Dr. John Goetsch: Grace and Truth

take your Bible let's go to John chapter 1 if you will the Gospel of John chapter 1 is where we're gonna start tonight we're actually gonna look at three different passages of Scripture for the message tonight we're looking at the subject of grace and truth and I want to focus on those words that combination that we find here in John chapter 1 and let's look at verses 14 through 17 as a text and then keep your Bible open here as we'll look at a few other verses here in chapter 1 John chapter 1 and verse 14 the Bible says in the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth John bare witness of him and cried saying this was he of whom I speak he that cometh after me is preferred before me for he was before me and of his fullness have we all received and grace for grace for the law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ grace and truth can come from no other source than Jesus Christ Himself what uh what a rich and yet rare combination grace and truth aren't you thankful for that combination it's sort of like hot and cold water in your house aren't you glad you have both you know what I want to drink what I'm gonna I want to quench my thirst I'm thankful for cold water when I take a shower I'm thankful for hot water but I'm thankful there's a combination of both how difficult would it be to go through our lives with simply just cold water how difficult would it be to function with simply hot steaming water and so we have the combination that makes life pleasant hot and cold water Lord Jesus Christ has this rare combination in his person of grace and truth see it over and over in the scripture as he talks about the fact that God is a God of truth the Lord Jesus Christ said I am the way the truth and the life Jesus Christ was truth in John 8 and verse 40 he said now you seek to kill me a man that hath told you the truth John 8 and verse 45 because I tell you the truth you believe me not in John chapter 8 verse 46 which of you convinces me of sin and if I say the truth why do you not believe me over and over again Jesus was trying to show people hey I'm telling you the truth because I am truth I am the truth but with that truth was this combination of grace in Luke chapter 2 and verse 40 the child grew speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ and waxed strong in spirit filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him even as a little child the Lord Jesus Christ was recognized as having the grace of God Luke chapter 4 and verse 22 all bear witness of him and wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth so we have the Lord Jesus Christ who was absolute truth and yet as people got around him as people were kind of in contact with his ministry they saw that fact of grace and many events in the Lord's life revealed this combination of grace and truth working together for the good of ministry to people I think of one such occasion in John chapter 8 the scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus one day a woman taken in adultery and they said this woman was taken in adultery in the very act and Moses commanded that such would be stolen what say us now and then the Bible gives us a little little cliff note there this they said to accuse him and Jesus still being down on the ground wrote with his finger on the ground and as they continued asking him he lifted up himself and said which of you is among you whoever's among you that hath no sin let him cast the first stone and again he stooped down and wrote on the ground they been convicted in their own consciences went out beginning at the eldest even of the least and Jesus standing and seeing the woman and and and none with her said where are those thine accusers does no man condemned thee she said no man Lord he said neither do i condemn thee go and sin no more you see the combination of grace and truth there neither do i condemn thee grace go and sin no more truth and over and over again in the life of jesus christ you see this rare combination of grace and truth now is it possible is it possible for you and i to live in that same combination I mean God was God the Lord Jesus Christ okay full of grace and truth but what about us can we have this same combination in our life of grace and truth well from three passages of Scripture tonight starting here in John chapter 1 I want us to look at three building blocks to a life of grace and truth notice here in John chapter 1 first of all tonight the exhibition of grace and truth we see it in the Lord Jesus Christ as he is manifested to us here in this chapter in verse number 14 the Bible declares in Chapter 1 that Jesus Christ was full of grace and truth full of both at the same time in verse 17 grace and truth came by Jesus Christ now what is so special about this exhibition that Jesus Christ gives to us of grace and truth we'll go back up to verse 1 of John chapter one we see that grace and truth delivered life in verse number one in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God do you understand tonight you see that word word is capitalized referring to a person word la Goss referring to the Lord Jesus Christ and so a statement is made in the very first verse of this book that Jesus Christ is God in the beginning was the word Jesus Christ and the word Jesus Christ was with God and the word Jesus Christ was God so there's a statement right out of the bat here that Jesus Christ is indeed God and it tells us in verse 2 that this God Jesus Christ was present at creation look at verse 2 the same was in the beginning with God