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Grace? Or Truth?

By Thomas M. Parsons

My father-in-law would not have wanted to hear this when he was living, but his son-in-law, me, does not trust Fox News or any other conservative news organization any more than he trusts NBC or any other liberal news organization. That same son-in-law, me, also does not trust the Republican party any more than he trusts the Democratic party, nor does he have much confidence in either conservatism or liberalism.

Wow! That does not leave much to trust. Actually, it leaves me with the only trustworthy source of information there is to trust. More about that later.

I have problems with both conservatives and liberals when it comes to solving the problems we face as a human race, or even identifying the problems we face. In my judgment, neither has a clear view of what the problems really are, and if they cannot accurately identify the problems, then they cannot effectively solve those problems.

Liberals tend to think that most if not all of society’s issues can be resolved by applying generous portions of money and education to the problem area. Give people money and teach them how to improve themselves and the problem will be solved. Liberals have a more difficult time understanding the sheer volume of money required to make this work, and that education is perhaps one of the least effective ways of changing people’s behavior. I spent ten years in junior high and high school classrooms. Trust me. I know.

Conservatives, on the other hand, tend to think that most if not all of society’s issues can be resolved by ignoring them. Just don’t do anything. Let matters fall as they may. Conservatives have a more difficult time understanding that sometimes there is a need for intervention and that education can be an effective tool under some conditions.

The purpose of this article is not to propose some type of compromise between liberals and conservatives. The object here is not a bi-partisan approach to problem solving. The purpose here is to acknowledge that neither the conservative movement nor the liberal, or progressive, as liberals like to think of themselves, movement has the ability to solve our problems. One is too rigid, too inflexible, too truth oriented and the other is too loose, too flexible, too grace oriented to be effective.

Here is an example. A young woman is caught in the very act of adultery with a man who is not her husband, who is actually someone else’s husband. This is a clear violation of all established moral principles. It is a liberal who catches her in the act. The errant husband gets away, leaving the embarrassed young woman to face the music alone. The liberal, however, takes the young woman by the hand and speaks softly to her. It is okay, the liberal says. Everyone understands that these things happen. Not to worry. If a pregnancy occurs, we can arrange an abortion. Otherwise, just be careful next time. Problem solved.

If it is a conservative who comes along, he is likely to give a harsh lecture on the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies and the evilness of abortion. He will likely not offer any help to the young woman. She has made her bed and now she must lie in it. Consequences are consequences. She should have thought of what might happen before she committed this evil act of adultery. Problem solved.

But in truth, neither solved the problem the young woman faces. One offered compassion without personal responsibility. The other offered judgment without compassion. Both failed to meet the real needs of the individuals involved.

I am convinced the real problem in this and in every other situation in life is not a bad decision, or bad luck, or an attraction to dangerous and forbidden areas. The real problem does not involve issues of physical or mental health. The blame for the real problem does not lie at society’s door. The real problem is not the result of bad parenting, or poor education, or poverty itself. The real problem has nothing to do with the neighborhood in which one was raised, nor with the color of one’s skin. The real problem equally effects people of all races and nationalities. The real problem exists in all communities and neighborhoods equally. The real problem equally effects people with post graduate degrees and people who dropped out of eighth grade. The real problem is in the life of the healthy as much as it is in the life of the sickly. Young and old, male and female, black and white, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, all have the same problem and all have the same problem equally and all suffer because of the same problem. And neither the liberal nor the conservative can fix the problem. 		The real problem is sin. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The woman caught in adultery was the victim of an errant husband’s sin. But she was also the victim of her own sin. There was something she expected out of giving her body to a man to whom she was not married. Whether it was security, affection, money, pleasure or anything else, it was her sinful nature that drove her to try to find what she needed with someone else’s husband. That is the truth. The liberal can never solve the sin problem by offering compassion and physical and financial assistance. The conservative can never solve the sin problem by laying down the law and demanding repentance and restitution. Neither approach will ever work.

The Bible describes Jesus Christ as one who was full of grace and truth. Grace offers compassion, assistance and hope to all who are suffering from the sin problem. But in addition, grace offers a permanent and effective remedy for sin. Truth offers honesty, conviction and responsibility to all who are suffering from the sin problem. But in addition, truth offers a permanent and effective remedy for sin.

It seems to me that liberals need to balance their thinking with more truth, and conservatives need to balance their thinking with more grace. Jesus was filled with both. Only grace and truth together can solve the sin problem.

The woman found in adultery, for example, needs grace. She needs to know that someone cares for her. She needs to know there are ways to deal with the problems that led her to her sin and that may result from her sin. She needs to know that Jesus loved her enough to die on the cross to pay the penalty for her sins.

But she also needs to know truth. She needs to know that breaking God’s law does carry unpleasant consequences. She needs to know that some of those consequences may be burdens for her for the rest of her life. She needs to know that disobeying God’s law in another area, such as having an abortion, is no solution to the problem of disobeying God’s law in the matter of adultery. She needs to know that truth is real, exacting, and demanding. But she also needs to know that Jesus paid her sin debt in full and stands ready to give her eternal life in exchange for her life of sin and failure.

If I were in a predicament caused by my own sin, I would not want a liberal counselor to help me. I do not need to be patted on the back and told that I am the victim of someone else’s failure. It does me no good to be told I am a good person and that I do not deserve the suffering I am enduring.

But I also would not want a conservative counselor. I do not need to be berated and lectured and told what a bad person I am and that I deserve every bad thing that happens to me.

I would want a Christian counselor who, like Jesus, was full of grace and truth. It would do me great good to be reminded that the suffering of consequences is directly related to the sin I willingly committed. It would also do me great good to know that Jesus loved me enough to pay for my sin. He did not treat it lightly; it cost Him His life and His blood. But He did it willingly and I would rejoice to know that His offer of salvation was mine for the acceptance.

In truth, Jesus did deal with a woman who was caught committing adultery. He did what any conservative would do; he condemned her sin. But He also did what any liberal would do; He offered her forgiveness. Then He gave her what neither conservative nor liberal could give her.

“Go, and sin no more,” He told her. In addition to conviction about her sin, and forgiveness from her sin, He also gave her deliverance from her sin. He gave her what she needed to change. He enabled her to be forgiven for the past and to avoid falling into sin in the future. He solved the problem with grace and truth.

Fox News and other conservative news agencies, it seems to me, come down too heavily on the side of truth and personal responsibility without compassion. NBC News and other liberal news media, it seems to me, come down too heavily on the side of grace and forgiveness without conviction and personal responsibility.

Only Jesus stands for the truth and offers grace to deal with the real problem we all have, the problem of sin.
This article was inspired by my reading of Randy Acorn's book The Grace and Truth Paradox. However, I have not used any quotations from the book here.
Copyright © 2009, Thomas M. Parsons, All Rights Reserved. - 213