How Firm a Foundation

Edited by Steve Fountain from a sermon on November 25, 2012 called "How Firm a Foundation."

The first sentence of Luke’s account of the life of Christ is broken up into four verses.  As you read this long sentence, it isn’t until the last phrase that you discover Luke’s burning purpose. 

“In asmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, 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, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (Luke1:1-4).

Luke is concerned for people like Theophilus, people like you and me, who have to relive the moment through the telling and retelling of the story.

It was the first generation of the Christian Church, that is, the apostles, as well as others who had seen, and known Jesus personally.  The next generation, to which Luke and others like him belonged, was in a different position.  In a sense such people could say, “The words and deeds of Jesus were “accomplished among us.”

That first generation had no need for books, movies, blogs, or Facebook for people to tell them about what he was like.  Their memories, hearts and minds were full of Him.  Can you imagine what that must have been like?

Luke took great care to ensure that subsequent generations have a firm foundation. Luke wants us to be able to have certainty about what we have been taught.  Sadly, many people who are confronted with truth would rather eat their arm than admit their need to reconcile with the God who made them.  With no desire to know the truth, they settle for the adjustable scale of worldly right and wrong.

Why people reject the truth, pushes us toward the inevitable conclusion of the Apostle John, when he wrote, “the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19).

Thankfully God has preserved for us an accurate record of the greatest moment in time, which is summarized for us by Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

As we consider Luke’s introduction, we will consider how important it is that for our faith that Luke did write early on in the history of the church, and that he did so carefully.  If he didn’t, we would not have the stability that we have today.

Luke wants us to have certainty.  He says so in verse 4.  

There are many, many competitors out there claiming to have the truth—many of them on shifting sand. Many of these documents have come to light in recent years claiming to be authentic gospel accounts, but none of them, have the internal and external evidence that can compete with the 4 gospels we have in the New Testament. 

You have in your hands, regardless of the translation, the very word of God that was delivered accurately for the purpose of bringing people to a saving knowledge of God and his witness, Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God who died, was buried, and rose again demonstrating his victory over sin and death. 

Did you know that the Bible you hold in your hand was diligently compared against the backdrop of more than 6,000 manuscripts, some of them dating back to within 25 years of the longest living apostle John? The 66 books of the Bible share a common theme from start to finish that covers a period of 1400 years between 40 different authors.  The Luke's theme is summarized in this one verse,

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” 

We can be thankful that we have in the Word of God, a Firm Foundation.