Book Recommendation: The Grace and Truth Paradox
by Bill Blair on 05/08/08 at 5:10 am
Key Principles
In The Grace and Truth Paradox, Randy Alcorn considers the concepts of grace and truth and their relationship. For most of us, balancing grace and truth is a difficult concept to understand. It seems that most of us either tend to emphasize either grace or truth and never figure out how to balance the two. In this book, Alcorn shows the example of Jesus who he states came with a balance of 100% truth and 100% grace (16).
Alcorn explains how grace and truth are not opposites, but should work together for Christians. We need to be willing to be truthful to people even if it might hurt them, but we should never do it with hurtful intentions. On the other hand, we need to show grace to people, but that should never be reduced to just being nice to people. Alcorn explains that in many cases we have “redefined Christlike to mean ’nice’” (73), but grace is so much more than being nice given that Jesus often did things that would not normally be construed as nice such as throwing tables and calling the Pharisees a brood of vipers. Throughout the book, Alcorn digs into the concepts of grace and truth and shows that one really cannot exist without the other.
Alcorn sums up the concept well when he comments on the command in Ephesians 4:15 to speak the truth in love. Alcorn states: “Our job is not simply to help each other feel good, but to help each other be good” (77). We should speak and act lovingly, but it should be done with full truth so that people do not just feel better, but become transformed into the likeness of Christ.
Critique
I would have like to read a little more “how to” information about ways to implement the 100% grace and 100% truth concept. It is something that is easier said than done. A little more practical help on implementation would have been helpful, but the brevity of the book is probably worth leaving out such info.
Personal Application
The most significant lesson I learned from this is that I should not strive for a 50/50 ratio of grace and truth, but for a full 100/100 balance. The two go hand and hand. How can I truly be exhibiting grace if I am not being truthful? If I do not tell the truth, people may face more harm and difficulty than if I just gave them a hug. True grace to an alcoholic must include the truth that they need to stop. To simply be nice and not tell the truth would be a selfish move because my motive would be not to help them, but not to upset them so they might like me.
On the other hand, how can I be truthful if I am not doing it with grace? To speak “truth” in an unloving way reveals a selfish heart bent on hurting rather than helping others. Such truth may be factually true, but not really true because it does not include the truth about God’s love and grace. The truth about God is the ultimate truth, and grace is certainly a huge aspect of God.
This book is an excellent primer for anyone trying to figure out what the Christ-like balance of grace and truth. It provides a solid but brief theological foundation for the concept. The book is short, easy to read, and easy to understand, but it also packed with solid foundational theology.
This concepts discussed in this book are things all Christians would benefit from learning, and Alcorn does a great job in explaining this concept in a very small amount of space. Check it our here.
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