this word this log-dog this person the Lord Jesus Christ who is this Xzibit of grace and truth was present at creation he is the giver of life verse number 3 is the creator of all things all things were made by him without him was not anything made that was made in verse 4 tells us he's the author of life in him was life and the life was the light of men so we see grace and truth delivered life but notice secondly grace and truth delivered light verse 4 it said that in him was life and the life was the light of men and he goes on in verse 5 the light shines in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not it was a man sent from God whose name was John the same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe he was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world you and I because of our sinful nature are born into this world in darkness we are born groping for our way we're lost the Bible declares us to be and we we have no direction in ourselves we're confused about our spiritual direction we we have no hope we're without God and so we're in darkness but Jesus Christ came as grace and truth to give life but also to give light thank God for that light aren't you glad for the lights of the world the Lord Jesus Christ aren't you glad that that light has shined into your heart and you've been saved Ephesians chapter 6 says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world we live in a world that lives in darkness we live in a world that without Christ is in darkness and there are there are those on the satanic side that ruled this world in that darkness but thank God you and I that have been saved live in light we know the way that we should walk we know the direction that we should go because of the light of the Lord Jesus Christ he were sometimes darkness Paul said but now are you a light in the Lord 2nd Corinthians 4 and verse 6 God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ John 12 and verse 46 I am come a light unto the world that whosoever believeth in me should not walk in darkness God doesn't want you to be confused in your life God doesn't want you to lack direction he doesn't want you to to not know the will of God he is the light he wants to give you that direction have you come to that light so many people refuse that light this is the condemnation jesus said that light has come into the world but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil friend if you're ever gonna have light you've got a you've got a you've got to come to Christ because Christ as grace and truth came to bring life he came to bring light but then grace and truth delivered love in verse number 10 it says he was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not he came unto his own and his own received him not but as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God born again why because of the love of God because of the love of Christ being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever only a god full of grace and truth could love sinners his truth demands payment for sin but his grace found a provision for salvation you see the wages of sin is death that's the truth but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord there's the Grace and so this combination this exhibit of grace and truth my favorite verse in all of the Bible and I've said it for years is second samuel 14 verse 14 we must needs die and are as water spilt on the ground which cannot be gathered up again neither death god respect any persons yet that he devised means whereby his banished be not expelled from him you and i are like water spilled on the ground when we die there's no sense crying over spilled milk we're gone can't bring us back there's no such thing as reincarnation there's no such thing as a second chance at life here on this earth when you die there's no discharge from that war solomon said in Ecclesiastes 8 and verse 8 we're like water spilt on the ground we can't be gathered up again and God's no respect for persons young people died as well as older people died healthy people died just as sick people died there's no respecter of persons but God has devised a means so that when we die we do not have to be banished or expelled out of God's presence forever because of our sin but God devised the means so that we could be brought back into that fellowship with God and the means that God designed and God devised was God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life and only a God of grace and truth could do that only a God of grace and truth would love sinners like us and so what a wonderful exhibition of grace and truth but now notice secondly let's go to 2nd Peter chapter 3 if you will second Peter and the third chapter and I want you to see secondly tonight the expression of truth by grace the expression of truth by grace Jesus Christ is the exhibit he's the exhibition of grace and truth that wonderful rare and rich combination but now you and I are commanded to go with the truth are we not you and I are commanded to take the truth that we've received from God the life the light the love of God want to take that to a lost world we're commanded to take the gospel to every creature we're commanded to go out into the highways and hedges and and and give people the gospel and and and share with them the the love of Christ were to share the gospel so we've been commissioned with the truth we are ambassadors for Jesus Christ but the expression of that truth has to be by grace we have to have this same combination if we are going to be effective in preaching the word we've