Living in the Tension of Grace and Truth

A recent NPR article highlighted this tension and how some Christian professors, counselors, and colleges are dealing with this matter and the legal challenges that are certainly on the horizon, including the possibility of colleges losing their tax-exempt status and federal funding. A senior chaplain at a theologically conservative Christian college says,

You’ve got those two values. . . . We love our LGBT people. We love our church of Jesus Christ. We love Scripture. So those of us who do this work are right in the middle of that space. We are living in the tension.

Being a Christian is about “living in the tension.”

Being a Christian is about “living in the tension.” That’s what Christ did. He loved people—loved them enough to die for his enemies (Romans 5:8)! He was filled with grace and extended that grace toward sinners (including millions of other believers and me!). But Scripture tells us he came filled with “grace and truth” (John 1:14). And that’s the tension! We love people, but that doesn’t mean we wish them to live in their sin. Instead, we’re called to speak “the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

This means loving them enough to show them what God’s Word says about their sinful behaviors, no matter what those behaviors are (pride, envy, sexual sin, and so on). Without condemning others, we need to point them toward the grace of Christ offered in the gospel and living in this tension, as our Lord and Savior did.

Learn more about a proper response to homosexual behavior in Avery Foley’s article, “Can the Church Embrace Homosexual Behavior in the Name of Love?”

Get More Answers on Answers News

This item was discussed on Answers News today with regular cohost Bodie Hodge and guest AiG staff writer Avery Foley. Answers News is our twice-weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum and broadcast on my Facebook page. They also discussed the following topics:

• A university hosts “white privilege” seminar and another hosts “Sex Week.”
• A man exposed himself to a child in a Target women's bathroom.
• And more!

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Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.