That thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou hast been instructed. Luke 1:4
Grandsons can ask some pretty searching questions sometimes. One such question came out as we were travelling home from the meetings one Sunday afternoon. A few of my grandson’s schoolmates and chums are members of a cult that functions in our community. They are nice boys, but it is occasionally apparent that their families’ religious views are very different from the beliefs of my grandson’s family. So as we chatted in the van that Sunday afternoon, Robert asked this challenging question: ‘How do we know that what we believe is right and what those other people believe is wrong?’ Now, that is a very powerful and searching question, and it is one that we must know the answer with an absolute certainty. After all, I am following what was taught to me as a child, and most of us can say the same. Could it be that we were taught the wrong things, just as what we believe cult families are doing to their children? Who is right, and how can we know for sure?
Our text speaks of knowing the certainty of the things that Theophilus had been taught. Was there any doubt in the mind of Theophilus, who, as far as we know, had never met the Lord Jesus in the flesh? As Luke sets out to record his account of the life of Christ, has he received a question from his friend Theophilus? We are not sure. But we are sure that Luke wanted his friend to be certain, and he put himself to considerable effort to see that Theophilus was given the truth. We know that Luke’s effort was at the prompting and guidance of the Holy Spirit. So all that Luke wrote was of great benefit to us as well as to Theophilus. As we consider the magnificent account that he wrote about the life of the Lord Jesus, we rejoice at the blessing that this Gospel has had on mankind. Its message has been spread throughout the world. Few books of the Bible are more frequently referenced by Gospel preachers, and many of its verses are memorized and recited in Sunday School classes. This lovely book contains the account of Jesus Christ as the Son of man. How good to know that the very purpose behind the good doctor’s effort to write it is that we might know the certainty of those things we have been taught.
When Luke wrote his Gospel, the teachings of Jesus Christ had not been around very long, compared to the centuries behind the Law given by Moses and the teachings of Judaism. Could something so new replace something so well established? Some of the teachings of the cults and other organizations around us have some history behind them. Could they possibly have some truth in them? To answer that question, we must ask whether Luke was writing the truth, whether the Holy Spirit was directing him. If he was writing the truth, then everything that disagrees with Luke’s account is false.
We can be absolutely convinced that we have been taught the truth, because we have been taught the Holy Scriptures. – Jim MacIntosh