Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

We are in this life together.

We are not to be in competition with one another.

We are to be here for each other.

William Barclay tells us

If we are always concerned first and foremost with our own interests, we are bound to come into conflict with others.

If for us life is a competition whose prizes we must win, we will always think of other human beings as enemies or at least as opponents who must be pushed out of the way.

Concentration on self inevitably means elimination of others, and the object of life becomes not to help others up but to put them down.

(William Barclay, The Letters to Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, 38–39.)

Too often the church has this same mindset.

Too often the church is not any different than the world.

Too often the church acts like they hate other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Yes, we will have disagreements.

Yes, we will have differences of preference.

Yes, we will have arguments.

Even though,

There is no way we are always going to agree with everybody that we meet, but there is a way to handle disagreement.

We can seek unity and try to find that place where our minds can come together.

And even if we do disagree, we should have a certain attitude in the context of that disagreement, an attitude of charity.

(R. C. Sproul, The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans, 205.)

We are in this together and we are to have unity of mind.

That unity is that we glorify Christ in everything.

We do not attack fellow believers behind their backs.

That is gossip and slander.

That is not genuine love for one another.

Paul lays out how we are to live together and get along in Romans 12:9-21

In this text we see four very clear imperatives from Paul.

We are to be all in with our love.

We are to be all in with our actions.

We are to be all in with our humility.

We are to be all in with forgiveness.

If we all follow these four steps in our Christian walk, then we will begin to get along and see true and genuine change.

If we do not and we keep attacking each other and slandering one another behind their backs, we will not see change.

We will see the devil and his demonic hordes grow and gain footing all over.

We are Christ followers and since we are, we need to act like Christ in our actions.

We do this by being...

All In With Our Love (9-10)

Let love be genuine, abhor evil, hold the good.

Love one another, outdo one another in showing honor.

This means that we are to have a love for one another that is not hypocritical.

We care for one another with genuine love.

This is a love that cares in all things.

It is not fake or put on when people are around you.

It is not a love that is all smiles to someone’s face and a false happiness to see them but as soon as they walk away you are plunging the knife in.

No.

This is a love that is true and genuine even if the person has done something that you feel has wronged you.

If you have that feeling then you go to that person and say to them the fault they have committed against you and if they disregard you you take another or two with you and if that does not do it you take it to the church just as Matthew 18:15-17 tells us.

We do not go and slander the person to another ever and especially if we have not talked to them first.

That is true love.

That is a love for another that abhors all evil.

This is a love that holds fast all the good.

This is real love.

As one has said,

Most people know how to pretend to love others—how to speak kindly, avoid hurting their feelings, and appear to take an interest in them.

We may even be skilled in pretending to feel moved with compassion when we hear of others’ needs, or to become indignant when we learn of injustice.

But God calls us to real and sincere love that goes far beyond politeness.

Sincere love requires concentration and effort.

It means helping others become better people.

It demands our time, money, and personal involvement.

No individual has the capacity to express love to a whole community, but the body of Christ in your town does.

Look for people who need your love, and look for ways you and your fellow believers can show your Christian love to others.

(Bruce B. Barton, David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson, Romans, 238.)

Not only to those outside the church but we must show this same love for our fellow brothers and sisters.

Even more so we should show this to one another.

If we do not do this then we are not any different than the world and actually we are worse because we have the Holy Spirit in us to guide and help us.

We have no excuse for false love or hate towards another believer.

None at all.

We have the Spirit and the Word to guide us and we need to use that.

Not only do we need to do this we can begin to love others when we are...

All In With Our Actions (11-15)

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

This is the lynchpin to this argument of genuine love.

When we are zealous for the Lord and we worship Him with our everything and serve Him by serving others, we will not be able to have bitterness or false love in us.

We will rejoice in Hope because we have the Lord with us.

We will be patient in tribulation because we know our Lord and savior.

We will be constant in prayer to Him because we know He is the only one who can give us this strength.

Through our service to the Lord we will contribute to others and by doing this we will be hospitable and that will direct our love.

All of this will culminate in us blessing those who persecute us and being able to genuinely rejoice with those who have advanced and are rejoicing rather than being bitter.

We will be able to weep with those who are sad rather than rejoicing over their loss or pain.

When we take our focus off of ourselves and our passions and focus on the Lord and do everything we do for Him and others to know Him, we will become genuine in all we do.

We will not let our life interfere with our joy and peace with other believers.

We will be sold out for the Lord and that will be all that matters.

What this means is that we will bless others.

To bless means to not curse.

Instead of hoping for the worst to happen to our enemies, we are to willfully hope that the best will befall them.

Instead of speaking words of hatred, we are to choose to speak words of truthful good towards those intending to hurt us.

Finally, we are to pray for those who we feel are preying on us.

(Barton, Veerman, and Wilson, 241).

We can do this through the Lord rather than our strength.

All of this is depending on the Lord’s power.

We do not know His power if we are not communing with Him regularly.

We do not know our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ if we are not communing with them regularly.

We can be genuine in our love and be all in together with each other when we are together.

It is simple.

Be here and be here when you are here.

Do not set your mind on things of this world but on things above Paul tells us in Col. 3:2.

But for us to be this way we are to be...

All In With Our Humility (16-17)

Live in harmony.

Do not be haughty.