I would like to speak with you today about doubts. Likely, we all have
a sense of doubt in our lives. For example, we might doubt our ability
to say the right thing. We might also have doubts about our health.
We might doubt whether we could ascend the same set of stairs we could
a few years ago. We might doubt our ability to cope with a trial. We
might even doubt whether we have enough money to handle expenses that
are coming our way. Doubts can come in all shapes and sizes. Some can
be rather small, but then there are some that can be unsettling, or
they can even be earthshaking.
One doubt that I have been dealing with as the father in the Williams
family lately has been with bees and their behavior. As we all know,
the late summer and early fall months are ones with a great number of
flying black and yellow creatures. Smaller children and for that matter
even adults within the Williams family now and then find themselves
a bit undone by these flying insects. The doubts and worries of course
focus on how these bugs with the seemingly massive stingers are going
to behave.
Case in point, this past week, our family found itself at a picnic
where we were eating outside. As we were eating outside for some time
with a fair amount of food on the table and also with sweet drinks like
lemonade out and open, you can just guess what showed up - a few unannounced
yellow jackets showed up to enjoy the picnic with us. One or two would
come and hover over a plate, periodically landing on the plate to sample
some delicacy. Others would come and want something to drink. So one
or two might now and then land on a plastic cup filled with lemonade,
and then crawl on down inside the cup taking a sample of something to
drink.
Well, with these unannounced and for that matter, unwelcome guests
present, one of our youngest children began to have doubts about being
at the table. Tears started to flow, and then I was told by this one,
"Daddy, I don't want the bees" (as if I was guilty of inviting
them and could speak to them and persuade them to go somewhere else).
Doubts and fears were obviously beginning to multiply. While unexpressed
by this young member of the Williams family, an obvious doubt or worry
was, would the black and yellow insects with the really big stingers
merely take interest in the food or would they sting? Such was the doubt
expressed by my younger children that day, and I as a Dad that day spent
some time trying to calm them down and alleviate doubts.
This is one type of doubt, but it is a small concern compared with
many other doubts. Indeed, a larger doubt is one about the Christian
faith itself. Is it true or not? Indeed, that is a much larger doubt.
In the opening verses from Luke 1, it is clear that there is someone,
a man named Theophilus, who is in doubt about the Christian faith -
whether it is true or not. Luke the writer of this gospel is trying
to bolster this man's faith and for that matter anyone else who might
read this gospel. If you find that you have periodic doubts about the
Christian faith, or if you know of someone with whom you are close who
doubts, then this passage and this gospel may be of interest to you.
I. Luke writes to an acknowledged doubter named Theophilus
(Luke 1:3-4; Hebrews; John 20:28-29)
The passage opens with a sense of doubt found in Theophilus, the person
to whom Luke is writing. We read of this in Luke 1:3-4 which says, "I
(that is Luke) too decided after investigating everything carefully
from the very first, to write an orderly account for you most excellent
Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about
which you have been instructed." Luke is writing to solidify
in Theophilus' mind the things that he had already been taught. In other
words, he is shoring up in Theophilus his faith, which appears to be
on shifting sands.
Now, what do we know about Theophilus? Unfortunately, we do not know
too much from sources outside of the Bible. There is some evidence that
he was a Roman official since he is addressed as "most excellent
Theophilus." Some think that he came from Antioch since this is
Luke's home city. While his home city cannot be said for certain, what
does seem certain is that he was a person who was instructed in the
faith. He had heard about Jesus Christ, his amazing life, his death
for sins, and then his triumph over the grave at his resurrection and
ascension. Yet despite all that he had been taught, his faith was apparently
insecure. He had some doubts about whether these accounts were trustworthy.
While we do not know much about him from historical records, it is
interesting to note the meaning of the name Theophilus. Names mean certain
things. Take for example our city of Philadelphia. The name of the city
means city of brotherly love. It comes from phileo, which means love,
and adelphos, which means brother. Put them together, and it means city
of brotherly love.
