Balancing Grace & Truth

I have been thinking about this topic for quite some time. It seems that we in the Body of Christ don't keep this balance of grace and truth very well. I know personally I struggle keeping the balance too. I believe that Jesus was the only person who kept the balance perfectly every time.

Recently, I have been listening to different speakers online or through other venues. I came across a couple examples of this. The first was Mark Driscoll when he debated on Nightline about the existence of Satan. He didn't back down from the truth, yet he did it in a loving way. Another example was Chip Ingram who teaches the Bible concisely, yet does it in a gentle and caring way.

I had mentioned in a previous post that I was reading "The Ishbane Conspiracy" by Randy Alcorn. I want to share some words from Prince Ishbane (a demon) writing to Lord Foulgrin (another demon) about this very topic:

"The unpleasant fact is this: The vermins' (humans) hearts long for the Carpenter. The forbidden book (Bible) says He's full of grace and truth. Hence, their hearts long for grace and truth. Our job is to deceive them into searching for grace and truth in all the wrong forms, in all the wrong places.

"The Pharisees affirmed truth at the expense of grace. Some forbidden fellowships (church)do that, while others affirm grace at the expense of truth. Without truth, the counterfeit for grace is what they call "tolerance." This is simply cowardice. Without grace, the counterfeit for truth is rule keeping."

"When the forbidden fellowships minimize truth, people see no need for salvation. When they minimize grace, people see no hope for salvation. Either serves us well."

"Use this as a model in your dealings with each of the young vermin, beginning with Jillian. Ask yourself, How am I drawing her away from truth? and How am I drawing her away from grace? Without truth or grace, they'll have no reference points, no direction, and no hope."

As I grow as a follower of Christ, I hope to be able to do this better each and every day. I know these words from Alcorn were helpful in better understanding Scriptures such "speaking the truth in love" and sharing my faith "with gentleness and respect." I hope we as the Body of Christ will seek to balance grace and truth more consistently.

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