Grace And Truth Through Jesus Christ

Let's turn to the portion of Scripture which we read in the Gospel of John chapter 1.! And as God would help me, I'd like to concentrate on verse 17.

The Gospel of John chapter 1, verse 17. For the law was given through Moses.

Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. For the law was given through Moses.

Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. When sin came into the world, it did not come alone.

It brought with it misery and the curse. Part of that curse is that we human beings do not realize what went wrong and cannot put it right.

You can't live in this world for very long without coming to the conclusion we're under a curse. There's problems that we can't solve.

Now because of that, the human race requires intervention from an external source.

We don't even know what's wrong, so we can't put the world right. Therefore, we need intervention from an external source.

We need divine help. To help us to know what went wrong and help us to live properly as we should.

God sent us Moses into the world to give us the law, referring to the Ten Commandments. The law, the Ten Commandments, teaches us what pleases God.

The Ten Commandments teach us what angers God. The Ten Commandments teach us how we should be living. The Ten Commandments do not teach us how to be saved.

The Ten Commandments cannot forgive our sins, no matter how well you keep them. Therefore, God sent Jesus Christ into the world to give us salvation, to tell us how to be saved.

Christ came into the world to bring salvation, or interestingly, as salvation is defined here, grace and truth.

That's just a biblical term for salvation. Grace and truth. Salvation is realized in this world through the coming of Jesus Christ into the world.

So, as God would help me, I'd like to just examine these two concepts, grace and truth. Actually, they're just one concept. It's another word for salvation, as I've indicated.

First of all, grace. Are you like me? What is grace? I used to think it's some sort of thing that flies around and lands on this one and that one and the next one from time to time.

People would ask, has that person got grace? And has this person got grace? And that's the way I used to think. But that's not helpful. It's not a helpful way of thinking of what grace is.

We should think of grace. In fact, we should think of mercy similarly. Mercy and grace are used interchangeably. As we'll note, they're not exactly the same. But we'll use them.

Mercy. Think of mercy. Think of grace as decisions God has made to bless people. That's my own homemade definition.

And I think it's biblical. A decision God has made to bless someone. Here's what I found exceedingly helpful. It's to define justice, to define mercy, and to define grace.

Justice is getting what you deserve. Okay? Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve.

You deserve to be punished, but you don't get punished. That, technically, is mercy. So what's grace? Technically, grace is getting what you don't deserve.

In the salvation of God, it's mercy if you're not sent to hell. But God gives you grace as well.

You get heaven. You get eternal life. You get... You're in a situation in this world where everything that happens to you, including the bad things, as I try to tell the children, everything works out for your good.

Eventually. Not immediately. It's very unpleasant to enjoy hardship, but eventually it works out for good. So, think of that.

Justice, getting what you deserve. Mercy, not getting what you deserve. Grace, getting what you don't deserve.

Mercy, not getting what you deserve. It's a plus on top of mercy. A free gift of glory in heaven at last. And everything in this world working out for your eventual good.

Now, mercy should make you humble. Mercy should make you humble.

Grace. Grace. Grace. Grace should transform you. Mercy should make us humble.

Grace should transform us. However, for God to be merciful and to be gracious, because He is holy, He cannot save us.

He cannot give us mercy or grace unless our sin is paid for. Because God has sworn irrevocably, sin must be punished with death.

If God said, I want that person in heaven. Let's forget about his sin. He'd no longer be God.

God is holy. God cannot tell lies. He has said, sin deserves eternal death.

So, He's got to keep that. So, I speak reverently. He had a problem in heaven, hadn't He? He wanted Christians to be in heaven with Him.

But He had sworn irrevocably, sin must be punished with the pains of hell. So, how can He have these people He wants in heaven with Him?

If He's to remain true. If He's to remain holy. Only if He gets a substitute to stand in for us.

So, that's what He did. So keen, so anxious was God to have people in heaven with Him. He said, I'll provide a substitute. Because God is holy, He cannot save you.

