William Walthall

The Discipler's Commentary William Walthall

There are many commentaries on the Gospel of Luke, and all are quite fine. Each commentary has its own particular slant: conservative or liberal, Catholic or Protestant, Evangelical or Charismatic. Some commentaries take an academic approach; others aim to be "practical". And there are now many "study Bibles" which contain their own commentaries, presented primarily as footnotes. There are even study Bibles that attempt to emphasize the concept of "application". The purpose of this commentary is to serve as a tool for discipleship. How can a Christian's faith be built apart from the knowledge of God's word? The answer is, "It can't." This commentary provides a tool for building faith with the goal of changed values, changed relationships, changed character, and changed behavior. "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith." (1 Tim. 1:5) This commentary, and its accompanying workbook, can be used by an individual, by someone who is discipling another person one-on-one, or by small-groups such as Sunday school classes, home Bible studies, or discipleship groups. In addition to the commentary itself, thought-provoking questions are provided for discussion, and fill-in-the-blank outlines are available for individuals or groups. The outlines are useful primarily for the transfer of information and knowledge about the chapter being studied. They provide an overview of the contents of the chapter, with a few practical implications presented in order to apply personally the scriptural lessons in the text. The study questions are geared more in the direction of increasing critical thinking skills about the lessons from the text, and stimulating thinking about how to apply the scriptural lessons to one's life, values, and relationships. In short, the purpose of this commentary is to make disciples who understand the teachings of Scripture and process those teachings in such a manner that values, behaviors, and relationships are transformed consistent with the word of God. Only then does one become a true disciple of Jesus Christ.