Grace and Truth

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jn 1:17 NIV

We need truth. God is not a fairy tale. God created the world. Jesus was and is the eternal Son of God. The Ten Commandments come from God. Idolatry, murder and adultery are sins. That is the truth.

But we also need grace. Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins. Only through God's grace do we receive forgiveness and eternal life, and much more.

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Rom 8:31–32 NIV

All Bible-believing Christians agree that we need grace and truth, but in the minds of many Christians it is the other way round, that is not grace and truth, but truth and grace.

But is the order important? In the Bible, it is not just concepts that are important, but priorities.

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jn 1:17 NIV

First came the Ten Commandments and then grace through Jesus. But we need to take a closer look at this teaching.

What came before the Ten Commandments?

And God spoke all these words:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Ex 20:1–2 NIV

Rescue from slavery in Egypt came first, and then the teaching of the Ten Commandments.
That is, first grace and then truth.

How did Jesus minister as a preacher? He began by healing the sick, and only later did he reveal the truth that he was the eternal Son of God. In the beginning, he appeared only as a miracle-working prophet. That means first grace and only later the full truth.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. Mt 16:13–17 NIV

Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. Mt 16:20 NIV

What was Jesus' approach? First revealing God's love through miraculous healings and then, much later, proclaiming the truth of his heavenly identity.

Many Christians grumble because some are healed in charismatic events, but not all repent.

But Jesus himself healed many who did not become believing followers. This made Jesus very sad, but he continued to heal the sick even though not all became disciples.

Grace first and then truth. That was and is God's approach.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ Explained

 The Lord Jesus was with the heavenly Father in infinite eternity before the creation of the universe. Jesus, God the Son, no less divine than the Father, looked down the centuries and saw that you need forgiveness and restoration.

He knew that his Father was righteous.

He knew you would go wrong in your life.

He knew you deserved judgement, but he wanted to save you.

Before the first angel saw the face of God, before the first star shone in the sky, Jesus decided to be born as a baby, just like us. He decided that he would submit to a cruel execution on the cross.  

And why? So that He would be punished in your place. So you could be forgiven and fully reconciled with God.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:23 NIV

We cannot earn God's favour.

We have all ruined our lives in different ways.

None of us can claim to be as good as Jesus.

Our sin has separated us from the presence of God, but God gave his only Son to give us back our lives.

This is a free gift, and you must accept God's loving favour as a free gift or not at all.

Jesus paid the full price to redeem us from death, hell and eternal despair. We cannot add an extra payment. He has done everything.

But you must do something to gain his favour.

Suppose you were to inherit a fortune from your rich father. He gave you a mansion and a huge bank balance.

How can you claim your inheritance?

You need to see a lawyer and take possession of the title deeds.
Jesus is your lawyer who speaks for you before the throne of the heavenly Father.
You can find in God's promises in the Bible that speak of your inheritance.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;
and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jn 11:25–26 NIV

You must enter the house.

“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. Jn 10:9 NASB95

You invest your inherited money to be a blessing. You invest your life in the kingdom of God.

Jesus taught the parable of the talents.

The master gave his servants wealth to invest and went away. Two servants invested wisely and doubled their money, but a third servant buried his money and gave it back to the master when he returned.

He was like the passive believer who tried to use his faith as a ticket to heaven but could do nothing with the gifts of God.

Jesus sternly warned people who passively use salvation as fire insurance.

‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

“Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Mt 25:28–30 NASB95

Jesus and Paul also taught:

Turn around and just believe ....

You can totally rely on Jesus. If you hand your life over into His hands, you can experience His love in an amazing way. You can then pass on this love.

He died for you, but also for all those around you.

If preachers abuse children, should they be fired?

 In God's heaven there is no sin, no anger, no unkindness, no little lies.
If you are a little sarcastic with your wife, God must forgive you before you are allowed to go to heaven.

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord. Heb 12:14 NIV

All of us, without exception, are unholy by nature. Those who are sometimes a little lazy need God's forgiveness.
Those who are sometimes unloving or sarcastic need God's forgiveness.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

Jesus was cruelly executed to take our guilt upon himself so that God would not punish us for our sins.

But we must humbly receive God's free gift. God's forgiveness is free and complete, but not unconditional.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NIV

We must believe, but that means much more than religious mental assent.

Jesus preached that we must repent and be ready to live a new life with God.