If we were to break Theophilus' name apart it would break into theos,
the word for God in Greek, and phileo, the word for love. Put them together
and we have - Theophilus "lover of God."
The meaning of his name adds to our understanding of the person that
Luke is addressing. Theophilus appears to be an important person in
that day, perhaps a Roman official. He had been taught the Christian
faith and was even known as a "lover of God" by his very name,
yet he was one who still had doubts about the Christian faith.
This sometimes is the case with Christians. There are Christians who
doubt even though they have been around Christian circles for many years.
Sometimes those who doubt have been instructed in the Christian faith
for some time. Sometimes doubting Christians may appear from outward
appearances to be lovers of God, but inwardly they are full of doubts.
It is interesting that the Bible has a number of people like Theophilus,
people who from the outer appearance seem to be lovers of God, but inwardly
they doubt. The letter to the Hebrews was written to a significant number
of Jewish Christians likely in Italy who had been instructed in the
Christian faith. While they appeared to be "lovers of God"
inwardly they doubted. As a result, the writer of Hebrews wrote some
thirteen chapters to encourage them in the ways of the Christian faith.
The most famous doubter in the pages of Scripture of course, is the
apostle Thomas. Thomas, also known as "doubting Thomas," you
will remember was the disciple who did not believe that Jesus Christ
had been raised from the dead. He should have been one who believed
easily. After all, he had heard his friends' reports that Jesus was
risen from the dead. He also certainly knew of the miraculous abilities
that Jesus had. After all, he had walked with Jesus for many years and
had heard how Jesus spoke of his death and resurrection. Indeed, we
would expect with all that he knew and experienced that Thomas would
have been a lover of God. Yet he doubted, and he said in his doubt these
famous words which are found in John 20:25, "Unless
I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark
of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
It is interesting that the Bible contains such records, indicating
that the earliest Christians were willing to encourage and work with
those who doubted. The authors of the books of the New Testament could
have chosen not to address lovers of God who doubt. The church could
have left out the story on doubting Thomas, but it did not, providing
hope for those who periodically doubt. Moreover, the Bible includes
two whole books - Luke and Hebrews - that were specifically addressed
to those who had been taught about Jesus but who doubted. The early
Christian church chose not to give up on those who were doubting in
their midst. Instead, they encouraged those who had questions to explore
and examine faith in Jesus Christ. Those early Christians provide a
lesson for us to encourage doubters not to give up but to continue to
explore issues of the Christian faith.
It is interesting to note what happens to some doubters when they have
the opportunity to explore the Christian faith. Oftentimes, they become
very strong witnesses. Referring back to "doubting Thomas,"
he did gain the time to work through his doubts. And when he had worked
through his doubts sufficiently, he did trust God, and became a strong
witness for Jesus Christ. Church history records the rest of his life
as a missionary to India, taking the gospel message there. He had such
a strong faith that he witnessed there for many years and was eventually
run through with a spear while announcing the good news that Jesus died
but did rise again.
In our day, some of you may be familiar with another person who had
doubts but had the opportunity to work through those doubts. His name
is Josh McDowell, and he described himself as a skeptic and an atheist.
He, however, was given the opportunity to work through issues of faith.
Here is his testimony. He says,
I was a skeptic too until I took a good hard look at the claims of
Jesus Christ. In college I met several students who challenged me to
take a closer look, to study and examine the Christian faith. I took
the challenge, feeling certain I could prove Christianity to be false,
a religion built on nice stories that couldn't stand up to the test
of truth. But as I dug deeper and deeper into the claims of Christianity,
I was shocked. I found facts, not fiction. I found so much evidence
that I could only come to one conclusion Jesus Christ is the Son of
God. He was crucified, he died, and he was resurrected on the third
day.
Soon after this discovery, I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord. That
was 39 years ago. My life has been completely changed because I have
a personal relationship with Christ.
