FAITHFUL GOD
Notes
Transcript
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
I. FAITHFUL TO REDEEM
I. FAITHFUL TO REDEEM
67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
By sending the angel, by giving Elizabeth a baby, and especially by putting his Son in the virgin’s womb, God was visiting his people. He was entering our situation from the outside, because without his intervention, we could never be saved. Salvation is not a human invention, but a divine visitation. It is not something we achieve by going to God, but something God has done by coming to us in Christ. No one is ever saved except by the grace of God.
Ryken, P. G. (2009). Luke. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (Vol. 1, p. 60). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.
II. FAITHFUL TO SHOW US HIS PROMISED MERCY
II. FAITHFUL TO SHOW US HIS PROMISED MERCY
72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
16 and said, “By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, 18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
From Zechariah’s inspired perspective, the effect of this great oath, as fulfilled through the coming of Christ, would not only be deliverance from enemies, but the enablement “to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days” (vv. 74–75). Certainly this is what Christ does for the believing heart—he liberates it so it can serve.
Hughes, R. K. (1998). Luke: that you may know the truth (p. 77). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Zechariah Breaks His Silence
To serve God is to glorify him in our worship and in everything else we do, leading holy lives. And this is the goal of our salvation. God wants to do something more with us than simply get us to heaven. His goal is for us to live for his glory, but to do this we first have to be liberated from the selfishness of our sin. God’s salvation is for our sanctification, and this always leads to service.
Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Zechariah Breaks His Silence
the whole-hearted service of the Lord in complete freedom from all bonds of sin, guilt, punishment, curse, Satan and destruction.”