20th January 2026

20th January 2026


Pray (ACts) 


Read (Jude 1v5-7) 


Message (Scott Woodburn) 


There are some who can’t quite reconcile the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New. In the Old Testament God seems constantly angry while in the New Testament God is constantly loving. My brothers and sisters this thinking isn’t new (nothing is) but is an old heresy called Marcionism. Jude would have had no time for Marcion for as Jude considered the Old Testament he saw the work of Christ.


Who was Marcion? We can't be exactly sure when he was born but we do know that Marcion was from modern day Turkey and he died around the year 160. He was quite wealthy and once tried to donate twenty thousand coins to the church at Rome. However these coins were not accepted and Marcion was soon shown the door. What was the problem with Marcion? Marcion could not reconcile the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New. He considered the Old Testament God to be a "lesser God" and so he came to reject the vast majority of the Old Testament. Marcion's difficulties also extended to the New Testament. Anywhere that referenced the Old Testament was considered problematic and so Marcion's "bible" consisted of Luke and some of Paul's letters which he also edited.


Marcion believed the physical world was evil and so any God who was active in creation was deeply suspect. Needless to say, the church rejected Marcion, his bible and his teaching. The true faith declares that there is one God who reveals Himself throughout Scripture and He is a God who made all things and has a plan to redeem all things.


Marcion had no regard for the book of Jude for the Lord's little brother recognised Christ in all of the Scriptures and declared Him to be active throughout of all the history of the Gospel. Brothers and sisters, Marcion is long gone but his heresy remains. Some Christians downplay the Old Testament and treat it as a disconnected collection of stories. Others think Jesus started in Matthew's Gospel and He was always gentle Jesus meek and mild.


Jude gave us the full picture - Christ on every page of the Bible and Christ full of both grace and wrath. I love this little book of Jude, it is short but also a complete feast. Sit down and read it, let Jude take you on a Bible study and marvel at the scale of our God.   


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q76 Which is the ninth commandment? The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
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