Being Salt and Light in Ocean View, HI

The Background of the Gospel of Luke

Aloha ocean view Baptist Church welcome to midweek this week we’re going to be hearing from brother Bob Warner he’s been a longtime member and newly part of the leadership team and we’d like him to share some devotionals with you and you’ll get to meet him over the next couple of weeks but he’s going to give us a little background on the book Luke so please dive it

As we’ve been studying the Book of Luke for a while I’ve been asked to give a bit of background on them on the book Luke is one of four gospel each one much the same but with a different focus Matthew was inspired by God to focus on the kingship of Christ Jesus as Messiah mark was inspired by God to focus on the humanity of Christ Jesus as son of man John was inspired by God to focus on the deity of Christ Jesus as God and Savior and Luke was inspired by God to focus on the Omni here at Arras city of Christ he was an early apologist into the story we see that from his own account of his reasons for writing Luke in act 1 writes this the first account I composed the Theophilus about all that Jesus began to do and teach and that refers back to the Gospel of Luke and then in Luke 1 to 4 he says this in as much as many of undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word it seemed fitting for me as well having investigated everything carefully from the beginning to write it out for you in consecutive order most excellent Theophilus and again here’s what he just so clearly gives the reason for his writing so that you may know the exact truth about the things that you have been taught it is interesting Lucas only mentioned by name three times in the Bible all by fall the first is in Colossians 4:14 where we read this Luke the beloved physician sends you his greetings and also demas in writing to Timothy in second Timothy 4:11 Paul says this only Luke is with me pick up mark and bring him with you for he is useful to me for service and the final references in Paul’s letter about Philemon and he’s in by me 123 he says this a Patras my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus greets you as do mark Aristarchus demas and Luke my fellow workers so what do we know about Luke Luke was a contemporary and fellow fellow worker of the Apostle Paul he accompanied him on his later missionary journeys he was an educated man a physician he was a committed believer who was loved and valued by Paul and it was Luke that remained steadfast in his loyalty to Paul and was with him at his impending death he was not Jewish nor is it likely that he was an early follower of Christ he probably came to faith as the gospel was taken to the Gentile perhaps through the Ministry of the Apostle Paul himself Luke committed his life to the Lord his people and the proclamation and so one might ask what led God to inspire Luke to write his gospel but an even better question is this why did God inspire four different people to write about the life of one man a man whose physical ministry spanned a mere three years it was God’s desire to provide a deep and multifaceted account an understanding of the most pivotal moment and the most pivotal person in all of human district when God created man he already knew who we would fall into sin darkness and spiritual death the story of God’s dealing with his people has always been the failure of man to follow God’s law and God’s call to return to him offering restoration and grace to those coming in repentance and in humility the problem was and remains to this day that we thought we could overcome sin through self effort by being good enough but because it is impossible to truly please God through human effort need we define goodness we redefine righteousness to be something we deem achievable but God is clear Redemption and righteousness is only available to God’s design romans 8:8 makes this clear it says this those who are in the flesh cannot please God pretty good luck however you are not in the flesh but in the spirit if indeed the Spirit of God in you Paul says much the same thing in his letter to the Ephesians in Ephesians 1:4 here is he says this he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before him in love he predestined us to adoption of sons through Jesus Christ to himself according to the kind intention of his will to the praise of the glory of his race which he clearly bestowed on us in the beloved here in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace so why is this man this moment important because through the Incarnation the light and the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross we can be brought back to an eternal loving relationship with our Creator and the release from the bondage of sin spiritual death and eternal even after we are redeemed through his sacrificial death however we can find ourselves falling back into fleshly ways of thinking that we must earn God’s favor or e can’t earn God’s favor or we forget about the cost of our Redemption if I may let me leave you with and he also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt two men went up to the temple to pray one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector the Pharisee stood and was praying to himself bring this to himself god I thank you that I am not like other people swindlers unjust adulterers or even like this tax collector I fast twice a week I pay tithes of all that I get but the tax bullet standing some distance away was even unwilling to lift his eyes to head but was beating his breast saying God be merciful to me I tell you this man went to his house justified rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled but He Who humbles himself we have two different two different destinies one was looking for works to save them the other was relying on God’s grace so the question follows which are you which am I and which will we be father we are so thankful from the word the riches that we bind there we are so thankful father that you took the steps to redeem us and bring us back to you that you come in grace that you save us that you give us an abundant light to live even in this realm and eternal life to live in the net father help us to be thankful for that help us to reflect upon your word and and truly see where our heart lies are we relying on ourselves in my strength

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