Customer Reviews

The Grace and Truth Paradox: Responding with Christlike Balance

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Randy Alcorn really gives you a great understanding of what it's like to be a "balanced" Christian. Not just full of Grace at the expense of Truth or vice versa but that it takes dependence on the Holy Spirit to provide discernment at that moment of decision to dispense truth and/or grace as required.
Mr. Alcorn really cut to the heart of the matter in letting us know that being a Christian means dispensing Truth and Grace in the relativistic society that we live in.

Randy Alcorn has written a small treatise on grace and truth, and while using Scripture and personal examples, he appeals to Christians to pursue balance between the both. In one chapter after another, he focuses first on grace and then truth, and contends that the balanced Christian life must have both, and with a truth-centered Christianity, one runs the risk of being legalistic, but in a grace-centered Christianity, one also runs the risk of being overly nice, with the truth taking a back seat.

It is a nicely woven theme, and can be read in one sitting, although the reader might want to chew on one chapter at a time. A powerful treatise, though, and it's right to the point!!

Highly recommended!!!

This book does a good job of discussing the balance between Grace and Truth. As another reviewer pointed out, Truth can appear to be "Law" in this book, or maybe Grace is Truth. The fact is that Jesus repeatedly pleaded with His apostles to keep His commandments (Matt 28:20, MK 12:30, John 15:12) and He also said:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34)

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet,"and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself. "Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Rom 13:8)

Jesus said "If you love Me you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). (A good summary of love is 1 Cor 13:1-13)
This cannot be overlooked. Grace is never an excuse to sin. That is why this book really useful. It helps show the line between grace and truth. Jesus didn't come to Jerusalem and preach only grace. If it were that simple, He wouldn't have condemned the scribes and Pharisees. They had no love in them. We are still commanded to love:

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. (Gal 5:13)

This book gives various circumstances were people (some christians and some non-christians) have needed to be reached in gentleness and love. Sometimes this is explaining the Truth about the law, so that grace can be preached:

What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. (Romans 7:7)

Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. (Romans 3)

The law does not save us. We are saved by the Grace of God and not by works, but this fact does not negate Christian responsibility.

Again, this is a fine line that has been well thought out and covered in various ways by the author Randy Alcorn. I think this book should be a must read for every Christian. I only wish it were a bit longer. But I do like it as it is, (since you can read it in an afternoon if you want) it makes a great gift to pass around to fellow Christians and non-Christians alike.

This is the second book I've read from Mr. Alcorn, the first being The Treasure Principle, and he has quickly become one of my favorite authors. His writing is very concise and piercing. The compactness of his writing fits perfectly to the LifeChange Books produced by the Multonomah publishing house, spanning less than 100 pages. That amount also happens to be the average mental capacity of my brain.

As the title suggests, Mr. Alcorn explains the tension and apparent contradiction between Grace and Truth. More importantly, he suggests that many Christians live their lives marked either by Truth-only (grace-less, legalistic) or by Grace-only (lack of essential truth, fearful of truth) qualities. Instead the Christian life is marked by both Grace and Truth, not one or the other. He explains how Christ in His incarnation was revealed to be the One who was full of Grace and Truth. He illustrates this using John 2 with the first miracle of Jesus when He turns water into wine. Alcorn asks why was Christ's first miracle turning water into wine? He claims that it was simply to show grace by preventing the host of the wedding from being embarassed for running out of wine - allowing the people to enjoy themselves at the party. But immediately following, Jesus offers truth when he whips those who have turned His Father's house into a house of merchandise. This illustration displays the balance that Jesus had when he walked this earth. He epitomized Grace and Truth in all that He did.

I appreciate his pithy introductions especially when defining What is Truth in chapter 4. He explains that Truth is like the guardrails in life that protect us and that it hedges us in for our own good. However in order for Truth to be able to protect us, it must produce moral decisions. Truth provides moral bearings and expects moral decisions. Truth, therefore, is not simply a set of neutral facts, but facts that demand change. Alcorn says, "Truth is more than mere facts. It's not just something we act upon. It acts upon us. It sanctifies (sets us apart) from the falsehoods woven into our sin nature and championed by the world." This is exactly what Jesus defined the power of truth to be that which sanctifies or purifies His followers.

