Living In The Tension | Short Sermon Series

Grace and truth don’t exactly go together, do they? Grace is mercy and though truth will set us free, it’ll probably tick us off before we can be set free. The tension is in balancing grace and truth; grace without truth is meaningless and truth without grace crushes people, but grace AND truth is medicine. Jesus lived in this tension, ministering grace and truth to others.

The Pharisees could not understand how this Jesus taught the law, yet hung out with messed up people. But the thing is, Jesus isn’t shocked by our sin. Big sin or small sin, sin is sin and Jesus came in the flesh to dwell among us and empathise with us.

It’s easy to react to a situation and the enemy wants us to react, but we need to respond. A reaction is quick but a response is deliberate. The Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus in the middle of his sermon and tried to trap Jesus by asking what should happen to her.

The law said to stone her, but that wasn’t God’s heart. Jesus was caught in the tension between grace and truth, but he responded by writing in the dirt, as if he didn’t even hear the Pharisees, and then said, “he who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Jesus was saying “I see you and I know what you did” (truth) while taking care of her issues before she could realise (grace). Jesus’ response made everyone there realise, “I’m actually no different from this woman,” and they all left.

Thank God we have a Saviour who is full of grace and truth. “Neither do I condemn you;” (grace) “go and sin no more.” (truth) God didn’t send Jesus to condemn, but sent Him as a Saviour!

Sermon by @robertmadu