God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
For at the heart of Christian ministry must always be the molding of people into the image of Christ, and the full and faithful teaching of God's truth is the means the Spirit uses to accomplish this goal.
A paradox is an apparent contradiction. Grace and truth aren’t really contradictory. Jesus didn’t switch on truth, then turn it off so He could switch on grace. Both are permanently switched on in Jesus. Both should be switched on in us… Truth without grace breeds a self-righteousness legalism that poisons the church and pushes the world from Christ. Grace without truth breeds moral indifference and keeps people from seeing their need for Christ. Attempts to “soften” the gospel by minimizing truth keep people from Jesus. Attempts to 'toughen” the gospel by minimizing grace keep people from Jesus. It’s not enough for us to offer grace or truth. We must offer both.
