I have been studying in Colossians since my pastor is preaching through the book. Paul says something in the first chapter that jumps out at me. He says, “…since the first day that you heard and understood the grace of God in truth….” This is in the midst of a passage where he is talking about the Colossians accepting “the word of truth, the gospel which came to you.” So he links the gospel with two key elements: grace and truth. What is the link?
I think the tie-in here is that we are saved by grace and truth. It is the truth about our standing in Adam that drives us to seek by grace to stand instead in Christ. It is the grace of God giving us redemption and forgiveness of sins instead of damnation that drives us to share the truth with others.
As we grow in sanctification and the gospel becomes more and more central in our lives, truth and grace should increasingly be characteristic of our actions. How can we tell others of the God of Truth and His infallible, inerrant word if we are people who are not truthful? How can we freely avail ourselves of God's matchless grace and not be willing in turn to forgive even our enemies and be gracious to those who abuse us?
The gospel must be central to all we do: how we behave and how we relate to those around us. And that gospel that should be core to our existence should be seen by those around us in grace and truth oozing out of our lives.
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