June 25, 2007 issue
Grace and truth
By Wilmer Sprunger Berne, Ind.About a year ago I was saddened to read in this column a letter from someone who revealed his bias. He was not speaking to the issue of sound, biblical theology but rather from a conservative-versus-liberal mindset, identifying one of those positions as the true Christian, Mennonite belief system.
That proved to me once again that many Christians in America have been manipulated by the media and political parties. Few of us seek to frame today’s problems from God’s perspective but rather from which political agenda we give our loyalty. The secular world has succeeded in manipulating Christians as well as pagans to ascribe loyalty to political parties rather than to the One we call Lord.
I recently discovered a book that speaks to this problem of our being polarized as liberals and conservatives. If you pride yourself in being either one, I suggest you read this book to see if you are truly following Jesus’ example or whether you are a pawn of a political party.
The book is The Grace and Truth Paradox by Randy Alcorn. He has grasped the true biblical message in a short but profound verse, John 1:14, and tells us in effect: There is no paradox, because neither grace nor truth alone has all the answers. John tells us that in Jesus (the Word) was grace and truth. Yet one political party touts grace while the other touts truth. When you read this book you’ll recognize, as I did, on which side of the saddle you tend to fall off.
I suggest every Mennonite congregation buy a copy of this book. I believe it can help to heal our church’s division. Quoting the back cover: “Truth without grace breeds self-righteousness and crushing legalism. Grace without truth breeds deception and moral compromise.” May God’s Holy Spirit open our eyes to accept the message in this book.
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