(I have adapted this message from one presented by Monte Cox during the Faulkner University Lectures, Montgomery, AL, March 5-7, 2001.)

"And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." (John 1:14.)

Jesus is described by two words, grace and truth, that seem to be contradictory. Do these words really go together? How can Jesus embody both these concepts? Truth seems so cold and unbending. Truth is like undeniable facts of life; it is without respect of persons. Solomon said, Buy the truth and sell it not. Jesus said, You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Truth sometimes is like a sharp piercing spear that cuts into the heart. On the other hand, grace is so inviting and warm. Grace seems to go with words like love, forgiveness, patience, and forbearance. Grace seems to stand guard against the harshness of truth. Truth is the strong line that parents take when dealing with children; grace is what grandparents so readily offer to wonderful grandchildren.

Yet, John described Jesus as dwelling among men full of grace and truth. He somehow was able to do what so many churches have not been able to accomplish. Churches usually line up behind one or the other of these two concepts. We need to learn how to combine grace and truth in our doctrine and actions like Jesus did.

We all know what it is like down at the "truth church." There we are told up front what is right and wrong in no uncertain terms. With no mincing of words or searching for the right way to say it, the minister speaks with power and certainty. He drives home every point with a biblical quotation that no one can deny. When he is finished, everyone knows exactly where one stands with God---lost and undone! Everyone praises the minister for a job well done. He bastes in the warm approval of all who are members of "The Truth Church." All are reminded that there is but one church and "The Truth Church" is it. How could it be otherwise? Logic demands it; obedience accepts it. How can anyone argue with truth?

Down at "The Truth Church", everything is either black or white; there are no gray areas. Every possible action or deed of man is examined carefully and either received with overwhelming approval or rejected as sinful and damnable. Every action or belief carries with it an eternal weight of heaven to gain or hell to suffer. There is no deed or belief that is seen in between or a matter of indifference to God. Members there believe that the Bible answers every possible question with a definitive answer. There is no wisdom to be exercised; it is simply a matter of truth to be accepted by all.

Truth reveals that marriage is honorable, but adultery and fornication are wrong. Overt acts like these are condemned severely, while sins like covetousness and pride are treated differently. Truth condemns divorce and remarriage boldly. Adulterers and adulteresses need not apply for membership down at "The Truth Church." Teenagers are made to feel guilty because they are attracted to one another. Sinners do not feel welcome there. They soon leave and attend another church. The members say that they could not stand the truth. Just let them go. They were not of us or they would not have gone out from us.

Truth examines carefully the teachings of all other religious bodies and concludes that they are not of God. There is no truth to be found there. It is a simple matter; there is one body and they are not it!

Debaters and teachers down at the truth church say that if one had only one eye one should be able to see the truth. Others are heard to say that if one can see through a ladder, one can see that this is truth. Anyone who does not conform is branded as a liberal, a troublemaker, and thus is rejected.

After visiting the "truth church", what a pleasant surprise upon arriving at the "grace church." You are welcomed by smiling people who are obviously happy and loving. In just a few moments, you have decided that this is the right church for you. Everyone is made to feel comfortable and there is full acceptance regardless of your status in life.

There is very little of that kind of preaching in the truth church. The messages are not punctuated with pertinent passages to prove the point, but instead wonderful quotations from a variety of sources are given to show a broad, intellectual viewpoint. Their motto is "To live and let live." After being there for a while, you feel that sin is being ignored and no one is ever confronted for un-Christlike behavior. There is little emphasis upon what Jesus taught as the truth of God. There is little to no congregational discipline. The constant diet of messages of warmth and acceptance, regardless, is like eating cotton candy at the County Fair. It leaves one with a nauseous feeling after awhile. You know that you should have eaten a good meal with meat and potatoes, like your mother told you to.

