Propriety
We must understand the problem of people who are content to ask and receive God’s gracious and generous gifts without the costs, sacrifices, and devotion associated with following Christ.
Series: Luke
Verse by Verse
October 21, 2012
• Luke 1-24
Verse by verse exposition of the book of Luke
Diversion
Luke 11:27-28
It is easy to replace a devoted and obedient submission to Christ with some lesser arrangement in our minds – something that we hope will insulate us from what following Christ may cost.
Incredulity
Luke 11:29-32
Jesus has more than adequately proven his status as Savior and Lord, so we must be careful not to avoid (or allow the avoidance of) the implications of those realities because of sinful pride.
Insularity
Luke 11:33-36
We must prepare to expose and respond to our generation’s resistance to the truth – foundational truths of the gospel that God continues to clearly communicate to every generation.
Affectation
Luke 11:37-42
We must be careful not to win people over to some sort of cultural Christianity that gives an impression of conversion, when in fact, they have not been regenerated from the inside out.
Grandiosity
Luke 11:43-46
We must see the fundamental necessity of Christian humility, never promoting Christianity as a means in any way for self-promotion or self-aggrandizement.
Pugnacity
Luke 11:47-54
We must understand the reason people respond in a hostile way toward the truth, prayerfully and lovingly warning of the multiplied consequences of rejecting it.
The Fear of Being Fake
Luke 12:1-3
Real Christians must fall into the same pattern as phony Christians, as though we will not face a day when our Father will thoroughly evaluate and call us to account for our actions and words.
The Fear of God
Luke 12:5
We must understand the clear and repeated call to fear God, first in view of our need for salvation and then in view of his absolute and ultimate authority over every aspect of our lives.
The Fear of Violence
Luke 12:4, 6-7
Though in our fallen world we are not exempt from violent crimes and deadly persecution that will perennially threaten our well-being, the reliability of God’s good promises can enable us to renounce our fears.
The Fear of Rejection
Luke 12:8-12
Because our alliance with Christ will be tested with some sort of persecution or difficult, we must resolve ahead of time to be loyal to him knowing God will provide real-time strength and support.
The Fear of Not Having Enough
Luke 12:13-21
Money cannot provide the fulfillment and protection it appears to offer; those things come from God alone and must always be enjoyed by Christians as byproducts of pursuing him.
The Fear of Having Nothing
Luke 12:22-34
We must spend no time or energy worrying about what we need, instead we should work diligently to advance his cause in this world trusting that he will adequately provide all that we might need.
The Fear of Being Unprepared
Luke 12:35-40
We must make certain that we are personally and spiritually prepared for the powerful, glorious, and imminent return of Christ; and rightly be fearful if we are not.
The Fear of Responsibility
Luke 12:41-48
We will all be fairly and judiciously held accountable for our response to God’s call to employ our time, talent, and resources to serve Christ and advance his kingdom.
The Fear of Broken Relationships
Luke 12:49-53
While one day all pain and problems will be behind us, for now we must draw strength from God’s family as we endure the sting of strained and fractured relationships that are inevitable because of our alliance with Christ.
The Fear of Bad News
Luke 12:54-56
We must recognize human culpability before God when people ignore and reject his saving message because they stubbornly refuse to hear the truth since it is not what they want to hear.
The Fear of Perfect Justice
Luke 12:57-59
Understanding that God is able to be gracious toward us because his perfect justice was satisfied on the cross should prompt us to be profoundly grateful and extraordinarily gracious toward others.
Knowing Genuine Repentance
Luke 13:1-5
We must see our absolute necessity to repent of our sins regardless of any sense of security we may feel based on a relative comparison of our sinfulness.
Producing Evidence of Spiritual Life
Luke 13:6-9
We ought to be amazed at God’s grace in patiently calling us to a genuine repentance and working in us a true conversion that necessarily brings about evident and lasting changes in our lives.
Suffering in a Broken World
Luke 13:10-13
Even as regenerate children of God we should not be surprised at the pain and suffering in our lives because we live in a fallen world, which thankfully will one day be made perfect by the exercise of Christ’s power.
Encountering Unjust Criticism
Luke 13:14-17
Because following Christ and living for him will inevitably give rise to criticism and slander, we must prayerfully discern when to respond and how to answer with wisdom and integrity.
Cultivating Biblical Optimism
Luke 13:18-21
We must be confident and optimistic about God’s indomitable plans to use us, the gospel, and his Church to build Christ’s kingdom which will be filled with all sorts of people from every part of the world.
Accepting Hard Truths
Luke 13:22-29
While the hard realities of God’s just retribution of the lost in hell should sober us, we ought to sincerely rejoice in the gracious realities of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf to free us from that penalty.
Trusting An Invincible Savior
Luke 13:31-33
Just as we can trust that nothing could ever defeat God’s intentions in Christ to purchase our redemption, we should in turn be fearless in pursuing God’s prescriptive plans and purposes for our lives.
Feeling Godly Grief
Luke 13:34-35
We must seek to be zealous enough for God’s honor that we find ourselves selflessly grieving over those who reject the truth (with all its commensurate consequences) and sincerely rejoicing over those who repent.
Worldly Religion & Godly Priorities
Luke 14:1-6
We can do a lot of self-serving and self-promoting in a cloak of religion, but true religion seeks to sincerely please God and will always drive us to give ourselves for the good of other people.
Worldly Ambition & Godly Virtue
Luke 14:7-11
Obtaining the grace of Christ and receiving the honor of service and reward in his kingdom all hinge on a humble awareness that we do not in any way deserve his favor, acceptance, or honor.
Worldly Profits & Godly Investments
Luke 14:12-14
Christians can and should live a life of extreme generosity as we cultivate a deep assurance about God’s promise to repay our engagement in selfless good work.
Worldly Busyness & Godly Obligations
Luke 14:15-24
We must be careful not to presume upon the grace of God by expecting his salvation without possessing a kind of faith that values him and his will above the other loves and loyalties of this world.