Sanctify them by Thy truth, Thy Word is truth (John 17:17)

Jesus describes Truth as that which changes us but also exists outside of us. If we were to find truth, we would not start with ourselves, but must go outside of ourselves. According to Jesus that place to begin is God's Word. God's Word is truth - not the ideas, the culture, or the philosophy of man. If truth was found within ourselves, then a Savior would not be required. If truth will set us free, than we can look to ourselves to set ourselves free. One does not have to look very far to see how man is so incapable of freeing himself from sin.

Another point he makes about Truth is not only is it ouside of us, but truth is confused with what we want it to mean versus what it actually means. So not only is truth outside of us, it is objective and cannot be held under our subjection, rather we are held in subjection to it.

What about Grace? Alcorn emphasizes what many people miss about Grace. He shares his experience with far too many people saying how they've, "failed God so many times that [they] no longer felt worthy of God's grace." If one was worthy to receive grace, it would not have been grace! It would have been a payment. I appreciate his explanations on Grace because Grace can only be understood in the context of the Law or of Truth. If we are to talk about Grace we cannot begin with Grace, but must begin with God's Law or Truth. The truth of God's holiness and His righteousness must be explained before we can understand the value and shock-factor of Grace. Alcorn illustrates this perfectly by using John Newton's testimony of how the once slave-trading ship captain experiences the saving grace of God and pens the most beloved hymn, "Amazing Grace." Newton is quoted to have said on his death bed, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior." Amen and Amen. The picture of how Newton understood the truth of his sin and the grace of Christ the Savior.

This book is one that I'm sure I will read again and again to be reminded of how to balance my life with Grace and Truth.

What's the problem with most Christians today? Either they're gung-ho on Truth or they're gung-ho on Grace. What was wrong with the religious Jews of Jesus' day? Either they were gung-ho on Truth (the Pharisees) or they were gung-ho on Grace (the Sadducees). But John 1:14,17 says that Jesus Christ was full of Grace AND Truth. You can't have one without the other and be like Christ.

Randy Alcorn does a masterful job at fleshing out what is probably the biggest problem with the church today - why we're not more like Jesus - and he does so with the smallest number of words (only 92 pages) in the smallest amount of space (only 6.5" x 4.75" size book). It doesn't take long to read, but there's enough meat there to meditate on for an entire year, and to spend the rest of your life trying to master.

But it's really pretty simple: Grace + Truth = Christ-like love. If it's so simple, how come we keep missing it? Using examples from scripture, his own ministry, and popular as well as church culture, Randy examines this question and helps us come up with an answer that works. My favorite part of the book is his discussion of the song "Amazing Grace" - where it came from (a former slave trader) and the impact it's had on countless lives (especially blacks).

This book will have an impact on your life as well. It's small enough not to intimidate yet loaded enough to satisfy even the most voracious spiritual appetite. Plus, it's inexpensive enough to make a perfect gift. This is one book that ought to be on every Christian's bookshelf, and its message needs to be in every Christian heart.

Waitsel Smith

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1). Jesus, our Lord and our God, was and is full of grace and truth. We, his people, have far too often been anything but. It is this paradox, the paradox between grace and truth, that is the subject of a small book by Randy Alcorn (only 96 pages), part of the "Lifechange Books" series.

Alcorn says, "People had only to look at Jesus to see what God is like. People today should only have to look at us to see what Jesus is like. For better or worse, they'll draw conclusions about Christ from what they see in us. If we fail the grace test, we fail to be Christlike. If we fail the truth test, we fail to be Christlike. If we pass both tests, we're like Jesus." And our world is in desperate need of Jesus, and the fullness of His grace and truth.

There sometimes seems to be a conflict between grace and truth. So many Christians appear to emphasize one or the other but so few seem to be able to maintain both. Alcorn teaches balance, but not a balance of 50 percent grace and 50 percent truth, but a Christlike balance of 100 percent grace and 100 percent truth. The Grace and Truth Paradox examines how we can resolve the apparent contradiction between these two ideals. The model is, of course, Jesus, who never sacrificed perfection in either grace or truth. He never emphasized one at the expense of the other.

The solution the author provides is biblically sound. He shows that we can be filled with grace while never compromising the truth. He shows that grace and truth are, in reality, inseparable, for often withholding truth is tantamount to withholding grace. He shows that, ultimately, the grace and truth paradox is also a paradigm - a way of looking at and understanding life. People need the direction of truth to know where to go and the empowerment of grace to get there. Anything less than both grace and truth is neither.

