grace and truth

today at church we wrapped up a series about relationships. We've talked about a lot of things but today was all about grace and truth. It all began when the word became man and was full of grace and truth. It's important, in the greek language especially, to note that word order and placement matter immensely. It doesn't say that jesus was full of truth and grace. in fact, nowhere in the bible does it say he is full of truth and grace. It always puts grace first. If you think about the story of the adulteress that is directly caught in the act and brought before jesus in the center of town, Jesus does not condemn her first. It is the people who try to bring out the truth and expose her in a way that is cutting and humiliating. Jesus simply grant her grace by saying that he will not condemn her. It seems that christians are very divided on the ideas of truth and grace. People can either be truthful or graceful but never both. The truth people are always upholding the law. They cling to the fact that God is truth. These are the pharisees. These are the bible thumpers. On the other hand, there a the grace people. They oftentimes are seen as the weak hippy dippy christians who see sin as a problem in the world that doesn't apply to them. They're saved by grace so they can do whatever they want. They show grace by accepting everyone's actions and never leading anyone in the RIGHT path. both of these ideas are right and both are wrong at the same time. the thing about truth is that it is designed to unveil, to bring everything out into the open. pastor gave the illustration of a department store. If you were in a department store and you wanted to try on some clothes, it would be prudent to find a changing room to hide yourself before you uncovered yourself. In the same way, grace covers us so that we can feel safe when the truth comes out. grace is the changing room that helps us to accept the healthy truth that comes to transform our sinful ways. Jesus grants the woman grace. He says he will not condemn her; but then he says go now and sin no more. he addresses the fact that she has sinned. The truth is, this woman has committed adultery and has sinned but instead of shaming her and judging her with truth, the christlike thing to do is grant grace and then address the sin. If grace comes first, then you can position yourself to be on the same side to tackle the issue of sin. we are covered with grace so that when we are stripped naked and laid bare by truth, we can feel safe to change and transform into the people we were made to be.