got to preach that truth in love you see there's got to be the combination of grace and truth so notice the expression of truth by grace too often we have the truth but we don't have any grace with it we have stoled in hot water or we have freezing cold water God says you've got to have grace to express the truth sometimes we take the right position but we have the wrong disposition see and so God is saying you've got to get this combination into your life if we're gonna reach the Valley for resurrection weekend if our college students are going to knock on those doors tomorrow and reach people for Christ if you and I are gonna go out in these next few days and saturate this valley with invitations for Easter we've got to go with the truth we've got to go with the disposition of grace we've got to express that truth by grace and 2nd Peter chapter 3 shows us that in verse 18 we are to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ again this combination of grace and truth now first of all notice we need grace for submission to the truth in verse 15 second Peter 3 Peter says an account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto us written unto you as also in all his epistles speaking in them of these things in which are some things hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest sore wrestle with as they do also the other scriptures unto their own destruction now be honest it's just us how many of you have ever heard this man preached and wrestled with it either you know I don't want to do that your flesh of a wrestle with the truth mine does my flesh says I don't feel like doing that you know I really desire to do that right so you need the grace of God to submit to the truth before you ever accept the truth of God's Word before ever God begins to be able to work in your life to change you you've got to have the grace of God to submit to truth Peter is saying some things are hard to be understood and I've found sometimes they're not hard to understand but they're hard to put into practice it's not that I don't know the truth it's not that I don't see it plainly in the Word of God and the preacher points it out and I see it I know that's true I know that's what God says but I don't want to do it and the only way I'm going to do it is by the grace of God I need God's grace to submit to that truth I think of Saul of Tarsus here was a man that was ruthless in his life he was on a on a mission to destroy those who were following the the way the truth and the life Saul of Tarsus was putting to death those who were following Jesus Christ harassing them putting them into prison and one day this Saul of Tarsus is on the road to Damascus upon killing Stephen back here he's out to Damascus to find some more Christians to put him to death and all of a sudden a bright light shines down out of heaven in in chapter 9 and verse 4 and he falls to his knees he's blinded and he says who aren't thou Lord and the Lord said I am Jesus whom thou persecutest it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks Saul was being convicted he was convicted I believe deeply at the death of Stephen you don't stand there and watch a man full of full of faith and full of power and full of the Holy Ghost and all those things you don't watch a man like that die and his face is shining like that of an angel and he turns around as he's dying and saying Lord don't lay this sin to their charge you know you don't witness that without affecting you and so Saul is is under this conviction but he doesn't he's resisting it he's kicking against the conviction of God he's kicking against the the Holy Spirit working in his life so later on we find that Paul says by the grace of God I am what I am see how did Paul eventually submit to the truth by the grace of God you you're never gonna be able to submit to the truth are you struggling with a command of God tonight are you struggling in your life with the next step of obedience are you struggling with some area of surrender in your life ask God for His grace because God's grace will enable you to submit to the truth but notice not only does grace doing knee brace for the submission to truth but we need grace for steadfastness in that truth go on to verse 17 here in chapter 3 and he says ye therefore beloved seeing you know these things before beware lest ye also being led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own steadfastness listen the daily grind of godliness demands grace it's one thing to to hear pastor preach and the Spirit of God works in our heart and and we get convicted and by the grace of God we say alright Lord I'll submit to that but now tomorrow it's gonna be put to the test isn't it and you're gonna need the grace of God to be steadfast in that commitment you're gonna need the grace of God that cause it need to walk therein in that decision you need to give me the grace of God to to stand against the temptations that are going to come your way God is able to make all grace abound toward you so that you having all sufficiency of all things may abound unto every good work if you're gonna abound in God if you're gonna abound in walking with God you've got to have His grace on a daily basis the God of all grace after that he have suffered a while make you perfect establish strengthen settle you we need God's grace for steadfastness and truth it's interesting that as Paul later writes his letters to the churches to Philip I to Ephesus to the Thessalonians they're the Philippian church almost every one of those letters he begins in some way in his greeting by talking