Grace & Truth Have Met 

The Kingdom Combination

I was privileged this morning (I am writing this study on a Sunday night) to hear one of the great sermons of my life. I say this having sat at the feet of, and shared platforms with, Dwight Pryor, David Pawson and Derek Prince, so my bar is pretty high. What made this sermon so compelling and powerful was that it was deeply personal, hugely insightful and thought provoking. And my thoughts turned to this story that we know so well, but maybe in the light of Psalm 85 highlights a deep teaching from Jesus:

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law of Moses brought in a woman who had been caught in bed with a man who wasn’t her husband. They made her stand in the middle of the crowd. Then they said, “Teacher, this woman was caught sleeping with a man who isn’t her husband. The Law of Moses teaches that a woman like this should be stoned to death! What do you say?” They asked Jesus this question, because they wanted to test him and bring some charge against him. But Jesus simply bent over and started writing on the ground with his finger. They kept on asking Jesus about the woman. Finally, he stood up and said, “If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first stone at her!” Once again, he bent over and began writing on the ground. The people left one by one, beginning with the oldest. Finally, Jesus and the woman were there alone. Jesus stood up and asked her, “Where is everyone? Isn’t there anyone left to accuse you?” “No sir,” the woman answered. Then Jesus told her, “I am not going to accuse you either. You may go now, but don’t sin anymore.” (John 8:3-11)

We all know this story, and it is a bit of a puzzler. Adultery is not a single person activity. So where is the other party, unless it is one of the men making the accusation and this is a set-up designed to put Jesus in a tricky situation? Certainly, there is a strong indication of this when Jesus challenges the crowd to throw the first stone if they are without sin. Whatever it is the crowd drifts away.

This brings us to these beautiful verses from Psalm 85:10-11:

Grace and truth have met together; justice and peace have kissed each other.
Truth springs up from the earth, and justice looks down from heaven.

Justice and grace go together

Grace and justice are twin themes of God, you cannot have one without the other. When they are in place peace (or better still, shalom) abounds.

It is in that moment, when the crowd has drifted away, that this joint gospel principle comes into play. Why do I say that? Because, to me, justice is the process of dismantling the infrastructure (or the enablers) of injustice – corruption, cruelty and evil; whilst grace or mercy is the process of ministering healing to those damaged and hurt by injustice.

Justice is the process of dismantling the infrastructure (or the enablers) of injustice – corruption, cruelty and evil; whilst grace or mercy is the process of ministering healing to those damaged and hurt by injustice.

Jesus knows that an injustice has been done to this lady.
He dismantles that injustice by challenging the crowd and seeing them disperse.

Jesus knows that this lady is in need of his grace and mercy.
In his grace he tells her that he is not going to accuse her.

Jesus also knows that justice is crying out to be aligned to that peace she has received.
As the lady leaves, he advises her to stop building the infrastructure of injustice in her own life.

The world’s values

The world’s values are so often diametrically opposed to those of the kingdom. However, the heretical nature of the adversary’s dominion craves to be like that of the Almighty. As a result, it will often endeavour to ape God’s kingdom values. This is why the world craves justice. Our lives are full of people demanding to know the truth. However, the world is incapable of dismantling the infrastructure of injustice because it is the values of the world that have built it. So, there is an aching desire for truth that is accompanied by an inherent refusal to do anything about dismantling the real infrastructure of injustice.

At the same time, the world longs for mercy, which is why we are continually subjected to emotive calls to help people who are suffering from injustice. However, without the accompanying justice that undoes the injustice that sits at the root of the problem, it is simply slapping a sticking plaster on a gaping wound.

Sloppy agoppy

I can remember, like it was yesterday, Dwight Pryor saying that the church does not need sloppy agoppy (agape). Instinctively, I liked what he was saying, but I never really understood what he meant. Whilst listening to this morning’s message I suddenly realised that sloppy agoppy is the process of applying grace and/or mercy without applying the accompanying justice, or if you prefer righteousness. Agape requires the equal application of justice and grace, of righteousness and mercy.

The world we live in is awash with sloppy agoppy. My sense is that there are also too many parts of the church in the same state. Our call as faithful believers who walk in faith is to walk in true agape, which is that commitment to both grace and justice, to mercy and righteousness. Jesus himself put it like this:

You are like salt for everyone on earth. But if salt no longer tastes like salt, how can it make food salty? All it is good for is to be thrown out and walked on. You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16)

Salt is the justice that cleanses society. Light is the grace that expels the darkness.

Salt is the justice that cleanses society. Light is the grace that expels the darkness.

Pursue justice; love mercy

If we have ever wondered why we are here, then I would suggest that this is the answer. We invest our lives in the pursuit of justice and loving mercy. This is something that we can do wherever we are and whatever we do; we can do it regardless of our age or circumstances. It is the means of redeeming our home, our place of work, our friendships. It is a measure by which we can assess whether or not we are in the place where God would have us. It is also the words God gave to the prophet Micah over 2,000 years “The Lord God has told us what is right and what he demands: ‘See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God’” (Micah 6:8). I consider that this is central to our God-given mission on earth.