Josh McDowell now travels internationally arguing that the claims of
Jesus Christ are true. His books such as More than a Carpenter or Evidence
that Demands a Verdict have been translated into many languages and
are worth reading if you are looking for an argument that defends the
Christian faith. He has this to say to doubters and skeptics today.
As a skeptic, you've probably heard this before, but don't just shrug
it off I challenge you, as those students challenged me examine the
claims of Jesus Christ for yourself. If there's even the slightest chance
that He truly is the Son of God, shouldn't you be willing to find out?
Indeed, if you find yourself today as a lover of God who doubts, let
me encourage you to keep exploring the Christian faith. Keep reading
the Bible; keep asking Christian leaders questions; and keep reading
books that help to draw reasonable answers to doubts. Keep exploring!
I feel certain that you will find the Christian faith as compelling
as many have found over the centuries.
Now if you are not a skeptic or a doubter and feel secure in your faith,
do have room for people who doubt like Luke had room for Theophilus.
The early Christians had room for those who were exploring. Do give
space for those who are working through issues of the Christian faith.
2. Luke's Gospel should be trusted because of Luke's
reputation. (Luke 1:1-2; Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24)
We have talked thus far about Theophilus and his doubts. Luke spends
a great amount of time writing to a lover of God who doubted, Theophilus,
about his doubts. He does not give up on Theophilus. Let's now turn
away from the doubts and turn to Luke and his writing. In so doing,
we ought to ask particularly why should Luke be trusted? What makes
Luke and his writing a trustworthy account of Jesus, his life, his teachings,
his claims, his death, and his resurrection?
There are several reasons that make Luke trustworthy. Let's start with
who Luke was. Luke was a learned man. Paul in Colossians 4:14 calls
Luke "the beloved physician."
As a physician, he would have been known as a well-educated person.
We also know that he expressed himself in the ways of a learned man.
If one were reading through the Greek, the original language in which
the Gospel of Luke was written, it is complex. By the way that he constructs
his sentences, he reveals that he is a learned individual.
Now some of you may be saying, it is complex because it is Greek. How
could it be anything less than complex? This is not so in all cases.
Some of the New Testament writings are in much simpler Greek. Luke's
Greek, however, has the markings of a learned individual. Indeed, as
one scholar A. T. Robertson has said about this very section of Luke
1:1-4, "It is the most classical section
of Greek in the entire New Testament." French scholar Ernest
Renan said about the Gospel of Luke, "It is the most beautiful
book in the world, a cultured Greek's interpretation of the origin of
Christianity." While Luke's gospel was understandable to the common
man, there was no doubt that his gospel had the markings of a learned,
well traveled, cultured man.
Luke is especially well versed in his understanding of the life of
Jesus Christ. While he was not one of the disciples of Jesus, he knew
the story of Jesus and its impact on people's lives as a first hander.
He obviously read many accounts of the life of Jesus as Luke 1:1-2 reminds
us, "Many have undertaken to draw up an
account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they
were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses
and servants of the word." Luke, also, spent much time around
those who were the actual disciples of Jesus. Particularly he was with
the apostle Paul who knew him as a dear friend and fellow worker as
Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 1:24 state. He traveled the world with
Paul through much of Asia Minor and portions of Europe.
Thus, Luke was not someone who was narrow minded, short sighted, or
unintelligent. If he was someone who was close minded or unexposed to
other viewpoints, or wanting to warp Jesus into his own way, then that
would might change our perceptions. We would want to distrust his viewpoint,
but we know that this is not the type of man that Doctor Luke was.
There is another factor that makes his account especially trustworthy.
That is that he suffered so greatly for the viewpoint of Jesus that
he proclaimed. It is one thing to espouse a viewpoint, but then it is
another thing to suffer greatly for the viewpoint that one is stating.
Luke did that. As a companion with the apostle Paul on the mission field,
he experienced great hardships. He experienced irate mobs of people
slandering him for the words that he spoke. At points his life was threatened
by mobs of people that would want to stone him, maim him, or kill him.
