Grace and Truth

Law   vs   Grace John 1:17 explains an important difference between the ministries of Moses and Jesus. Moses' ministry brought knowledge of the law. But the law could only show us how sinful and broken we were (Romans 3:20). Rather than just bringing us truth, Jesus also brought us grace. Instead of simply telling us that we were broken, Christ gave us a way to fix what was wrong. This is an important, common theme of the Bible. Human efforts will always fall short, and everyone is corrupted with sin (Romans 3:23). Instead of leaving us to face that uncomfortable truth alone, Jesus provided a way for us to experience forgiveness. Merely doing good deeds can never save us, only God's grace, through faith, can do that. This is further symbolized in miracles. Moses' first miracle was turning water into blood, which is symbolic of judgment (Exodus 7:20). Later, only those homes which had the blood of a lamb on their doors were "passed over" by God's anger (Exodus ...

Full   of   Grace   and   Truth To gain a greater understanding of God’s grace, we need only look at Jesus, who was the person of grace and truth. Both were perfectly displayed in Him. With truth, Christ made people aware of their hopeless, sinful condition; with grace He offered forgiveness to all who would come to Him in faith. Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ ( John 1:17). This is clearly seen in Jesus. People willing to admit their sins were drawn to Christ and His offer of forgiveness. But the Pharisees, who saw themselves as righteous, didn’t think they needed His grace. And so they rejected it, mistakenly believing that their lawful practices made them acceptable to God (Romans 9:30-33). For the greatest present of grace and truth, however, we must look to the cross. There, our Savior Jesus Christ suffered just penalty for our sin so God the Father could extend grace to those of us who believe in His Son. Now heavenly goodness, love, and mercy pour ov...