Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

How much of your Christianity is cultural and how much of it is biblical?

One way to answer this question is to think about various beliefs or practices you think of as Christian, and then think about which of those you’ve embraced from reading your Bible, from a sermon, or from someone pointing you to a biblical argument.

If we’re honest with ourselves, most of what we believe as Christians and most of what we do as Christians is stuff we’ve caught, rather than stuff we’ve been taught from Scripture… “This is just the way we’ve always done it.”

Think about it with me for a bit.

Must Christians be physically present at a church building on Sundays?

What if we all decided that we preferred to gather on Saturday nights?

Would FBC Diana still be a church if we sold our building and property?

If so, what specific practices make what we do each Sunday “church,” and not just some Christian concert or experience or conference?

And where would you turn in the Bible to find answers to such questions?

Or do you think the Bible even speaks to these things?

Or how about Christian principles for marriage?

Is marriage defined as one man and one woman committing to love and respect and stay with one another for a lifetime?

What if a woman wants to marry another woman, or what if a man wants to marry three women?

What is the biblical definition of marriage, and where do you turn to find it?

And what about divorce?

Is it ever not sinful to pursue divorce?

If so, how do you know?

And what is the purpose of marriage anyway, and how does that affect our answers to questions about marriage?

Or what about government?

How should Christians relate to local, state, and federal officials?

Is there a “Christian” form of national government?

Is it ever ok for a Christian to disobey a police officer?

Is it ever ok for a Christian to reject a command from a boss or a teacher?

If so, how do you know when it’s ok?

When are such decisions a matter of Christian conscience (my own convictions on this or that), and when are they a matter of religious liberty (the fundamental freedoms necessary for Christians and Jews and Muslims and Hindus and Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons and atheists to all live together in a society)?

If you’re like most Christians in the West in the 21st century, then when push comes to shove, a lot of your Christian beliefs and practices are probably built upon the unstable and quickly-fading ground of “tradition,” more so than on any text of Scripture.

In the 1971 musical Fiddler on the Roof, the main character (Tevye) sings a song called Tradition.

He says, “Because of our traditions, we’ve kept our balance for many, many years… We have traditions for everything… how to eat, how to sleep, even, how to wear clothes… You may ask, how did this tradition start?

I’ll tell you – I don’t know.

But it’s a tradition….”[i]

The fact is that this sort of traditional or cultural standard for beliefs and practices cannot last.

In fact, it is doomed from the start.

Every nation or state or community on the planet has a tradition and a culture, and who is to say that any one tradition is better than another?

Who is to say that any one culture is more moral, or more conducive to human flourishing, or more faithful to God?

At the end of the day, we all need a place we can go to learn about absolute right and wrong – the kind of moral standards and commands that don’t change over time or geography.

Without such a place, without absolute truth and morality, all that matters is “synthesis, pragmatism, and utilitarianism.”[ii]

Francis Schaeffer (a great theologian and philosopher of the 20th century) wrote a book back in 1976 called How Should We Then Live?. Fifty years ago, Schaeffer noticed that the western world was growing increasingly distant from the Christian traditions of its past, and he predicted exactly what we are seeing play out in our society today.

Schaeffer wrote, “As the memory of the Christian base grows ever dimmer, freedom will disintegrate… The system will not simply go on, divorced from its founding roots.

And the drift will tend to be the same, no matter what political party is voted in.

When the principles are gone, there remains only expediency [or convenience] at any price.”[iii]

Schaeffer’s conclusion was a call for Christians to live like Christians and to know why they are doing it.

He wrote, “as Christians we are not only to know the right world view, the world view that tells us the truth of what is, but consciously to act upon that world view so as to influence society in all its parts and facets across the whole spectrum of life, as much as we can to the extent of our individual and collective ability.”[iv]

This year, I want to make a strong effort to help us all know what is and how to act based on the principles for practical living we find in the Bible.

Over the course of 2023 (Lord willing), I’ll preach through a series of sermons once a month that will aim to define and describe the most fundamental societal beliefs and practices of Christianity.

There are more fundamental doctrines, such as the nature of God, the person of Christ, and the work of atonement (which Jesus performed in full), but this series is focused on Christian living – How Should We Live?

I hope to look at the Bible with you to consider the subjects of marriage, family, parenting, work, money, discipling, and politics.

This is not designed as a “self-help” series – like “5 Steps to a Better Marriage.”

Rather, this is a series intended to provide a biblical argument for the principles and purposes of engaging in society at a basic level as Christians – How should we live as Christians in the world?

And what does the Bible really say about all of this?

Today, we will begin by considering the fundamental distinction, mission, and authority of the only Christian society in the world – the church.

I’m arguing this morning that Christians must first understand themselves as Christians, locally gathered as a distinct societal institution with a unique authority and mission.

Scripture Reading

Matthew 16:13–19 (ESV)

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah!

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 18:15–20 (ESV)

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.

If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.

And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Main Idea:

Christians are locally gathered as a distinct societal institution with a unique authority and mission in the world.

Sermon

1. Gathered and Scattered

1.

The Bible uses the word “church” in two senses: universal and local

a.

Universal – the invisible and universal Body of Christ, believers from all time and space.

i. Acts 9:31 says that “the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up.”

b.

Local – a specific congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, [and] governed by His laws.

i. Acts 8:1 says that “a great persecution [arose] against the church in Jerusalem.”

2. We also should think of the local church in two senses: gathered and scattered

a. Scattered

i. Church members do not cease to be church members when they depart on Sunday afternoons.

ii.

How is FBC Diana doing on a given Tuesday afternoon or Friday evening?

Well, that (in large part) depends on how well each member is doing at those times.

iii.

Is FBC Diana involved at the local school?

Does FBC Diana care about the needs of the communities around us?

Is FBC Diana active in evangelism?

Well, are you?

1.

The best answers to these questions is not to look for an organized church-wide program, but to remember that we all continue to be church members when we scatter throughout each week… and invest ourselves in all sorts of activities.

2. May God help us to be faithful and active in our service to Christ when we are scattered.

b.

Gathered

i.