Contributor: Ryan Moffat, BS in Bible and Theology from Multnomah University. Pastor of Vast Church.
Jonathan Edwards is one of the greatest theologians America has ever known. One of the reasons he decided to become a Jesus-follower was that in Jesus, Edwards, found equally rich, yet paradoxical truth and divine qualities that stirred Edwards heart and mind to desire Jesus in his truest nature.
Speaking Truth
Edwards famously said;
“In Him {Christ} we find a diverse conjunction of excellencies; grace and truth; lion and lamb; Lord and Christ.”
What Edwards meant is that the nature and person of Jesus has paradoxical, co-existing natures and it’s BECAUSE of those realities Edwards found Jesus to be glorious.
The book of John paints Jesus in a unique light then the apostle John says; “He {Jesus} came full of grace and truth.”
Grace and truth….not one (just grace or just truth) but both. And John goes further in his claim when he says that Jesus was “FULL of grace and truth”. Not 50% grace and 50% truth but 100% both.
Why is this so important for everyday people like you and me who are striving for wholeness, health, sobriety and control?
Truth is Paramount
It’s essential because you must see that “truth” is PARAMOUNT in your recovery process. We tend to believe the lie that the way out of our downward, self-imposed addiction and pain is to pretend that it isn’t happening.
This is called denial. Denial creates a false world because you know that reality is too painful to deal with.
The other alternative is the “all-grace, no-truth” route. This common miscalculation focuses on “acceptance” and calls people to “Deal with my behavior” but never focuses on the reality that the way to change your life is to change your own self-destructive behavior.
In this faulty recovery model the person with the addictive behavior blames everyone else for holding them accountable but refuses to take ownership of their own sin.
This is where Jesus comes in; He come full of grace (forgiveness, love and acceptance) and truth (He doesn’t play games with sin, He calls us to the best life; a life of holiness).
Jesus doesn’t “wink” at our self-destructive behavior rather He calls us out, then calls us up to something better.
So instead of minimizing, rationalizing, blame shifting or excusing your addictive behavior you and I have an opportunity to run to the grace of God that He has made known to us in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Because of Jesus you no longer have to rationalize or excuse what grace has already forgiven. You can embrace fully and confidently your imperfections become Christ is waiting to embrace you despite because after all, He alone is full of grace and truth.
Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!
Have you struggled with being honest with yourself in your recovery? Has it also been difficult to be honest with those around you? What has changed for you and how important is truth to you now?
About the Author: Ryan received his BS in Bible and Theology and a minor in counseling from Multnomah University. He has pastored students, families and is passionate about Christ-centered recovery and healing.
He’s been married to his beautiful wife Michelle for 13 years and they enjoy raising four crazy, unique and special kids together. Ryan is the teaching pastor at Vast Church in Sisters, OR and is currently working on his Masters in Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, OR
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Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on December 31, 2015
Published on AddictionHope.com