We are completing our Christmas series of messages entitled: “The Word Made Flesh.” This series has been taken from John 1:14 “And the Word became 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.” Today we want to move into the last part of the verse that says: He (Jesus), was full of grace and truth.
“Grace” people are pleasant to be around. They don’t ruffle any feathers. They cut us a lot of slack. They’re easy going. “Truth” people, on the other hand, are easy to admire. They have convictions and principles. They believe in right and wrong. They set standards. They speak out against injustice, oppression, and evil. They are articulate and well-spoken. But without grace, telling the truth can result in injury.
Jesus was all grace. He welcomed sinners and tax collectors and ate with them. And Jesus was all truth. He condemned many of the religious leaders of His day for being liars and hypocrites. He talked about hell more than He talked about heaven. Jesus came from the Father full of grace and truth. All grace, all truth, all the time. If Jesus really was the embodiment of Truth and Grace - how did He handle people and circumstances? Let’s take a look at a scenario that you are probably familiar with…the woman who was caught in adultery in John 8.
Caught - John 8 says that this woman was caught in adultery - that was the (Truth)
Commanded -the law of Moses commanded punishment…this also was the (Truth)
Conscious - Jesus was conscious of the demands of the law but He was there to bring grace into her situation…He is the perfect balance of (Truth and Grace)
Confronted - the Bible says He raised the religious people to a new reality of love and grace in the face of sin and disobedience by saying challenging them that if they were without sin, to cast the first stone (Grace)
Convicted – the religious people were convicted by their conscience knowing that they were deserving of condemnation for their own sin (Truth)
Condemned? – Jesus explains to the woman that no one, including Himself, condemned her for her sin (Grace)
Command - Go and sin no more. Jesus now challenges the woman to let her life now reflect the gratitude of His loving and gracious sacrifice by not continuing to sin anymore (Grace and Truth)
Jesus, the “Word”, is full of grace and truth. When Jesus died for our sin, God was true to himself, because sin was punished. And when Christ died, God was gracious to us, because Christ bore the punishment not us. How should we respond understanding our own sinful human nature, and yet in gratitude for His great love and grace?
Join us in person on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. or via livestream by going to https://www.firstbaptistsudbury.com and clicking on livestream for “Grace and Truth. ”
Blessings,
Kevin
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