“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mk 1:15 NIV

Faith means trusting God. If you believe in a good doctor, you take the prescribed medicine.

Those who believe in Jesus try to obey Jesus.

But do we all become faultless after our conversion?

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 Jn 1:8–9 NIV

If a Christian acts a little unloving or speaks sarcastically to his family, he should confess his sin.

But if a Christian watches porn, will God forgive that too? Or if he abuses a child?

In the Bible, we see how God also forgives terrible sins, but repentance or conversion does not just mean a short prayer.

King David had a soldier killed and took his wife for himself. He had to confess his sin publicly. In Psalm 51 we see his deep remorse.

But if a preacher abuses a child, and he is minimising his sin, can he simply confess and continue preaching?

Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 1 Ti 3:2 NIV

Some claim that all sins are equal in God's eyes. But this is not the case.

If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that.

All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. 1 Jn 5:16–17 NIV

A significant issue within the Church regarding abuse is that its  theology often suggests that all sins are equal, which can lead to minimising abuse and offering "cheap grace" to perpetrators.(Boz Tschividjian... Christian lawyer.)

Paul preached grace and forgiveness of sins, but when a man in Corinth would not give up a sexual relationship with his stepmother, Paul wrote that he should be excommunicated.

Should preachers who abuse children be allowed to continue preaching? God wants to forgive all sins, but different sins have different consequences.

FINDING A REASON TO LIVE

Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God. Ephesians 2:8 (TLB) 

• You were separated from God but God took the initiative to restore you to a relationship with your Heavenly Father.

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba (Daddy), Father.” Romans 8:15 (NLT)

The kind of FAITH that reconciles you to God is not just religious belief. 

It is trusting God as a child loves his mother and father. 

Of course there are children who have good reason not to trust their parents but God is never an unkind, unfair or abusive father.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV) 

The Lord Jesus was with the Heavenly Father in the endless eternity before the creation of the universe. Jesus, God the Son, no less divine than the Father, looked down the centuries and saw you in need of forgiveness and restoration. 

• He knew His Father was just. 

• He knew you would mess up your life. 

• He knew you deserved judgement but He wanted to save you.

 Before the first angel saw the face of God, before the first star shone in the sky, Jesus decided to be born as a baby just like us. He decided that He would submit to a cruel execution on the cross.

• Why? So He would be punished in your place. So you could be forgiven and be fully restored to God.

Jesus trusted His Father to raise Him up from death.You can trust the Father as Jesus did.You can trust Jesus who sacrificed Himself so amazingly for you.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NLT)

• We cannot earn God’s favour. 
• We all messed up our lives in different ways. 
• None of us can claim to be good like Jesus. 
• Our sin cut us off from the presence of God but God gave His only son to give us our lives back again. 

It is a free gift and you must accept God’s loving favour as a free gift or not at all. 

Jesus paid the full price to ransom us from death, from hell and eternal despair. We cannot add any co-payment. He has done it all.

But you must do something to receive His favour. 

Supposing you inherited a fortune from your rich father. He gave you a mansion and a huge bank balance. 

How can you enter into your inheritance?

• You must to see a lawyer and take possession of the title deeds. 

• You must move into the house.
• You honour the father who gave you everything.
• You learn to look after the mansion and use it to provide shelter and hospitality for your family and for those people that God wants you to care for.
• You invest your inherited money to be a blessing. You invest your life in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus taught the parable of the Talents. 

The master gave his servants wealth to invest and went away. Two servants invested wisely and doubled their money but a third servant buried his money and gave it back to the master when he returned. 

• He was like the passive believer who tried to use his faith as a ticket to heaven but did nothing with the gifts of God.

Jesus sternly warned people who passively use salvation as fire insurance.

So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.

• For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 

And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness....Matthew 25:28-30 (ESV) 

Jesus AND also Paul taught:

REPENT and believe ....

Dare to believe and invest your whole life for Jesus.

He died for you but also for millions of others.

WHY IS THE WORLD A TERRIBLE MESS?

Everywhere we look, we see animals hunting and killing animals, animals and plants dying of disease and dehydration, plagues and famines killing men, women and children.

Did God create the world like this? NO.

Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind ... And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:24-25 (NLT)

The Bible gives us a little glimpse of the animal world as God planned it.

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. Isaiah 11:6 (NLT) 

• God put Adam and Eve in charge of a world of animals at peace. There was no killing and no death, not even among animals.

