Truth, Grace, and Mercy - Balancing Belief and Action

"For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." - St. John 1:17

The Old Covenant was based on measuring up to the law - a measuring stick that calibrated the character of those who lived, or claimed to live, as people of God. In the biblical sense law is the "rules of engagement" for relationship within a community. It is not a means of justifying punishment, but a means of defining behavior.

The law, both then and now, has never prevented bad action - it has only identified it within the community that agrees to its standards.

Here's a very simple example; A posted speed limit is generally a guide to the maximum safe speed for a particular stretch of road. When the road conditions are bad, i.e. icy or wet, common sense tells us to slow down. This is where the concept of truth intersects with the law. The law expresses the standard, but the higher law, of common sense and wisdom, reveals a higher law of action.

The Old Covenant was focused on law. The New Covenant is focused on grace and truth.

To Orthodox Christians, law is a method of measurement and not a means of punishment. It is the standard by which we measure our humanity as the image bearers of God. The failure to live up to the standard of the law should lead us to repentance, humility, and compassion for others, because we all share the same human condition. Unfortunately, just as in Jesus' time, in the hands of the fundamentalist "law keepers" it has become justification for condemnation. This is reflected in some schools of Protestant theology where God seeks to "punish us" for our sins and Jesus, through His death on the cross is seen as "taking the bullet" for us.

Jesus revealed the grace behind the law. God does not want to punish us, condemn us, or destroy us, He seeks to repair our broken relationship with Him.

In Orthodoxy, sin is the condition of falling short of the target, or "missing the mark." It is a symptom of our broken image and manifests itself like a disease that has infected our nature. It results in death - but Christ, through His incarnation, death, and resurrection has restored the divine nature within us. Now we are able to be like Him and live for eternity as divine beings.

Manifesting our divine nature is a way of living and not just a decision at a point in time.

We should live in grace and truth, demonstrating the mercy that has been given to us. Christians should be known by what we do and not by what we believe.