Grace and Truth

From The Grace and Truth Paradox, by Randy Alcorn. Multnomah Books, 2003. 

 
“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.
       Truth without grace crushes people and ceases to be truth.  Grace without truth deceives people and ceases to be grace.
   Truth without grace degenerates into judgmental legalism.  Grace without truth degenerates into deceitful tolerance. 
      Christ’s heart is equally grieved by grace-suppression and truth-suppression, by grace-twisting and truth-twisting. 
       Grace and truth are both necessary.  Neither is sufficient.
       We need to examine ourselves and correct ourselves.  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."     

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