Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Good evening everyone, welcome back and if you’re new with us…welcome!

My name is Cody and I serve as the college pastor here at Coram Deo and if while you’re here tonight, you have any questions or need help with something, just find any of us that have a name tag on.

We’d be happy to help you with whatever we can.

As we start our time in the word tonight, go ahead and get your bibles out and turn to Luke 17.

We are going to be in the first six verses tonight.

As you’re turning there, let me just recap where we’ve been.

We picked this series back up in Luke 13, and have been going through the gospel…seeing what Jesus taught…learning along the way who the one we follow is…and…what he desired for us as those who follow him.

The last few weeks, we’ve been talking about a lot of parables, the prodigal son…the dishonest manager…the Lord’s table…the dinner party…we’ve spent a lot of time in parables…so tonight, I thought we’d change it up and just dive into some good ol’ fashioned…straight forward teaching from Jesus.

There are two topics we are studying tonight and they are found in the first six verses…the first one is sin.

We are going to be discussing sin a little more in depth tonight.

And the second topic is faith.

Not the definition of faith like we covered in Hebrews last semester…but rather that presence of faith in our lives.

And these two topics are not separate from one another.

I didn’t just decide I needed more content tonight and so I’m preaching through more verses....No.

These two topics are together tonight because in our passage…there is a correlation between them.

Tonight, we are going to see that our faith is...

A Sin-Fighting Faith

So, let’s look at the passage.

So, you’ve got a bit of an understanding of the outline of the passage…we’ve read the passage…now let’s see what Jesus is teaching in this passage.

Here’s the first thing.

Sin is serious (v.1-4)

This first point is taken from the overall feel of the passage in those first four verses.

Jesus is talking about sin…and as he’s talking about it…he’s saying that it would be better to drown yourself than to sin.

That sin is bad, isn’t unfamiliar to anyone who’s grown up in church.

There’s plenty of other teachings of Jesus talking about the seriousness of sin…like elsewhere in the gospels when he says that if your eye causes you to sin, go ahead and poke it out…if it’s your hand…cut it off.

Because essentially, it’s better to enter the kingdom of heaven maimed than it is to be controlled by sin.

We’ve talked about these things before…but as I was preparing for this message…I realized that it’s been a long time since we took a moment and defined sin.

So as we are beginning this conversation, I want to do that.

If we are talking about the seriousness of sin…best to understand what we are saying is so serious, right?

So go ahead…I don’t want you to answer out loud…but go ahead and think about what you would write as the definition of sin.

What is it?

.......

Okay, the reason I wanted to give you time was to see if it would reveal to you if you don’t have a good grasp on sin.

On we should have a good grasp on sin, because sin…is what we say Jesus saved us from.

And if we can’t define what he saved us FROM, then how can we every fully comprehend WHY we needed saving.

Definition of Sin:

Sin: Action or thought that is contrary to the law, will, or character of God.

So, as an overall point of application…we learn that sin is serious.

But that point is not all that we learn.

In fact, in this passage we see Jesus give a very specific teaching on sin…it’s not just that it’s serious…but it’s that we shouldn’t be the ones causing it.

That’s our first little sub-point of application tonight.

Here’s what you’re response to the first two verses should be.

Don’t cause it.

(v.1-2)

Look back at verses 1 and 2 with me.

Luke 17:1–2 (ESV)

1 And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come,

so temptations to do things contrary to God’s law, will, or character are sure to come.

They will happen in life…take that seriously…but..

but woe to the one through whom they come!

Woe to someone means, “curse them”, may they be cursed.

So the son of God is pronouncing a curse on all those that would willingly bring about sin in someone’s life, and then Jesus goes on to say...

2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.

So Jesus is warning, not only is sin serious…but it’s so serious that he pronounces woe on anyone who would cause it.

That’s why our point of application here is DONT.

CAUSE.

IT.

Now, I want to encourage you in this…don’t let your guard down.

Don’t see this point and think that it doesn’t apply to you because you’re not handing someone a murder weapon, or you’re not planting porn to someone’s phone or computer.

When Jesus says woe to the one through whom sin comes…he doesn’t just mean woe to those of us that force someone to sin, or hand them objects to cause sin.

Instead, this woe applies to those of us who would equip someone to sin as well…and equip someone weaker than us to sin.

Notice that Jesus uses the term “little ones”.

His reference here could be a few things.

It wouldn’t be wrong to state that Jesus loved children, and he could have been referencing children around him…we see him do that other times...

But in this passage, there are no children referenced, so in the context is better to think of the translation of little ones to imply those that are younger or weaker in their faith in a fight against a specific sin.

And in fact, even if you think that Jesus is referencing actual children…the teaching is the same.

Woe to you, if you cause someone who is weaker or younger than you to sin in something.

If you tempt them with something that will cause them to sin against God.

Gossip is a really great example of this.

What is Gossip?

It’s you knowing something about someone…something they’ve done or said, maybe something that is private…and you tell that to a third party that isn’t involved in the situation at all.

What have you done?

Not only have you committed the sin yourself, of gossiping…but you handed to that third party that you’re speaking to..fuel to sin themselves.

You’ve equipped someone else with sin.

You have brought sin to their doorstep…and if they struggle with the sin of gossiping…if they are weaker or younger in the faith…you might as well have handed a drunk a bottle…or an addict a syringe.

The same can be said for hatred or bitterness.

A brother or sister in Christ sins against you…angers you…hurts you even.

There may be real reasons to confront them, and in fact you may be encouraged to do just that…but you know what you shouldn’t do?

You shouldn’t be telling your friends, shouldn’t be telling others that are willing to listen, simply because you’re giving into bitterness and unforgiveness.

Because what are you doing?

You are equipping them to also give into bitterness and unforgiveness, and slander…and the list goes on.

By not handling something in the biblical fashion, you are instead equipping others to sin alongside you, or even worse than you in some cases…and to that Jesus says WOE to you.

Cursed are those who love to do that.

If you’re the type of person that would rather get others involved in your situation simply to make yourself feel better and to get them acting on your behalf and sinning alongside you through gossip or bitterness or whatever…than Jesus is talking to you and he’s telling you…your actions and willingness to do that is so serious, that it’d be better if you just went and drowned yourself.

Not a light topic.

And one that should certainly convict us.

One that certainly convicted the disciples as we will see in a few moments…but first, that’s not all Jesus had to say.

Not only, when talking about the seriousness of sin did he say “don’t cause it”…but he also said.

Don’t keep it.

(v.3-4)

Sin is serious.

Don’t cause it.

And don’t keep it.

Look back at verses 3 and 4.

Luke 17:3–4 (ESV)

3 Pay attention to yourselves!

So he’s telling them…as a collective whole…pay attention…be on guard…keep watch.

If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,

So instead of equipping and causing others to sin, you should instead be the person who confronts sin.

You should be the person who doesn’t allow it to stay in the body of Christ.