I enjoyed this book and found it challenging to my faith. In fact, the only real problem I had with the book was that Alcorn turned to the old, tired, sad cliché of contrasting Mother Teresa and Hitler as the pinnacles of good and evil. Surely we can do better than that! Still, this is a biblical and satisfying book and one I am glad to recommend.

This book spells it out for us! It has shed light on the the inner dilema: I want the world to know that Jesus Christ is Lord--He is a Holy God and we have sinned against Him!!! We need to be Saved by His only Son Jesus Christ!!!! I want to shout it from the roof tops....BUT what if people feel judged? What if they can't handle the truth? They don't need someone telling them they are bad..their self-esteem is already low....We should love them and let them know that God forgives them and offers his grace and mercy....We need both TRUTH and GRACE we must stand for BOTH ---it can be done through CHRIST! "I can do all things through Christ Who Strengthens Me!" PHIL 4:13 This book flawlessly tells the Church--the Body of Christ---how to stand firm on both principles! A must read for every believer and nonbeliever--A light bulb will go off in your head and you will know how to be SALT & LIGHT! Thank you Lord for using Randy to wake up us ALL!

This book examines the two essential charcteristics of Jesus: His grace and truth. In doing so it provides a model on how to truly live a Christian life without compromising either our Lord's grace or truth. It is invaluable if you want to be an effective witness of the Good News. I recommend it whole heartedly.

This book is incredible at getting to fundamentals of grace and truth, the issues presented that Christians face and how to overcome them following the example of Jesus Christ.

Randy Alcorn's book, The Grace and Truth Paradox is an excellent book. It is based on John's statement in John 1:14 that Jesus was "full of grace and truth". Some churches (and Christians) today emphasize grace over truth while others do just the opposite. Christ did neither. He was full of grace and truth.

The book is small (92 pages). Yet it has a big message. Maybe that's why it's part of Multnomah's "Small Books, Big Change" series! While it is very easy to read, some of its principles are potentially life-changing, and merit thoughtful contemplation. To that end, I will finish out this review by providing some quotes from the book itself, and let Randy do the talking.

"A grace-starved, truth-starved world needs Jesus, full of grace and truth. (p. 14)"

"Some churches today embrace truth but need a heavy dose of grace. Other churches talk about grace but cry out for a heavy dose of truth. (p.15)"

"Truth-oriented Christians love studying Scripture and theology. But sometimes they're quick to judge and slow to forgive. They're strong on truth, weak on grace."

"Grace-oriented Christians love forgiveness and freedom. But sometimes they neglect Bible study and see moral standards as "legalism." They're strong on grace, weak on truth."

"Countless mistakes in marriage, parenting, ministry, and other relationships are failures to balance grace and truth. Sometimes we neglect both. Often we choose one over the other. (p. 17)"

"Why should we have to choose between conservatism's emphasis on truth and liberalism's emphasis on grace? Why can't we oppose injustice to minorities and to the unborn? Why can't we oppose greedy ruination of the environment and anti-industry New Age environmentalism? Why can't we affirm the biblical right to the ownership of property and emphasize God's call to voluntarily share wealth with the needy? Why can't we uphold God's condemnation of sexual immorality, including homosexual practices, and reach out in love and compassion to those trapped in destructive lifestyles and dying from AIDS?"

"We cannot do these things if we are first and foremost either liberals or conservatives. We can do these things only if we are first and foremost followers of Christ, who is full of grace and truth. (p. 80-81)"

"If we minimize grace, the world sees no hope for salvation. If we minimize truth, the world sees no need for salvation. To show the world Jesus, we must offer unabridged grace and truth, emphasizing both, apologizing for neither. The Colossian church "understood God's grace in all its truth" (Colossians 1:6)"

"Truth is quick to post warning signs and guardrails at the top of the cliff. Yet it fails to empower people to drive safely-and neglects to help them when they crash."

"Grace is quick to post ambulances and paramedics at the bottom of the cliff. But without truth, it fails to post warning signs and build guardrails. In so doing, it encourages the very self-destruction it attempts to heal. (p. 87-88)"

"Grace and truth are both necessary. Neither is sufficient....We who are truth-oriented need to go out of our way to affirm grace. We who are grace-oriented need to go out of our way to affirm truth. "Hate the sin, but love the sinner." No one did either like Jesus. Truth hates sin. Grace loves sinners. Those full of grace and truth do both. (p. 88)"

"In Jesus, "mercy and truth have met together" (Psalm 85:10, NKJV). Grace and truth met face to face on the Cross. (p. 92)"