Indeed, one time there were about 2,000 people threatening him. Many
of us might shrink back under the criticism of one or two people, but
Luke along with Paul and other leaders in the early church took the
shouting and jeering of angry mobs and even their death threats and
still set forward this viewpoint.
He was with Paul in jail several times. Some of us probably would not
imagine going near a prison in our day. Prisons in our day are certainly
far better than the ones that Luke and Paul for that matter had to endure.
Ancient jails were dirty, dark, pest ridden, and hot. The smells there
were awful, and Luke experienced this alongside of Paul. As a learned
and respected man, Luke could have had a much more pleasant and agreeable
life, yet he still chose to set forward his gospel message and suffered
for it. He suffered much for his message, which makes it even more credible.
If Benjamin Disraeli, notable British politician and prime minister
of the nineteenth century is correct that "seeing much, suffering
much, and studying much are the three pillars of learning" then
in the Gospel of Luke, we have a very learned picture of Jesus. For
Luke as a world traveler and encourager of the worldwide body of Christ
was a man who saw much. As one who traveled with Paul, he suffered much.
And as a physician, Luke had indeed studied much. This Gospel of Luke,
then, would be considered a very trustworthy source for Theophilus,
the lover of God who doubted, as he considered the person of Jesus Christ
afresh.
3. Luke's Gospel was trusted by the early church,
the ones who suffered greatly for the faith we have today. (2 Timothy
3:16-17; Matthew 5:18; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
Theophilus likely considered this account written by Luke as trustworthy,
but what about us today? Perhaps, we need some further information,
especially as there are many who are adding doubts to the truthfulness
of the Bible in our day.
For some of us this, the trustworthiness of the Gospel of Luke is solved
by simply appealing to other passages within the Bible itself. The Bible
states that it is trustworthy when we read verses like 2 Timothy 3:16-17
which say, "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for
teaching for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness,
so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for
every good work." Such a text would lead us to believe that if
something is in the Bible, then it should be considered trustworthy.
And indeed, there are many other texts of Scripture that say similar
things (e.g., Matthew 5:18; 2 Peter 1:20-21). For some, that solves
the issue right there, but for others it does not.
What then should we consider from outside of the Bible that would reveal
that this is a trustworthy picture of Jesus? Here it is necessary to
appeal to how the fathers of the early church saw the Gospel of Luke.
This is the logical place to go since the early church was closest to
the time of these writings. The ones who are closer to the scenes generally
have a better perception than those who are furthest from the scene,
as is the case in most matters.
We know this to be true if we were trying to gain information about
a distant relative. Some within this congregation are intensely interested
in the history of our families. If you were trying to discover something
about one of your relatives, perhaps, your great grandfather, it is
most likely that those who would consult with an older relative since
that person would most likely have the best information. Certainly,
you may recall a story or two about your great grandfather. Yet, most
likely a grandparent or a parent would have a better idea of the type
of person your great grandfather was. They were closer to the scenes,
and they would have the best impression.
So, too in wanting to return to the best understanding of Jesus and
the Gospel of Luke, the early church would be the best place to go.
Moreover, it is the logical place for those who are part of a Reformed
tradition like the Schwenkfelder tradition, because the general approach
of the Reformation is to return to the sources of the early church.
Indeed, Caspar Schwenckfeld himself repeatedly referred back to the
writings of the early church to substantiate the viewpoints that he
put forward in his writings. His writings are filled with references
to the early church fathers. Thus, it is worth considering the following
question: How did the believers from the early church, who were closest
to the time of Jesus, who were closest to the time of Luke, how did
they see the Gospel of Luke?
Overwhelmingly, the early church saw Luke's picture of Jesus as faithful
and trustworthy. We have numerous records from churches all over East
and West Europe, Egypt, and Africa who were using it as a standard for
understanding the life of Jesus from the middle of the 2nd century,
likely less than 100 years from the time that the book was written and
approximately 150 years from the time of Jesus' crucifixion. Churches
from Lyons, France to Vienna, Austria to Cairo, Egypt to Carthage in
Africa, all subscribe to the authority, respect, and trustworthiness
of Luke's writing. That is an amazing accomplishment for any piece of
literature. Within a hundred years, the entire church accepted it as
authoritative.
