Sermon Tone Analysis

* “THE WORD THAT NEVER COMES BACK”*

 

  *           (II Corinthians 6:2)*

 

*/“He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succored thee: Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”/*

*/ /*

*/“He says, ‘At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you’; behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation’” (/New American Standard Version)*

* *

 

How many times does God have to say something to make it so?

Of course, God only has to say anything /one time /for its truthfulness to be established.

When God repeats a statement, there is reason for the repetition.

Apparently, when God repeats a truth, He is doubling the emphasis of that truth.

Our text has an absolute overload of emphasis by means of repetition.

There are /five terms /in this verse that are repeated terms.

God is apparently seeking to alert and alarm us with some great truths here.

Note the repeated terms: the word “behold” occurs twice; the word “accepted” occurs twice; the term, “the day of salvation,” occurs twice; the word “time” occurs twice; and the word “now” occurs twice.

“Behold . . . .

accepted . . . . the day of salvation . . . .

time . . . .

now.”

Each of these terms is used twice in this one verse.

We surely should receive the impression that God is very serious about something, and we are surely intended to discover what it is.

Look at these repeated terms one by one.

The word /“behold”/ is an alert word, an alarm word.

Never does God use the word “behold” without speaking about something that is /well worth listening to /and /well worth looking at/, and it is to our eternal benefit to /hear /it and /see /it.

The word “accepted” is a strange compound word made of a combination of three smaller words.

The three smaller words are “well,” or “good”; “received”; and “face to face.”

God is speaking here about a /time/, a time which should be /well-received /by us, and we, /face-to-face/ with the opportunity of that time, should seize it in the instant in which it comes, because if we let it pass, it is gone forever.

Another interpretation of this word is possible.

The word translated “accepted” is also translated “acceptable,” or “accepting” time.

You see, when you come to respond to Christ right now, in this moment, God /well-receives /you /face-to-face./

Though He knows you perfectly, He well-receives you face-to-face, with all disqualifications removed!

What a Gospel assurance!

\\ The third repeated term is “the day of salvation.”

The word “salvation” presupposes that something is lost, and it presupposes a saviour.

The great salvation that is mentioned here is explained beautifully just a few verses before our text, in II Corinthians 5:21.

“God has made Christ, Who knew no sin, to become sin for us, that in Him we might be made the righteousness of God.”

Here are the great doctrines of /substitution/ — Jesus took our place and suffered for our sins, and /justification/ — when a sinner trusts Jesus Christ, the very righteousness of God Himself is credited in Heaven to that sinner’s record so that God now sees that sinner as perfectly righteous in Christ.

The term, “the day of salvation,” suggests also that there are especially opportune times and seasons for a sinner to be saved.

The fourth repeated term is the word “time.”

Our literature is replete with humor, bewilderment, and counsel about time.

“Time is a treasure that attracts many robbers.”

“Time waits on no man -- /and only fifteen minutes on a woman!”  /

/ /

A lady who lives in a rural area of the south wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper of the small town near her.

In the letter, she wrote, “I wish you smart city officials would stop messing with God’s schedule.

I hate this daylight savings time.

/That extra hour of sunlight is burning up my tomatoes.”

/And I’m sure it was so! 

/ /

            Two country bumpkins were talking.

Suddenly, one said, “What time is it?”

The other looked at his watch and answered, “It’s twenty-five minutes until.”

After a few moments of silence, the inquirer asked, “Well, twenty-five minutes after what?”

The other replied, “I don’t know.

Times have been so tough /I had to lay off one of my hands!”/

/ /

A fabricated story tells of a man who had waited for twenty years to have an interview with God, and finally, God granted him the meeting.

The Lord said, “What can I do for you?”

The man answered, “Lord, I would like to ask You three questions.”

“You may do so.”

“My first question is, Is it true that with You a day is as a million years?” God answered, “Yes, that’s true.” “My second question is, Is it true that with You a penny is as a million dollars?”  “Yes, that’s true,” God answered.

The man then took a deep breath and said, “My third question is, Then, Lord, may I have a penny?”

And God answered, “Yes — /just a second!”/

There are two Greek words for time.

One is the word “chronos,” from which we derive such words as “chronology.”

This word describes timetable time, that passes by in succession, in sequence.

“Chronos” describes time that is like a rolling ball; it simply rolls by, leaving one spot for another (the past for the future).

We spend a great deal of time concerned about “chronology.”

What will I do this hour, today, tomorrow, each day?

The Bible has very, very little to say about “chronos.”

\\ The other Greek word for time is stressed in Scripture, the word “kairos.”

“Kairos” refers to the crisis time, the opportune time, the right moment.

You don’t always /have /that kind of time.

You have a lot of chronology, but not much obvious opportunity — unless you know how to turn “chronos” into “kairos,” which is one of the vocational assignments of the Christian life.

The word that is used in our verse is the word “kairos.”

“/Now is the acceptable opportune moment — an eternally critical time.”/

/ /

The last repeated term in our text is the word “now.”

Dr.

Clarence Macartney preached an excellent sermon on the word “now,” in which he called it “The Word That Never Comes Back.”

In that sermon, Macartney said, “If the world should stand a thousand million years, this word will never come back.”

Another preacher solemnly called the word “now” “The Only Time There Is.”

So this text presents a sober revelation of a solemn responsibility.

It deals with how we use our “nows.”

The proper use of “now” is commanded in revelation and commended by reason.

When we are told or reminded of some responsibility, conscience, gratitude, self-interest all say, Do it now.

Satan and every evil influence say, “Wait.”

So procrastination becomes Satan’s chloroform by which he dulls ours lives into perpetual postponement of crucial responsibilities.

Is there any decision you should make for Christ at this moment?

Is there any deed you should do for Christ today?

Is there any process of spiritual growth which should begin by your active participation today?

Is there any relationship which you should adjust for Christ’s sake today?

These things should be done /now.

“Now is the acceptable opportune moment — an eternally critical time.”

/We will focus our attention on the word “now” and its solemn importance.

Let me give you four great reasons for /deciding/ for Christ and /doing/ for Christ */NOW./*

/ /

                                                *    I.

THE BREVITY OF LIFE*

 

First, you should /decide /for Christ and /do /for Christ, /now, /because of the sheer /brevity of life./

In James 4:14, the Bible asks and answers this question: “What is your life?”

The answer given emphasizes the brevity of life.

“It is even as a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.”

Your life is like the visible vapor of your breath on a cold winter day.

It appears for a moment, then it dissipates into the air.

Job 14:1 declares that “man who is born of woman is of few days.”

There are many Biblical pictures which remind us of the brevity of our lives.

For example, the Bible tells you that your life is like grass — which springs up quickly in the cool of a day, but is as quickly blistered and destroyed by the noonday heat.