The Grace and Truth Paradox: Responding with Christlike Balance [Hardcover]

Randy Alcorn (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 9, 2003 | Series: LifeChange Books

Christians trying to model their lives after Jesus may find that He gets buried under lists, rules, and formulas. Now bestselling author Randy Alcorn offers a simple two-point checklist for Christlikeness based on John 1:14. The test consists of balancing grace and truth, equally and unapologetically. Grace without truth deceives people, and ceases to be grace. Truth without grace crushes people, and ceases to be truth. Alcorn shows the reader how to show the world Jesus -- offering grace instead of the world's apathy and tolerance, offering truth instead of the world's relativism and deception.

Grace or Truth…or Both?

Truth without grace breeds self-righteousness and crushing legalism.

Grace without truth breeds deception and moral compromise.

Is it possible to embrace both in balance?

Jesus did.

Randy Alcorn offers a simple yet profound two-point checklist of Christlikeness. “In the end,” says Alcorn, “we don’t need grace or truth. We need grace and truth. And for people to see Jesus in us, they must see both.”

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hate the sin but love the sinner is the gist of the paradox explored in this slender point-of-purchase book by minister Alcorn. The author of Deadline draws on his experiences of getting "proabortion" activists, unbelieving academics and his "resistant" father to see the light to argue that Christians must display grace-a spirit of humility, love and inclusion-while also insisting on the truth of Christian doctrine. Truth without grace, he asserts, yields a self-righteous Pharisaism, while grace without truth leads to "moral indifference" and a dilution of Christ's message. Alcorn writes in a contemporary idiom, likening grace and truth to a binary star system or the twin strands of the DNA double helix. But his is a traditional evangelical outlook that combines Biblical literalism, hell-fire and a deep acknowledgment of personal sin. Alcorn registers his fundamentalist views on such topics as relativism on campus, the fallacy of Darwinism and Oprah Winfrey's "have-it-your-way designer religion." But he also chides Christians for their holier-than-thou attitudes ("Jesus," he warrants, "would preach five sermons against self-righteous churches for every one against taverns") and compares himself with evil-doers ("I am Dahmer. I am Mao") in attesting to the fallen state of all humanity and their dependence on God's unmerited grace for salvation. Firm but forbearing, Alcorn's tract is a dose of old-time religion in a smooth modern formulation.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries. His books include the bestsellers The Treasure Principle, Deadline, Dominion, Lord Foulgrin's Letters, and The Ishbane Conspiracy. He has written seven other nonfiction books. Randy and his wife, Nanci, live in Gresham, Oregon, and have two grown daughters, Karina and Angela.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books; Edition Unstated edition (January 9, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590520653
• ISBN-13: 978-1590520659
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 0.4 x 6.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,853 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Randy Alcorn is an author and the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit ministry dedicated to teaching principles of God's Word and assisting the church in ministering to the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled, and unsupported people around the world. His ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity. He accomplishes this by analyzing, teaching, and applying the biblical truth.

Before starting EPM in 1990, Randy served as a pastor for fourteen years. He has an MA degree in Biblical Studies from Multnomah University and an Honorary Doctorate from Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon and has taught on the adjunct faculties of both.

A New York Times bestselling author, Randy has written more than forty books, including Courageous, Heaven, The Treasure Principle, and the Gold Medallion winner Safely Home. His books in print exceed seven million and have been translated into over fifty languages. Randy has written for many magazines including EPM's issues-oriented magazine Eternal Perspectives. He is active daily on Facebook and Twitter, has been a guest on more than 700 radio, television and online programs including Focus on the Family, FamilyLife Today, Revive Our Hearts, The Bible Answer Man, and The Resurgence.

Randy resides in Gresham, Oregon, with his wife, Nanci. They have two married daughters and are the proud grandparents of five grandsons. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research, and reading.

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#78 in Books > Religion & Spirituality

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Super Book September 9, 2003

By Rod Kelly

Format:Hardcover

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful but Brief!!! January 26, 2005

By Gregory Nyman VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

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!!!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A well balanced book that should be read by every Christian August 10, 2003

By M. Edwards

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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. Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise book with helpful insights February 6, 2006

By Patrick

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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. Read more ›

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars DON'T LET ITS SIZE FOOL YOU - ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOKS IN CHRISTENDOM October 10, 2005

By Waitsel Smith

Format:Hardcover

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