GRACE AND TRUTH:

Original post:
This thread is dedicated to those who want to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Serious posters only, please post what was/is Christ like, from what you have learned from the Scriptures.

What was/is Christ like?

- full of grace and truth
- came to do the will of the Father
- no idle word proceeded from His mouth
- zeal for His Father's house consumed Him
- had compassion on the multitudes
- spoke boldly against religiosity
- came to serve
- gave His life a ransom for many

Crucified laid behind the stone
You lived to die rejected and alone
Like the rose
Like a Rose trampled on the ground
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
You took the fall
Above all
And thought of me
Song by Michael W. Smith "Above All"

Response #1:
Your list is a reminder that Christ was "balanced" in his approach to people and His mission.

John 1:14 is SO important. John says that "we beheld his glory/character, and that the best description of that character was: "full of grace and truth".

Jesus was 100% GRACE. That reality is clear in his emotional response to the masses. He was filled with compassion. When a proud, rich, young ruler came to him, Jesus didn't immediately "put him in his place", but he dialogued with him... and "loved him." With all who came seeking, he treated them with compassion, tenderness. He SAW them. He TOUCHED them. He met spoken needs, but went deeper to resolve those unspoken needs and heal those inner hurts as well. He was LOVE personified.

But he was also 100% TRUTH. With that same proud, rich, young ruler, Jesus ultimately identified the source of his spiritual pride and called him to face the truth about himself. When the price proved too great, Jesus allowed him to walk away rather than negotiate or compromise. (But he also didn't chide him as he left or shout condemnations at him as he turned away. Still 100% grace while standing 100% on the side of truth) Jesus was consistently truthful, but consistently spoke the truth in love.

Jesus understood his mission and fulfilled it. He refused to be sidetracked or settle for a substitute solution (as offered by Satan in the temptations). He had a "big picture" understanding of that mission - He had come to save the world - but he retained a "one person at a time" understanding of how the mission must be fulfilled. He took time for people who were interested and open to Him. As a result, He could cry out at Calvary, "It is finished." despite the millions of lives yet unsaved and untouched. It was because he understood His own unique part in the mission - to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world; and to be the Teacher/Trainer who made disciples & equipped those disciples to do the work of discipleship - and also understood the part of the mission that belonged to others.

I believe that our greatest need today is to recapture that same sense of mission - understanding that we are to be the continuation of the ministry of Christ - to seek and save the lost/to make disciples of all nations. But I also believe that we must recapture that same sense of Christian character that is missing in much of the church today - that 100% GRACE matched by 100% TRUTH that proves invitingly intoxicating to those seeking to find meaning and purpose to life... that proves welcoming and affirming to those who will risk entering into Christian dialogue... but also that proves 100% truthful in the demands of Christian commitment without the slick marketing & misleading messages that comes with our Americanized perversion of the Christian message. And without the competitive spirit that allows us to justify our condemning/combative/argumentative approach to non-believers as well as fellow Christians who don't share our particular denominational/doctrinal positions. Rather than being so focused on winning arguments, we need to remember that our mission is to win hearts.

Response #2:
God/Jesus are:

• Lovingly gentle
• Lovingly firm
• Faithful
• True
• Merciful
• Forgiving
• Communicative
• Just
• Ever vigilant
• All powerful
• All knowledgeable
• Everpresent
• Everlasting
• Never changing
• Gracious
• Eternal
• Lord
• All that I need