Grace and Truth

Billy:
Brother, you shouldn’t talk only about grace. You must talk about grace and the truth simultaneously.

John:
What do you mean? Are you saying that grace and the truth contradict each other? Talking about grace is the truth! Well, tell me about the truth you mean.

Billy:
You must also tell that the Lord is a consuming fire, His eyes are too Holy to see sin.

John:
Yes, the Bible says so. But how does this contradict the grace?

Billy:
If you only talk about grace, people will take it for granted and do whatever they wish. Hence, you must talk about the truth, too. That is, you should talk about the commandments God gave against sinning, without any partiality.

John:
Do you mean that grace kindles people to sin?

Billy:
That is not what I meant, brother. If you continue to talk only about grace, people will fail to appreciate it.

John:
Of course, not, brother. What you say is completely opposite to what the Bible says. You mean that if I talk about commandments, people will not sin and if I talk about grace, people will tend to sin. But the Bible says in Rom 5:20, that during the time of Mosaic Law, sin increased, and because of the increase of sin, grace increased all the more.

Billy:
Do you mean that the Law is evil?

John:
No, brother. Read Romans chapter 7 carefully. Paul narrates clearly how sin sprang to life and how sin seized the opportunity to do its deeds through Law. ‘But the Law is not sinful! The Law is holy, the commandment is holy, righteous and good,’ says the same chapter.

You should understand one thing properly, disobedience comes when the law enters. You say that if grace increases, trespass will also increase. But the Bible says it upside down, where sin increases, grace shall increase all the more. You say that commandments will decrease disobedience, but the Bible says it upside down, trespass increases when commandments enter. (Rom 5:20)

It is man’s mentality to show the cross first, if people continue to disobey, then use the whip. God knew what would happen, so He showed the whip (The Old Covenant) first, He taught us that it did not suit us, then He showed the cross (The New Covenant).

The same Bible that says that sin increases when commandments enter, also says that sin shall no longer be our master because we are under grace (Rom 6:14).

OK, tell me now. Sin is your problem, isn’t it? What weapon should we use to overcome sin, the Law or Grace?