Grace and Truth - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
Grace and Truth
John 1:14-17
Intro: If there is a need today among God’s people, it is understanding the importance of the right mix of truth and grace.
These two elements are extremely important.
They are not in conflict with one another, but rather they compliment one another.
Just like a battery must have a positive and a negative in order to function, we need both grace and truth.
Several key facts about GRACE and TRUTH:
A. Our EXPOSURE
We that are saved are saved because we were exposed to both.
Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
1 Timothy 2:4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
B. Our EXCITEMENT
1 Corinthians 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
C. Our EXAMPLE
If Jesus is our Example, and He is, He was full of Grace and Truth, so we should strive for that as well.
1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
I. The Blessing that is Undeserved
Grace is an attribute of God that we have all experienced. (John 1:16)
Psalms 116:5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.
Grace is something that we have all experienced.
John 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
The word GRACE simply means God’s unmerited favor.
Grace is something that we do not deserve.
When God showed us grace, we did not deserve it.
· Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
· Romans 5:15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
II. The Boldness that is Unpopular
· Galatians 4:16 Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
John the Baptist was not a “reed shaken in the wind.”
· Mark 6:18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.
He spoke the truth. And it got him killed.
Jesus was crucified by those that didn’t like His message.
People prefer lies over truth.
Isaiah 30
· 9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
· 10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
Paul’s warning about the last days.
· 2 Timothy 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
III. The Balance that is Uncommon
The struggle today among Christians is finding the biblical, Christ-like balance in having grace and truth.
If a person’s gift is mercy, they will struggle with speaking the truth.
If a person’s gift is prophecy, they will struggle with grace.
Many pastors today tend to fall in one ditch or the other.
The “grace” preachers preach mostly about the love, mercy and longsuffering attributes of God.
They won’t deal with sin, or name it, or expose it, or make tough decisions pertaining to people’s sin.
They don’t have many standards, and the ones they have, they don’t enforce.
They have a high tolerance for those that do damage to the cause of Christ, all under the guise of “grace.”
They will attack a preacher of truth quicker than they will a person living in willful sin.
Many church members will fellowship with sinners, won’t rebuke them or try to restore them, all under “grace.”
On the other hand, you have the hard-core “truth” advocates that lack diplomacy, tact, compassion and grace.
They shoot first and ask questions later.
Everything is either black or white and there is no room for people to grow or get right or make mistakes.
These men tend to be dictators, lording over the heritage and are extremely heavy-handed in their pastoring style.
Church members that are more truth than grace find it hard to love those that are weaker and unlearned.
They expect everyone to be where they are spiritually, and they tend to overestimate their own spirituality.
The Bible is full of Grace and it also full of Truth.
We must learn to have both.
One without the other is unbiblical and can create a host of problems.
One without the other will destroy a life, and it will destroy a church.