Of particular note is the great historian Eusebius who lived in the
3rd and 4th century A. D. Eusebius was also a well-respected and learned
man who lived most of his life in Caesarea in Palestine. He wrote many
books and was involved in the life of the church. One book that he wrote
was called The History of the Church. It can be found on the shelf of
any major bookseller in the area (and is 400 pages in length). In his
day he wrote a history of the church that encompassed the first 300
years. It is the only surviving account of the history of the church
outside of the Bible that we have from that time period. When he comes
to his viewpoint of Luke and his gospel, he draws these conclusions.
He lays great stress on the reliability and trustworthiness of the Gospel.
About Luke he says, "feeling it Luke's
duty to free us from doubts . . . he furnished in his own gospel an
authentic account of the events of which . . . he had learnt the undoubted
truth."
Now it has been the case lately that there have been people who have
been trying to cast doubt on the early church's opinion of the Bible.
Some have seen the early church to be short sighted - not having all
of the facts straight as we who live in the twenty-first century. Some
have seen the early church as abusive - using their power and authority
to read into the Gospels things to support their own power and position.
From my vantagepoint, however, such criticisms need to be minimized
because of one key factor that the early church had. The early church's
opinion of Jesus Christ as is found in Luke's gospel and the other gospels
of the New Testament was one that thousands of Christians were willing
to die for. This is the viewpoint of the martyrs. They were willing
to lay down their lives for the trustworthy message that Luke and the
other Gospels set forward of Jesus Christ. The early Christian church
endured persecution throughout the reign of Nero, who lit Christians
up on stakes in Rome to provide light for nighttime parties. Early Christians
laid down their lives during the reign of Domitian, a Roman emperor
who banished them to remote islands with nothing to live on. Early Christians,
who viewed the Gospel of Luke as trustworthy, were beheaded and drawn
and quartered during the reign of Diocletian. Christians endured great
persecution throughout the entire Roman Empire from Rome to modern day
Turkey, to Egypt, and to Africa for the truths about Jesus Christ that
are found within the Bible and found in such gospels as the Gospel of
Luke. As a testimony for which thousands of Christians laid down their
lives, Luke's Gospel, his viewpoint of Jesus Christ, is worthy of our
attention as a trustworthy account of the life of Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
I began this message today talking about doubts. Doubts can come in
all sorts of shapes and sizes. They can be relatively small such as
the fear of a yellow jacket at a lunch table, or they can be larger
such as doubts about our Christian faith. Having them, should not be
the concern as there are famous people recorded within Scripture who
had doubts - people like Theophilus, the lover of God who doubted. Taking
time to think through the faith is what Luke is encouraging him and
for that matter us to do. The Gospel of Luke is worthy for us to consider
if we want to receive a clearer picture of Jesus Christ, the one who
loved us, came to earth, died for us, and rose again. May God bless
us as we consider his word.
A message preached by Rev. Dr. H. Drake Williams, III
Minister of Spiritual Enrichment
September 5, 2004
In that service, the following hymn was sung:
We come unto our father's God; Their Rock is our salvation;
The eternal arms, their dear abode, We make our habitation.
We bring thee, Lord, the praise they brought, We seek thee as thy saints
have sought
In every generation.
Their joy unto their Lord we bring; Their song to us descendeth;
The Spirit who in them did sing To us his music lendeth:
His song in them, in us, is one; We raise it high, we send it on,
The song that never endeth.
Ye saints to come, take up the strain, The same sweet theme endeavor;
Unbroken be the golden chain! Keep on the song forever!
Safe in the same dear dwelling place, Riche with the same eternal grace,
Bless the same boundless Giver. Amen.
