Sermon Tone Analysis

Have you ever had a friend, or a family member, or a spouse, who consistently has done the wrong thing?

If you don’t, maybe you are that person.

Sometimes, I am that person.

Dealing with that person can be very hard.

We sometimes want to grab them by the throat and shake them.

But, that never does any good… though it might make us feel better.

Paul is writing to a whole church that is consistently doing the wrong thing.

We studied the history of Corinth.

That is is basically, New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas all rolled into one.

The Corinthian church, instead of pursuing holy lives, were embracing their culture.

Instead of valuing their brothers and sisters in Christ, seeking unity, they were dividing over small points of doctrine and which preacher they liked listening to better.

So, Paul, as he gets ready to write some pretty harsh words to this church, starts by reminding the Corinthians who they are, which we studies last week.

Then, he reminds them about God’s grace, which we could all use a daily reminder of.

He explains to the Corinthians 6 things which God’s grace brings.

This is not all encompassing.

Sometime, when you are feeling down, start a list of all the things God’s grace brings.

Let’s read the passage:

Read 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

Pray

So, what does God’s grace bring?

1A.

Salvation

First, God’s grace brings salvation.

Paul talks about the grace given us in Christ Jesus.

We know who we were before Christ.

Even if we don’t remember that time, we know who we were.

Goodness, we know who we could be without Christ.

As the phrase goes “There but for the grace of God go I.”

Paul reflects on our state before and without Christ in Ephesians

Ephesians 2:1–5 (NIV)

2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts.

Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

We don’t deserve our salvation.

If anytime we stand up and say “You know I deserve God’s forgiveness.”

Or we say “I earned eternal life.”

We have not understood our salvation.

We have not understood who God is and who we really are.

So, let’s reflect.

God is holy.

He is perfection.

As a holy God, he cannot have any imperfection around him.

No sin can come near.

His holiness drives it away.

We were all born sinful.

Not only that, but we have all willingly run down the sinful path.

Picture kids jumping in a mud puddle.

They come to their house and their mother says: you can’t come in until you wash all that filth off.

We are filthy and our filth separates us from God.

We can’t come near him without being cleansed.

So, those kids go to the garden hose out back, and they wash and they wash, but no amount of washing takes care of the mud.

They scrub.

They use soap.

They try to burn it off, cut it off.

Nothing takes the mud off.

On the horizon, the sun is setting.

They are going to be stuck outside all night, because the mud will not come off.

This us.

We cannot take care of our sin.

It is stuck to us, seeped into our soul.

And we are in danger of being stuck outside in the night for all of eternity.

That’s were God’s grace comes in.

Later in this letter to the Corinthians, Paul will talk about their sinful lives before Christ.

Then he says:

1 Corinthians 6:11 (NIV)

11 And that is what some of you were.

But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Jesus Christ, the son of God, came to earth, lived among us, among our filth, our sin, without getting sinful himself, and died on the cross to purify us from our sins.

Not only does he purify us, but he earns our forgiveness, and declares us completely righteous.

Through him, we have way to approach God without being consumed or driven away.

We can have a relationship, which brings peace, hope, and joy.

This is our salvation.

We should have been driven away, but in Christ we are brought close.

2A.

Spiritual gifts

What else does God’s grace bring?

Well, after saving us, he equips us to live the Christian life.

His grace brings spiritual gifts.

1 Corinthians 1:5 (NIV)

5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge—

Later in Corinthians, chapters 12-14, Paul will dive into Spiritual gifts with great detail.

Unfortunately, we won’t be studying those passages for a while.

We’ve got a lot of treasure to mine before then.

So, let’s take a brief tour of spiritual gifts.

Immediately, when someone turns to Jesus in faith, the Holy Spirit is given to them.

Jesus explains the purpose of the Holy Spirit in John

John 14:26 (NIV)

26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The Holy Spirit purifies, reveals, and unifies.

It provides evidence of God’s presence, guides his people, and gives assurance.

It strengthens and empowers.

And, it gives what we call gifts.

These gifts are briefly mentioned in 1 Peter 4, and detailed in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12.

A simple search on google will show that people are obsessed with spiritual gifts.

There is a hunger to know what those gifts are.

There is actually a website called spiritualgiftstest.com which details 19 spiritual gifts in Scripture and offers a test to take for you to determine what your spiritual gifts are.

In the hunger and the obsession, many people forget what these gifts are for.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12

1 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV)