Faith and Discipleship

Good Morning,

Let us open with a word of Prayer.

Pray 3+

Today we are in Luke 1 and we will be looking at verses 1-4. We see a couple of themes in these verses today, and despite the fact that these two words are never stated in these verses, it is my hope that we will be able to see Luke beginning these themes here because we will see him use them throughout this Gospel. It is often said by those who do not believe in the existence of God or a higher power, that faith is believing in something despite the evidence. Richard Dawkins a famous and militant atheist once said:

"Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence." -Richard Dawkins

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What makes this so entertaining or disturbing, depending on how you look at it is the fact that Richard Dawkins believes something that science is completely unable to prove or disprove by it’s very nature. He believes that the universe sprang from nothing violating the first law of thermodynamics and that order came from chaos violating the second. These two ideas actually contradict the laws of science and in many ways his faith is, like he says in his quote, belief in spite of, or even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence. However this is not the picture of faith as described by the Bible, and it is especially not here. What we don’t see is Luke telling Theophilus, he just needs to have more faith. If you are there follow along as I read our passage today.

Luke 1:1–4 ESV

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

We are not given any major information about Theophilus other than his name mentioned here and again in the book of Acts. We can deduce he is likely someone important because of the address Luke uses, most excellent Theophilus. We can also assume he has heard at least some of the Gospel message or is familiar with it since Luke says he had been taught. But whether it was for doubt or some other reason, Luke finds it necessary to write this orderly account. But look what Luke says in verse 4, Luke says that you may have certainty.

What is faith and does it have certainty or not?

This idea seems very contrary to the picture of faith we see Richard Dawkins describe or “blind faith”. Remember he said, “faith is belief in spite of, even because of, the lack of evidence. Even among many professing Christians, there is this idea that faith and certainty are opposites and not compatible. While the Bible describes faith in multiple ways, it never describes it as one that is simply blind and without evidence. Turn with me first to Deuteronomy 32, when we talk of faith in any way we have to start with who God is. Just before this passage Moses had finished reading the law to this generation of Israelites and commissioned Joshua to lead them into the promised land. Then the Lord knowing Israel’s unfaithfulness gives them this song.

Deuteronomy 32:1–4 “1 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. 2 May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb. 3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! 4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” Here in the opening it is describing the character of God before it goes on to describe the character of these people. What we see here though is He is a God of faithfulness. His faithfulness has been displayed in everything that happened as He brought the Israelites out of Egypt.

The promise made in Genesis 15 when God said Abram’s dependents would be afflicted for four hundred years, but God would bring judgement on the nation has now been fulfilled and the promise to give Abram the land in Genesis 13 was getting ready to happen. It was this faithfulness that had been displayed to the Israelites. This was what the faith of the Israelites was to be built on, something that was completely different than the nations around them. Their faith was to be an evidence based faith, a faith based on God’s character and the fact that they had experienced His faithfulness.

God had shown Himself to them and he did what He said he would and that was to be a foundational aspect of their faith. But that is not the only way God had showed Himself to them. Turn with me to Psalm 19 and starting in verse 1:

Psalm 19:1 ESV

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psalm 19:1–4 “1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,”

In this Psalm, David is writing about the general revelation of God and how everything in nature displays the glory of God. While this was not how the Israelites were to come into fellowship with God, nature itself was to strengthen their faith. It is again an experiential fact based faith. The faith of the Israelites was to have a certainty to it because of what God had done for them and because of how they could see His hand in the world around them. They had seen his work and how it changed them and brought them freedom, they could see His hand in the world around them, it is to this type of certainty and faith Luke is appealing to in this Gospel. He is going to the eye witnesses and giving an orderly account. He is going to give a defense for the Hope that is in him as Peter commanded in the scripture reading earlier. But to what end? Why was he doing this?

What was Luke's goal and why?

Again if we look at our passage, we see interwoven in this introduction, not only the allusion to a faith based on facts and certainty, but also the idea of discipleship. We see this in throughout verses 3-4, first they recieved the Gospel message in verse 2, then in verse three, he writes that he followed all things closely for sometime. However, if we remember from last week, Luke’s definition for sometime actually covers quite an extensive amount of time. Luke had joined Paul in Troas, during his second missionary journey, which in total lasted between 2 and a half to 3 years. Luke then continued with Paul through the end of his third missionary journey, an additional 5 years. He had been with Paul at the lowest end 5 and 1/2 years but probably quite a bit more.

During this time, he was learning and watching Paul. Paul refers to him as fellow laborer in Philemon 1:24.

Philemon 24 ESV

24 and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

He was being discipled in this time by one who had learned directly from Jesus. Even if it was not like the relationship Paul and Timothy had, he was with Paul following and listening to what Paul did. He was there with Paul, like the disciples were there with Jesus. Now as he begins this letter, he is seeking to imitate Paul and build up this man Theophilus’ faith, he wants to give him certainty that the things he was taught were true. Luke is demonstrating to Theophilus that what he was taught lined up with what the eyewitnesses had seen. He is helping to dispel any doubts that Theophilus had, just as mature believers are to do with newer believers.

He instead of telling Theophilus, “He just needs to have faith,” is demonstrating the truth of the message. This was a time when the church was suffering persecution. People were likely wondering if this was really what Jesus had intended, were God’s people supposed to be suffering like they were, fearing that this Jesus was not who he said he was. Was this man who had been crucified and is no longer around really the messiah of men that people say he was?

We see Luke working to answer this question through much of this Gospel. Luke focuses on the rejection of Jesus by the Jews through much of chapters 9-19. Then from 19 to the end of 23 Luke focuses on Jesus’ entry in to Jerusalem to his crucifixion. All of this was to demonstrate how the world treated Jesus the promised messiah and encourage those who were now suffering in His name, showing that this is to be expected if one is a disciple of Christ. Luke closes this Gospel with the Resurrection and the promise to send the Holy Spirit. This book along with the book of Acts, was to be an encouragement to this man and to others reading it. It was to build him up in the truth of the Gospel message and demonstrate that what he had been taught was not a false message.

We see the apostle Peter give a very similar idea when it comes to suffering for the message of the Gospel in the passage Marc read 1 Peter 3:17–18 “17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil. 18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,”

So we have to ask ourselves

How do we respond to the doubts of our brothers and sisters?

What is our response to those we know when they have doubts or come to us with the objections that the world gives them for Christianity? Are we people who engage these doubts and objections? Are we willing to be there for our families and friends as they struggle with doubts and the philosophies of the world?

This is something that we as Christians are called to do. We are to be lovingly engaging with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In Ephesians 4:15–16 it tells us “15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

Much like we see in our passage in Luke, we see this is to be done in love. It is not something we are doing to be right or to win an argument. Luke’s Gospel was written so that Theophilus could have certainty of the things he had been taught and that is an act of love. Why is it an act of love? Because it takes an immense amount of work and sacrifice on our part. Luke had to go to the eyewitnesses and the ministers of the word to make sure what he was writing was correct. It was Luke doing the work to give Theophilus the certainty and in the same way when we are discipling others it is going to take work on our part to answer the questions they have. When those who are younger in the faith come in a moment of panic because the world has come up with a new reason Christianity is false, we must stop and evaluate the claim and show them or help them find the truth.

However this is not the only aspect of discipleship in this Gospel. Luke will use this to Gospel to show Theophilus what it costs to follow Jesus and what it looks like to follow him. This is something we should be doing as well, discipleship is constantly helping the one being discipled to follow Jesus more closely. Jesus had made this picture clear in all of the Gospels, but in Luke 14 Jesus speaks to the crowd and spells out just what the cost of following him is starting in verse 25.

Luke 14:25–33 “25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

We see that the cost of following Jesus is everything. To people of the time, the cross was the worst death imaginable, it was a death that was for the worst criminals and for those who were not Roman Citizens and were therefore considered lesser humans and to the Jews it was a curse. So when Jesus says to bear your cross, they understood that this was more than just a mental or spiritual calling, it very well could be their life on the line. Yet very shortly after these verses about the cost, come verses about the love of God and joy in heaven for those who are lost returning to the Father.

What we see today in our passage is a call to a sure and certain faith. A faith built on the character of who God is and what He has done. It is a faith built on as I have said many times historical fact and not just on blind belief. Luke had been with Paul and understood the power of the Gospel message and the transforming work it had in the lives of men and women. With this book, Luke does what all Christians are called to do and he disciples this man Theophilus. He responds to the doubts and fears of the time out of love and builds up not only Theophilus but all of the Church with the truth of that Gospel message.

I will leave us with these two final questions,

First, Do we have certainty in our Faith or are we blown about by all the winds and waves of the world and it’s philosophies?

Second, Are we engaging in the work of discipleship willing to help build up our brothers and sisters in the Gospel message?

Let us close with prayer.