Not only unless our sin is paid for, but except Christ died in our place. Christ is God.

He's also human. But He is the eternal person. If a human being was to be your substitute or my substitute, because we're a human being, our death could only be substituted for one other human being.

One human being can only substitute for another one human being. But because Jesus is God, because He's an eternal person, His death is equivalent of millions of other people's deaths.

So, no one else but Jesus Christ could be the substitute for you and for me. Maybe for you alone, but not you and me.

Maybe for me alone, not you. But the gospel of Jesus Christ's salvation is an offer to all men everywhere. If they believe and if they repent.

So, there's three things. Because God is holy, He cannot save you unless your sin is paid for. He cannot save you unless Christ is your substitute, dying in your place.

And thirdly, He cannot save you unless your faith is in Christ. Unless you believe that when Jesus Christ died upon that cross of Calvary, He was dying there as a substitute before God for every person who will believe in Him.

You remember there was a centurion there. Now, that centurion, the Bible doesn't say so, but very, very likely, that centurion was the centurion in charge of crucifixions.

And maybe Friday was crucifixion day. And that Friday, three crucifixions. And He saw the three of them on the cross there. And then Jesus died.

And what did the centurion, who probably witnessed more crucifixions than anyone else, what did he say? He said, that man must be the Son of God.

That's not the way normal human beings die. They take three days to die. The centurion recognized the man on the center cross is not only human.

He's also the Son of God. And that's who our hope must be in for all eternity. Because the Bible says elsewhere, there is no other name under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved.

As we said, grace transforms people. If you are a Christian, you're going through a process of change.

The Bible tells us we're predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. Christians are destined to be molded into Christ-like human beings.

the process is becoming more like Jesus. And how do we become more like Jesus? By constantly believing in Him.

Constantly contact. Make constant contact with Him. Being in His company. Thinking about Him. Speaking to Him. Listening to Him.

Reading about Him. Talking about Him. Contact. With Jesus. That's what transforms us. And it's a process. The very moment, the first moment, you trust Christ, you believe in Christ, you're instantly forgiven every sin you'll ever commit.

as well as the ones you have already committed. Instantly. Perfect. All your sins are brought out instantly. But you're not made holy instantly.

It takes the rest of your life to make you like Jesus. without holiness. Without holiness. Without holiness. There's a verse in the Bible that says, without holiness, no man will see the Lord.

But what you've got to grasp, and if you don't grasp anything here today, grasp this. Without holiness, you can be converted. Okay?

Without holiness, you can be converted. But without holiness, you'll not arrive in heaven. It's a process. God's decision of grace is to permit a substitute for human beings.

His second act of grace was, look, these people will never think of my son being their substitute. I'll provide my son.

It will be mercy of God to say, look, I'll permit a substitute for you to suffer in for your sins if you can find one. You'll get one, though.

You'll find someone else to stand in for you. But God goes further in his grace and he says, I'm providing the substitute. I've got someone that can stand in for an innumerable number of people and take their punishment.

But you've got to believe in him. God says, I'll do that too. Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you'll find.

Ask for faith in Jesus. The faith that saves your soul. And God has bound himself up to give you that faith.

That's grace. I'll give you the faith that unites you to Jesus forever and ever and ever and you're guaranteed heaven. God goes further.

He says, I'll make you holy eventually. Eventually. Your soul will be perfected the moment you die. Perfected. And you'll go to glory.

And I will ensure you persevere. I'll preserve you by you persevering. Persevere believing.

Persevere through these troubles. These sorrows of life. They're sanctifying you. They're making you holy. Trust in them.

God guarantees you everything in Jesus Christ. Now if you've thought of that and studied that you'll see this is so unbelievably good.

Is it true? Eh? Is it real? What's our text say? Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

So we've looked a bit at grace. Now let's look at truth. Truth came through Jesus Christ.