about the grace of God you know he's he's greeting them and in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ or he's saying be strong in the grace the Lord Jesus Christ he's reminding them that look if you're gonna live what I'm about to tell you in this little epistle what God is about to share with you if you're gonna live it you got to have God's grace you're gonna have to have grace to be steadfast in truth but then we need grace for stature through that truth verse 18 but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ God intends for us to to grow or to mature in our our our walk with Christ God has designed us a little bit like this balloon if I blow into this balloon it expands in size the material from which it's made is elastic in nature and therefore is you force air into the object it it is able to enlarge if you force more air in it gets bigger you know God has designed your life like this add to your faith virtue to virtue knowledge to knowledge temperance see the whole design of the Christian life is for you to increase in stature to increase in maturity but you're going to get God's grace to do that because if you remember back when you were growing physically sometimes there are some growing pains that accompany that aren't there sometimes that growth is a little awkward remember those junior high years we weren't sure where elbows were you know and and we were a little bit self-conscious of how awkward we were and you know sometimes when a person gets saved and God begins to convict them about the next step of baptism that seems a little awkward and sometimes that that even is a little bit painful to maybe step away from a family tradition of religion or perhaps what their friends might thinking is it might be a little bit painful to take that next step that's why you're gonna need God's grace to grow to increase in stature but God is designed to say that I have clean hands should become stronger and stronger Isaiah said enlarge the place of your habitation well how do we do that well Paul told Timothy Val therefore my son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus see the only way this is gonna happen is by the grace of God you've got to have grace in order to have stature through the truth now brethren acts 20:32 says I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up so God wants to build us through His grace so we will not submit to truth we will not be steadfast the truth we will not have any stature in truth without grace so we've got the exhibition of grace and truth that's Jesus Christ now secondly we've seen that the expression of truth by grace if we're going to preach the word we're gonna need God's grace if we're gonna reach others for Christ we've got to have the grace of God ourselves working in our life but now notice thirdly and let's go to the Gospel of Luke and versatile and chapter 23 and I want you to see the experience of grace through truth Luke chapter 23 now the combination of grace and truth is essential we've laid that presupposition someone might say well I have grace another person says well I have truth well you need both we need both grace and truth and you can't have one without the other we just saw the truth is only expressed through grace we're not going to be effective preaching the truth if we're not having that balance of grace but now notice in Luke 23 we can only experience grace through truth if you're not going to be honest with God don't expect any grace okay we're only going to experience grace if we're willing to deal with the truth notice this in the passage about this thief on the cross perhaps a passage that pastor will allude to or maybe even preach from in these coming weeks on the resurrection services but I want you to see in his life this matter of an experience of grace through truth truth leads us to an honest admission look at verse 39 of Luke chapter 23 verse 39 and one of the male factors which were hanged railed on him saying if thou be the Christ save thyself in us but the other answering rebuked him saying dost thou not fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation and we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deed do you see some honesty here in this thief one is bitter what is angry you know if you're the Christ get us out of here you're supposed to be this all-powerful God you're supposed to be I'll do all things and all these miracles are tribute to you why don't you get us off the crosses he's angry he's better but the other says hey we are you doing don't you understand we we deserve this we deserve this what's happening here here's a thief in his dying moments being honest he's being truthful and as a result of that truth he's about to experience the grace of God it starts with being honest truth leads to an honest admission I don't know about you I don't like to be deceived I don't like to be lied to and there are a lot of things in in this life that can deceive us you can be deceived by the world you can be deceived by sin certainly the devil is called a deceiver and he can deceive us but probably the worst deception of all is when you deceive your own self and then it isn't it interesting in the Bible how many times God warns us about deceiving our own selves you're never going to experience the grace of God as long as you're deceiving your own self about who you are we've got to be honest we've got to come to a place of truth if we're going to experience God's grace I wonder tonight is our conscience clear with God are we honest before God tonight in all things willing to live