Full of What?

I was at breakfast recently and a friend said, 'grace without truth, is a grace without substance.' He quoted this verse from the gospel of John. 

John 1:14 14And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth So what do you think about that?  Does grace have to be based upon truth or can grace stand alone? The same could be said of faith.  Does faith in Christ require anything but faith?  Good questions. There are people who have faith in faith itself.  I am not sure that faith in faith has really any substance.   I think grace is the same.  You can say, "I am living in God's grace and forgiven," but at the same time not willing to give up a sinful lifestyle, are you then really living in God's grace?    Again, the substance of grace is not grace, it is the person of Jesus Christ.   Jesus extends grace to you because He loves you, and has forgiven you. As a result of this forgiveness we can be free to live for Him, free from the entanglements of sin. It is at this point that both faith and grace have substance in the reality of truth being lived out.  So we could say that both grace and faith, need truth to make them valid.  Here is another example that illustrates my point. Many say just pray, and God will answer.  What do you do with this verse that tells us God ignores the prayers of those who ignore His instruction?  In Proverbs 28:9 we read: 9If one turns away his ear from hearing the law even his prayer is an abomination. God will not be mocked, and He knows the intention of the heart. Faith without truth, or grace without truth, are only concepts without substance of Jesus Christ being the focal point.  The substance of both faith and grace is the person of Jesus Christ, and without Him you don't have what the Bible teach about faith or grace.  In the verse above, it says, Jesus came full of grace and truth, the one validating the other. So until next time, may the grace and truth of God's word keep you honest and truthful. K    P.S.  By the way, I always like to have a penultimate video, a trusted speaker/teacher.  Here is the testimony of C. J. Mahaney.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYVO2-2ndg4

Comments

[Ron Sawtell]

Amen!!!!You-tube excellent also!!!