• Adam and Eve were appointed to be the governors of a planet full of peace and life but when they chose to believe in evil, death entered the world, just as God had warned them.

...but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:17 (NIV) 

The devil appeared to Eve as a snake. Did Satan possess a natural created snake or did Satan make himself to appear as a snake? We don’t know.

God is not responsible for the suffering and death around us. 

• We have all followed the example of Adam and Eve by believing the lies of darkness and mistrusting God. 

• We have cursed the earth by our wilful blindness. 

But God had an amazing plan to restore all things. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)

It was man who brought death into the world and messed up God’s creation but God was not taken by surprise. He saw it all coming because the future is an open book to His all seeing eye.

Even before Adam and Eve went astray, God planned that He Himself would come to earth as a man. 

• What a man destroyed, a man would restore, the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the promised Messiah of Israel.

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

• For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 (NIV)

How can you receive the restored eternal life that Jesus offers?

How did Adam and Eve lose eternal life?

• Eve believed the lies of the devil and lost her immortality and glory.

• You and I can believe the truth of Jesus and God will restore to you what Adam and Eve lost. 

But Eve did not just believe a lie; she acted on it.You must believe the truth of Jesus and act on it. 

• Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and commit your life to trusting and obeying Him. He is the one who created you and truly loves you.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. Romans 8:18-19 (NIV)

• When you decide to stop believing the lies of darkness and live by the truth of God, you become a son or daughter of the Most High God, the Heavenly Father. 

• Suffering does not disappear but one day you and I will live in God’s perfectly restored heavenly new creation.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, 

• in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Romans 8:20-21 (NIV)

Jesus sent them out Two by Two.

In the OT, the focus was on The Man of God. In the OT, the Man Of God spoke to the nation of Israel and often had a disciple: Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha. 

In the NT the focus shifted to The Son of God. The Son of God did not have one disciple but a Team of disciples who became a Team of Leaders. Jesus did not raise up His leaders one by one but sent them out Two By Two.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my father in heaven, 

for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:19-20 (ESV)  

Why have we Pentecostals gone back to OT thinking by looking up to this or that Man of God but neglecting the principle of Teams of Disciples? 

Why do we put anointed preachers and pastors on a pedestal but we do not do what Jesus taught and did? He sent them out two by two, not only the 12 but also the 70.

At the Last Supper we see Jesus preparing His chosen team of leaders for His departure at the cross. They argue about who would be “the greatest.” 

Clearly they were confused because Jesus had not appointed One Supreme Leader who would take over after the Son of God returned to Heaven. 

Jesus never did because Jesus pioneered a new model of leadership which most of us have still not understood very well.

But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.  

And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Matthew 23:8-9 (ESV) 

Then in Acts we see Peter emerging as the front man but not like Moses in the OT. Peter was the first among equals, the leader of a team of leaders. 

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Acts 2:1 (NKJV) 

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:4 (NKJV) 

Paul is often seen as the supreme stand-alone Man of God like the OT heroes but this is a dangerous half truth.

Paul travelled from town to town and planted churches wherever he went but in one major city he only won a few individual converts. 

What was different about Athens? 

Paul went to Athens alone. Everywhere else Paul had at least one travelling companion and spiritual partner according to the spiritual principle of the Two by Two.

Why do so many pastors leave the ministry? Why do so many newly planted churches only last for a limited time? 

We have based our churches on a wrong understanding of the Bible, the Old Testament idea of one man leadership. 

Pastors have been taught in Bible college not to make friends with members of the congregation, to be like the lonely captain of a ship, accountable only to God and not to his brothers and sisters, except fellow pastors, who are wrongly understood to be a separate and higher class of Christians. 

So many pastors crack and burn out under this unreasonable burden, never designed by God.

In Acts 3, we see how a crippled beggar was healed at the gate of the Temple.

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.  

And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at US.”  

And he fixed his attention on THEM, expecting to receive something from THEM. Acts 3:3-5 (ESV) 

If a fellow believer asks you if you have a pastor and you don’t have one, they think you are in rebellion. 

However, no one asks if you have a prayer partner or a spiritual co-worker. How have we developed this unbalanced understanding?

But God is doing a new thing. 

There are more and more husband and wife teams prominent in ministry. 

Youth With a Mission is the world’s largest missionary organisation and they emphasise team ministry.