honestly are we being honest about ourselves so often we we kind of put on the veneer we put on the front we we kind of put on the plastic face so to speak as a Christian that we act like everything's fine but we're never gonna experience grace until we have that conscience exercised to have a clear conscience to have an honest continent hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him do not have fill the heavens and the earth you might as well be honest with God you you you can we can deceive each other you good to see pastor Chapel you can deceive your best friend you can't deceive God so we might as well be honest but no secondly truth leads to a holy acknowledgment in verse 41 he says we indeed justly for we receive the due reward of our deeds but this man this man have done nothing amiss a holy acknowledgment truth leads you to that holy acknowledgment to food God is the reason oftentimes we struggle with the admission of our own sin and deceive ourselves is because we're not willing to acknowledge the holy God we tend to think well God will for look a little lie you know God overlooked a little sin you know I'm not so bad I'm not as bad as most people and God will overlook this what we've lost sight of is a holy God listen there is no such thing as a little sin because there's no such thing as a little God to sin against and truth enables you first of all to admit that you're a sinner secondly it enables you to admit that God is holy and then truth leads you to a heavenly access look what happens to this thief in verse 42 and he said unto Jesus Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom and Jesus said unto Him verily I say unto thee today shalt thou be with me in paradise can I tell you something you'll never get to heaven lyin about yourself as long as you lie to yourself say I'm gonna make it on my own I'm gonna make it in my religion I'm gonna make it my good works you're deceiving yourself and that's why revelation 21:8 says there are no liars in heaven all Liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone you can't get there without being honest you can't come to God dishonest you can't come to God deceptive you've got to truth has to lead you to the admission of sin it's got to lead you to the acknowledgment of the holiness of God and that will lead you to heavenly access I remember the first time that I was ever confronted with an opportunity to witness to a homosexual person was in 1979 and I'd preached a message in a church a college-age young man had come forward his name was Jim and as he came forward he said to the pastor I want to talk to him and so the pastor had him seated on the front row and and we finished the service and after it was over the pastor said really catch there's a young man in the front row from from the University and his name is Jim and he'd like to talk to you I went down sat next to him and I said hi my name is John and yours is what he said Jim and he began to cry and I didn't I mean not just a few tears he began to weep and I kind of put my arm around and I said Jim's all right take your time you know don't worry about the tears you know that's that's a good thing and you just when you're ready to talk I'm ready to listen and I just tried to console him there and comfort him there and encouraged him to share what was in his heart as I'm sitting there in the front row with my arm around this young man and couraging him to let me know what was troubling him and all of a sudden he got his composure and he looked at me and he said he said mr. Goetsch he said I'm I'm homosexual IIIi had never really been confronted with someone of that lifestyle before 1979 and Here I am on the front row of a church with my arm around him and I kind of withdrew my arm and he looked at me and he said you hate me don't you and I said no Jim I don't hate you I said God hates your sin he loves you and I never forget what he said through those tears he said they ought to have me put to death he said I'll just take it and taking out here and stone me I've committed an abomination to the Lord you know what I thought hey this guy can get saved why he's being honest he's calling his lifestyle sin which is what the Bible calls it he's being honest and he's saying in light of a holy God I can't come to God I deserve to be separated forever from God and I was so thankful I could take him to first Corinthians 6 verse 9 no you know at the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate look the word up nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor thieves nor covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you but you're washed you're sanctified you're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our goddess and Chim God wants to save you you've been honest about your sin you you've recognized that God is holy you can't come in his presence as a sinner whether it's lying or stealing or worried or pride or homosexuality it doesn't matter the sin you can't get to God until you get honest once you get honest God says come on and Jim was wonderfully saved that night Christ exhibits the life of grace and truth we need grace to express that truth but we need truth to experience that grace

Channel: Lancaster Baptist Church

Views: 1,428

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: preaching, sermon, Christian, God, Jesus, Lancaster Baptist Church, Lancaster Baptist, Pastor Paul Chappell, Paul Chappell, grace, truth, life, light, love, experience

Id: svuc4GQ0nRk

Length: 35min 30sec (2130 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 30 2017