There's a verse in the Bible that always used to terrify me as a young person about people learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Wow. All these university professors possible to be always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.

It's vital to come to a knowledge of the truth. and only Christ can do that.

Truth comes from Christ. When Jesus said this at the time when Jesus arrived the world apparently was plagued with false prophets.

Remember Jesus said one will say here I am Christ and another will say I am the prophet I am they didn't know who to believe. Do you remember Pontius Pilate at that mock trial of Christ he said what is truth and it used to disturb me when I used to read that why did Jesus not answer him seriously!

ask the question seriously he said what's truth how will anyone ever get that question they're all saying they've all got it and he said it shortly after Christ said I came to bear witness to the truth you see by saying how will you know what truth is he was saying Christ you're not the truth what you've just said you is not the truth and it was the truth I came to bear witness to the truth so what is truth all truth you cannot separate truth from God truth all truth belongs to God facts that's truth isn't it reality what happens who made it happen God the

God of truth God is truth facts are God's providence truth you can't separate truth from the God head God the father is called the God of truth God the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of truth Christ Jesus the second person of the God head he says I am the truth he doesn't say I'll show you the truth he says I am the truth truth cannot be separated from Christ truth cannot be separated from God but you know truth can't be separated from several other things as well truth reality fact cannot be separated from mercy psalm 85 verse 10 says mercy and truth met together mercy and truth met together truth can't be separated from from freedom do you want to be free do you want to be free no

Christ no truth no reality if you know the truth the truth shall make you free do you want to know reality no Christ if you know the truth the truth shall make you free Christ can free you are you in bondage are you in a corner you need Christ to free you to liberate you you can't separate truth from mercy and you can't separate truth from freedom and of course we've been speaking about you can't separate truth from grace grace and truth both together came through Jesus Christ but neither can truth be separated from repentance we have to acknowledge our sin if we confess our sins

God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins through Jesus Christ death there are a verse in the Bible say in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 25 if God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth so that you may know the truth you will not know truth you will not know grace you will not know heaven unless you repent you say I can't repent ask God to give you repentance truth God is the God who provides he'll provide he's at the right hand of God to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to those who ask to those who ask for now the fourth thing truth can't be separated from faith faith in the gospel we you've heard the text the truth as it is in

Jesus as it is in Jesus then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him if you abide in my word then are you my disciples indeed and you shall know the truth grace and truth are joined together Christ and truth are joined together mercy and truth are joined together repentance and truth are joined together faith and Christ and truth and mercy and grace are all joined together Paul the apostle defined genuine Christians as those who believe and know the truth there's so much falsehood so much corruption going on we don't know what to believe we don't know who to believe

Jesus Christ is the truth and the truth can make you free well that's grace and truth just in conclusion note our text the law was given through Moses given that just means granted as a gift grace and truth doesn't say it was given it says it came through Jesus Christ now I was amazed and I checked up a long time and apparently that original word translated came truth grace and truth came through

Jesus that word came as you know the original bible was the old testament was written in hebrew and the new in greek the original word in greek is elsewhere in the bible translated as married married to someone to be married to be married to you so he can take you to heaven he wants you he wants to spend heaven with you that's a word of truth that's

Jesus Christ speaking in the bible and as we close listen grace and truth and Jesus came and it's not going to go away he came to stay to bring as many as are interested as many as repent as many as believe in him to glory and he wants to be married to you he wants to spend heaven eternity with sinners just like you and just like me all you have to do is believe it all you have to do is receive it we read there he came to his own and his own people did not receive him but verse 12 but to all who did receive him to them he gave the right to those who believed in his name the right to become children of

God receive Christ accept Christ believe in Christ rejoice in Christ Christ came to this world now you come to Christ he came here now you come to him it will transform your life it will take you to glory believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved may God the Holy Spirit make his word effectual to every single one of us let's bow our heads in prayer may