Grace Giving and Truth Telling - Pt. 1

 

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV).

 

Today we begin a new study, “Grace Giving and Truth Telling.” I could have titled it “Love and Law,” though I felt that might not be descriptive enough. I hope we will be able to explore several principles from Scripture that will help us achieve the correct balance in our lives with others. Our reading today gives us a great point of beginning as the Apostle Paul says, “Let love be genuine… Do not be slothful in zeal.” If you are anything like I am, I struggle with balancing those two in my behavior toward others. AS I review some of the things that have proven helpful for me, I hope they will both encourage and help you also.

 

Warren Wiersbe once wrote: “Truth without love is brutality; and, love without truth is hypocrisy.” In some of the premarital counseling I have done I have used a question to begin leading the prospective couple in the development of their commitment to one another. It is: “How would you like to use the following for your wedding vows? ‘I promise not to kill you, not to steal from you, not to cheat on you, not to swear at your parents…’”? You know, I’ve never had anyone say, “Wow, that sounds great! Can you send me a copy for my wedding?” That’s because these are negative legal statements, not positive promises of love.

 

Laws prohibit harm; love promises good. Of course, you wouldn’t want to marry someone who vowed to kill you or steal from you. But promising not to harm someone would not give them much of a reason to marry you, either. You should not harm anyone, of course. And you should promise lifelong love to only one person. That’s the issue we must examine. Love and law must work together in balance. We must learn to always balance grace giving with truth telling and vice versa. Begin to pray now that God will give you clarity in recognizing both.