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“Grace and truth came through Jesus” (Jn. 1:17). To be Christ like, we must be full of grace and truth. “Grace and truth” are two important characteristics needed for growing in Christ. Grace is unconditional love and acceptance. “God is love”. God loves us freely, without conditions. Therefore, grace is God’s gracious manner even with a person who is fallen. Truth represents things as they are. It is what is real; it describes how things really are. Truth tells me who/what God is, who/what I am and what sin is. God’s truth leads us to what is real and to what is accurate.
Apostle John reminds us that Jesus came not only to demonstrate God’s unlimited grace but also His absolute truth. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life – the only way to God the Father. A grace-starved, truth-starved world needs Jesus, full of grace and truth. Some people today emphasize grace over truth while others do just the opposite. Jesus did neither. He was full of grace and truth. People don’t have trouble with the grace part of the combination. God’s grace is amazing, unlimited, lavish, and actively demonstrated in the death of Jesus on the cross. No argument about His grace. Truth on the other hand, in the minds of many people, is a more pliable commodity. It is so flexible that you can have “your truth” and I can have “my truth” even if they are completely contradictory.
Truth-oriented Christians love studying the Bible and theology. However, sometimes they are quick to judge and slow to forgive. They are strong on Biblical truth but weak on Biblical grace. Grace-oriented Christians love forgiveness and freedom. But sometimes they neglect Biblical truths and see moral standards as “legalism”. They are strong on grace but weak on truth. Countless mistakes in marriage, parenting, Christian ministry and other relationships are failures to balance grace and truth.
If we minimize grace, the world sees no hope for salvation. If we minimize truth, the world sees no need for salvation. To show Jesus Christ to the world, we must offer grace and truth, emphasizing both, and apologizing for neither. Truth without grace can be deadly in judgment but grace without truth leads to less than successful Christian living as well. Truth without grace can lead you to a “judgment” situation and grace without truth can lead you to a “license” situation. Therefore grace and truth are important needed characteristics of Christ likeness for Christians. Truth hates sin. Grace loves sinners. We are to be full of grace and truth like Jesus and do both.
