Six Great Ends of the Church: 4. The Preservation of Truth

Lessons: John 8:12-16, 31-32; John 18:37-38a: Jesus says if we follow him, we will know the truth and it will set us free.  The truth that is the core of our faith is that Jesus Christ is God’s self-defining Word.  Our tradition also insists on “the sovereignty of God,” which means God can do whatever God wants to do.  If God wants to speak to people through nature, God can do it.  If God wants to speak through art or philosophy or other religions, God can do that, too, simply because God is God, and God’s freedom.  So that means we can follow Jesus wholeheartedly, have faith in him as somehow the truth, and still accept that we don’t corner the market on all of God’s truth.  The truth that we meet in Jesus Christ is that God is love, and calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves.  One way we fulfill this 4th great end of the church,  then, is by resisting our "post truth" culture.