Oct. 20, 2020

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One of my favorite descriptions of Jesus is 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."

Jesus was full of both grace and truth. He wasn't 50% grace and 50% truth. He was 100% grace and 100% truth. He always had exactly the right balance in his response to people and situations.

My friend Joe Donaldson points out that most of us gravitate to one side or the other. We're primarily truth people or primarily grace people. But rarely does anyone exhibit a healthy, Christ-like balance of both virtues. I confess to being out of balance on the truth side. I frequently need an extra measure of mercy and grace.

Only Jesus demonstrated a perfect evenhandedness in every situation. He was passionate for truth. He prayed, "Sanctify them in the truth—your word is truth" (John 17:17). Yet he was compassionate toward hurting people. He encouraged His followers, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12).

A great example of Jesus' extraordinary balance is how He dealt with the woman caught in the act of adultery recorded in John 8. The Pharisees, who were truth people, demanded the woman be judged and punished. After all, that's what the law required.

Undoubtedly some merciful bystanders wanted Jesus to overlook the poor girl's mistake and let her go. After all, we "all sin and fall short of the glory of God."

But Jesus was full of grace and truth. He made the accusers confront their own failures by suggesting, "He who is without sin cast the first stone." When they all left, He asked the woman, "Is there no one to condemn you?" Relieved that Jesus had rescued her, she whispered, "No one, Lord." "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus assured her. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Notice how Jesus extended both grace (no condemnation), and truth (stop sinning) to the immoral woman.

It seems to me, in this stormy and divisive era, we need more Christ-followers who will make an effort to be full of grace and truth. It is easy to spot people 100% on one side or the other – they are angrily shouting at each other. But rarely do we see a healthy balance. One of the reasons it's so rare is the balanced person is attacked from both sides for refusing to be as rabid as those on the extreme.

I was impressed when I learned that Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg were friends. They couldn't be farther apart politically, yet they were congenial toward one another and genuinely cared for each other. It's reported that "against all odds, the pair had a warm, decades-long friendship despite disagreeing on everything from same-sex marriage to gun rights."

When Judge Scalia was observed taking a bouquet of flowers to Ginsburg's office during her illness, someone challenged him for being so amiable to a person whose views he strongly opposed. Scalia responded, "There are some things more important than votes." That's full of grace and truth.

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Bob Russell became the pastor of Southeast Christian Church at just 22 years old. That small congregation of 120 members became one of the largest churches in America, with 18,000 people attending the four worship services every weekend in 2006 when Bob retired. Now through Bob Russell Ministries, Bob continues to preach at churches; conferences throughout the United States, provide guidance for church leadership, mentor other ministers and author Bible study videos for use in small groups. Learn More »

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