Kept for faithfulness
If, like me, you were avidly watching sci-fi television shows in the early 1990s, the tagline “The Truth Is Out There” will probably remind you of the X-Files. As Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigated UFO sightings and conspiracy theories, it was the mantra behind the bigger story that was unfolding in the series. The phrase seeped into popular culture so much that the Christian rock band DC Talk even recorded a track released in 1998 that used it as the main lyric.
“The Truth Is Out There” captured our desire to understand what’s going on the world.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be studying the book of Jude on a Sunday morning. And Jude is going to tell us we don’t need to look too far to find the truth that is out there.
While Jude is written primarily as a warning to the church to keep alert for false teaching coming from within, there also great encouragements in the letter to us. Which is where, and from an article on Jude by Mariam Kovalishyn, I’ve drawn the title for both this blog post and the sermon series.
These encouragements include:
- knowing the certainty of our call to Jesus;
- knowing the certainty of the truth of God and the teaching we have received from him through the Bible;
- and God’s faithfulness to those he has called to him.
We’ll also be challenged by the words Jude wrote. Challenged to be aware of teaching – teaching that might even come from within Christian circles – that distorts the truth and grace of God and denies Jesus as Lord. Challenged because the truth of God says Jesus will return and there will be a time we all face him and answer to him. Challenged to draw more and more on Christ to define our identity. And challenged as to how we live as Christians and as a church to point people to Jesus – our Lord, our master and our saviour.
So, I’d ask you to read the letter of Jude before Sunday morning. It’s only 25 verses – so maybe even read it more than once! And join us over the coming weeks to discover what this short book has to say to us as Christians today.
– Adam Leadbetter