Down at the "grace church," they feel awkward talking about grace so much. The concept is new to them as well. They are forging ahead without knowing exactly where all this will lead. But they are determined to cast off all the former restrictions placed upon them by the "truth church." They just want to feel free and happy again. They believe that God intended them to be happy.

Truth without grace is not the whole truth. It informs as it pushes people away. It does not edify or encourage people. It fails to build confidence and assurance before God. Paul wrote about "speaking the truth in love." (Eph. 4:15.) Winning an argument is one thing, but winning the hearts of the lost is quite another.

Grace without truth is not true grace. Grace implies there is a need for it. Paul asked, "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (Rom. 6:1-2.) Grace is not a license to sin, or a tolerance to everything. "As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God." (1 Pet. 2:16.) "For brethren ye have been called unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." (Gal. 5:13.)

Grace does not make us less bold in teaching the lost and confronting sin, it should make us more ready to tell the good news for lost sinners. We tell the truth about sin, as Paul did in the opening chapters to the Romans, and we tell the wonderful news of justification, from Romans 3 and 4.

John 2. Jesus performed his first miracle by turning water into wine at a wedding feast. (2:1-11.) We would classify this as an act of grace and kindness to the people at the wedding. But right after that Jesus went down to Capernaum and then to Jerusalem because the Passover was nigh. Jesus drove out the money exchangers overthrowing their money tables. He drove out the animals with a scourge of small cords. They had turned the house of God into a house of merchandise. (2:12-25.) This is an example of truth confronting error.

John 3. Jesus talked with Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He spoke plainly and simply to this Jewish man about the need to be born again. Jesus did not say that this matter was optional. He said, You must be born again! Unless you are born of water and the Spirit, ye cannot see the Kingdom of God! (3:1-12.) This is an example of truth being presented to one who did not know the truth.

Yet, Nicodemus was probably the first to hear these words: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." (3:14-17.) What words of grace and love!

Note also the quick combination of the two that follows: "He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God." (3:18.)

John 4. Jesus met a Samaritan woman from Sychar. Jesus offered to her everlasting water (grace), but also told her to go call her husband and he would give it to them. She said that she did not have a husband. Jesus said, "You hast well said, I have no husband, For thou hast had five husbands and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband, in that saidst thou truly." (4:16-18.) This is sharp truth which cuts to the heart. John the Baptist told Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have her (his brother’s wife)." (Matt. 14:4.) If the truth helps one to be free from sin and ready for heaven, then telling them that truth is the most gracious thing that you will ever do for them. Telling them what they want to hear, if it is false, is not a loving, gracious act. Truth and grace can dwell together in harmony. Jesus was full of grace and truth.

John 6. When Jesus continued to reveal that he was from the Father above, the disciples could not bear it. He said that he was the true manna from heaven, if a man ate of it he would live forever. Many of the disciples walked away from Jesus. He asked the apostles if they would also go away. (6:30-71.) Jesus’ words were "spirit and life." The truth about himself would give life to those who believed. But some believed not.

"It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself." (2 Tim. 2:11-13.) Truth cannot be changed. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life even if some do not believe it. Grace cannot change the truth into a lie. Grace is God’s mercy and kindness to us when we repent of sin and turn to Him.

John 8. Early one morning, Jesus was teaching at the temple in Jerusalem. The scribes and Pharisees brought before Him a woman taken in the act of adultery. They tempted Jesus by reminding Him what the Law said about stoning an adulterer or adulteress. (This is the truth.) Jesus, knowing the insincerity of their heart, told them, Those of you without sin cast the first stone. They all walked away from the oldest to the youngest. Jesus asked the woman where her accusers were. She said that she had none. He replied, Neither do I condemn thee (grace); go and sin no more (truth). (8:1-11.)

Paul knew how to embody both grace and truth in his teaching. He once wrote, "Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?" (Gal. 4:16.) "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." (Gal. 4:19.) The first statement shows the need of speaking the truth, but the second expresses the deep feelings of his heart for them.