Sermon Tone Analysis

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Let all that you do be done in love.”[1]

A fusillade of commands at the conclusion of most of his letters is a mark of authenticity for Paul’s letters; and this first letter to the Christians of Corinth is no exception.

In this day when Christians are more likely to be dilettantes, sciolists or abecedarians rather than warriors, one cannot help but be struck by the masculine, martial tone of the commands with which Paul draws this letter to a close.

It is obvious from his writings that the Apostle admired the manly characteristics of the ancient warriors—courage, commitment, confidence.

Such values are expected to mark the life of each Christian.

Though the apostolic commands speak of virile faith and life, by no means should we expect that women are excluded from the expectation for vigorous service.

Just as godly men are expected to be gentle, nourishing the weak, so Christian women are urged to exhibit these qualities that mark vigorous faith.

Together, we will do well to explore the words of the Apostle, as we seek to equip ourselves to glorify God and to advance His Kingdom.

*Essential Instructions for a Powerful Christian Life* — The five imperatives of our text summarise the whole duty of the Christian in trying times and amid the various temptations such as have been described in this letter to Corinthian Christians.

If we will honour God and perform the duties assigned by divine decree, we must memorise these commands, exercising them in our individual lives continuously until we unconsciously perform them in our daily walk.

Listen once again to the commands as we prepare to examine them in greater detail.

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Let all that you do be done in love.”

The first command that the Apostle has given believers is to “*/Be watchful/*.”

This particular command was frequently issued by our Lord.

Especially as He began instructing the disciples concerning the last days, Jesus spoke frequently of the need to be watchful.

After careful instruction describing the conditions during the last days, the Master spoke of His coming again.

He said to the disciples, “Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.

Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into” [*Matthew 24:36-43*].

He concluded His instruction with this warning, “*/Stay awake/*, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” [*Matthew 24:42*].

“Stay awake,” “be watchful.”

As the last days near, keep our eyes open and watch for the Master.

Shortly after this, Jesus told the parable of the ten virgins.

You will no doubt recall the parable that Jesus told His disciples.

“The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.

For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.

As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.

But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom!

Come out to meet him.’

Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.

And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’

But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’

And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.

Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’

But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’”

Take special note of the concluding warning the Master appended to this parable.

“*/Watch/* therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” [*Matthew 25:1-13*].

It was about this time that Jesus told yet another parable to stress the necessity of remaining alert as His return neared.

“Concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Be on guard, keep awake.

For you do not know when the time will come.

It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.

Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep.”

Listen once again to Jesus’ warning to be watchful given at conclusion of this parable.

“What I say to you I say to all: */Stay awake/*” [*Mark 13:32-37*].

Preparing for His Passion, the Master invited Peter, James and John to go into the garden with Him.

Specifically, He said, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and */watch/* with Me” [*Matthew 26:38*].

“Watch,” “stay awake,” the verb connotes the idea of guarding against someone or something.

In fact, shortly after this, finding the disciples asleep, Jesus warned, “*/Watch/* and pray that you may not enter into temptation” [*Matthew 26:41*].

Obviously, the Master believed watchfulness to be vital to a vibrant Christian life, and the more so as time passes.

Paul, also, was concerned that those who would provide oversight of the churches should remain alert.

As he spoke for the final time to the Ephesian elders, the Apostle reviewed his service before the Lord and used that service as a means to urge them to alertness.

“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ… And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.

Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

Therefore */be alert/*, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears” [*Acts 20:18**b-21, 25-31*].

In the text, the Apostle also urges Christians to “*/stand firm in the Faith/*.”

It is apparent that this is not a building metaphor, but rather it is a military image.

Paul’s concern with this command is not to build harmony in the assembly, though he does encourage concord among the saints; his concern is that the believers will stand firm in the face of the enemy.

Clearly, the Apostle thought it possible that believers could be frightened and stampeded before the enemy of the soul.

Therefore, he urged firmness in the face of the conflict.

Specifically, the Apostle specifies that the Faith is the realm in which firmness is required.

The Corinthians needed to know and apply the Body of knowledge that is defined as the Faith, taking a stand on what is taught therein.

They needed to return to the attitude of the first believers, of whom it is said, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching” [*Acts 2:42*].

Really, the other four verbs that concern us in the message today are defined as having relevance first in the Faith.

We must be watchful in the Faith, be manly in living out the Faith, be strong in the Faith, and all that is done in the Faith must be done in love.

Believers must stand firm in the proclaimed Word of God, and not in their own subjectivity.

That Christians should to stand firm in the Faith appears to have been a grave concern for Paul.

The Apostle urged the Galatian believers to “*/stand firm/*” in the freedom which Christ the Lord has purchased [*Galatians 5:1*].

The Galatians demonstrated that Christians can jettison their freedom, crafting pious sounding rules of conduct rather than embracing the righteousness that is found in Christ the Lord; or they are capable of rejecting godliness as they seek the approval of inhabitants of this darkened world.

The freedom that is provided for us in Christ Jesus the Lord will be of scant value if it is not exercised in the Faith.

We who are redeemed must not permit ourselves to become entangled with the affairs of this world, but remain focused on the liberty that is ours.

As the Apostle has taught, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” [*2 Timothy 2:4*].

Paul also spoke of his great relief upon learning that the Thessalonian Christians, though hard pressed by the world, were standing firm.

He wrote, “Now we live, if you are */standing fast/* in the Lord” [*1 Thessalonians 3:8*].

They were not deviating from seeking to please the Lord.

Obviously, if they were standing fast in the Lord, they were standing fast in the Faith once for all delivered to the saints.

The Thessalonian believers were not concerned how the society in which they lived viewed them; they sought only to please the One who had redeemed them and given them life.

Their firmness in the face of testing encouraged many other saints.

In fact, it was this firmness in the Faith that was first mentioned when Paul wrote the congregation.

“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything” [*1 Thessalonians 1:2-8*].

Despite this confidence that grew out of their firm stance, the Apostle found it necessary to urge them to continue standing firm when he concluded his second letter to the congregation.

“So then, brothers, */stand firm/* and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” [*2 Thessalonians 2:15*].

So we also need to be urged to stand firm.

Writing the Philippian saints, Paul was deeply concerned that they “stand[] firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the Faith of the Gospel” [*Philippians 1:27*].

Among his parting pleas to the congregation was that they “stand firm … in the Lord” [*Philippians 4:1*].

For me, the exciting command, woefully neglected, is to “*/act like men/*.”

The translation fails to capture the tense of the Greek verb.