Sermon Tone Analysis
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There is a pretty widespread misunderstanding in Western Christianity when it comes to the gospel.
Too many people see the gospel merely as the path to salvation.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the path to salvation.
The problem is the gospel is not only the path to salvation it is the path we walk everyday of our lives as Christians.
The gospel isn’t just the way into God’s kingdom.
The gospel defines every aspect of life in God’s kingdom.
To fail to understand this is to fail to understand what it means to be a Christian.
Today I want to help us to see that we must live the gospel.
Turn in your Bibles to .
God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt.
The people had been wandering in the wilderness for about 40 years.
The generation that first left Egypt refused to failed to trust God and as a result they died in the wilderness without seeing the promised land.
Now the next generation was on the verge of crossing the Jordan River and taking possession of the land.
Moses is preparing them by reminding them that they must keep the covenant God made with them.
God gave them His law and that law spelled out how they were to live in relationship with God.
Adhering to God’s law was necessary if they were to experience success and blessing in the promised land.
Read the text.
As Christians we are not under the old covenant as the Israelites were.
But we are under a new covenant with God.
In the old covenant the law is what told God’s people how to live in relationship to Him.
Under the new covenant it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that spells out how we are to live in relationship with God.
What God says to the Israelites about living according to His law applies directly to us in our need to live according to the gospel.
There are three very important reasons why we must live according to the gospel.
I.
The gospel is our life.
(Vv 1-5)
A. Our very lives depend on our continued adherence to the gospel.
B. Pay very close attention to the authoritative rules that I am giving you.
C. Listen with the goal of obedience.
1. Do them.
(V 1)
1. Do them.
(V 1)
2. Don’t add to or take away from commands to make sure it is God’s commands you are obeying and not man’s.
(V 2)
a.
Notice the three-fold repetition of “command.”
3. The reason for the giving of the commands is obedience.
(V 5)
D. The reason for obedience is that you may live.
(V 1b)
E.
An incident recorded in illustrates the life and death importance of obedience.
E.
E.
F. Your life depends on you continuing to hold fast to the gospel.
G.
Under the new covenant our responsibility is to repent of sin and trust Christ alone for the forgiveness of sin.
1.
This is not a one-time act.
We are to continually turn away from sin and turn to Christ.
This is living the gospel.
H.
It was the church at Sardis’ failure to do this that caused the Lord to speak these words to them.
I.
We must not view the gospel as merely the way we enter into relationship with God.
The gospel is also the terms of our relationship.
It’s how we maintain that relationship.
1 Everyday trusting
Your very life and eternal destiny depend on what you do with the gospel.
So you must live the gospel, everyday.
But the gospel is not only our life.
The gospel is our witness.
II.
The gospel is our witness.
(Vv 6-8)
A. It is our faithfulness to the gospel that makes us effective as witnesses for Christ.
B. It was the Israelites’ obedience to God’s law that would cause them to stand out from the nations around them.
(V 6)
1.
The people would see the presence of God with His people.
(V 7)
“The theology of the nations at large taught that the supreme gods were remote and inaccessible.
Though they were perceived in highly anthropomorphic terms, they also were thought to be so busy and preoccupied with their own affairs that they could scarcely take notice of their devotees except when they needed them.
It was in contrast to these notions, then, that Moses drew attention to the Lord, God of Israel, who, though utterly transcendent and wholly different from humankind, paradoxically lives and moves among them” (E.
H. Merrill)
2. The people would see the holy behavior of God’s people.
(V 8)
“The theology of the nations at large taught that the supreme gods were remote and inaccessible.
Though they were perceived in highly anthropomorphic terms, they also were thought to be so busy and preoccupied with their own affairs that they could scarcely take notice of their devotees except when they needed them.
It was in contrast to these notions, then, that Moses drew attention to the Lord, God of Israel, who, though utterly transcendent and wholly different from humankind, paradoxically lives and moves among them” (E.
H. Merrill)
2. The people would see the holy behavior of God’s people.
(V 8)
3.
This is how Israel would draw the eyes of the world to the One True God.
C. The way we draw the world’s eyes to Jesus is to live everyday according to the gospel.
Imagine a young man fresh out of Army bootcamp moving into a dorm full of college freshmen.
Suppose that young man continued to do the things he was taught in bootcamp.
He rises at 5 am every morning to exercise.
He makes his bed everyday, with perfect hospital corners.
His shoes are always shined.
His closet always organized and neat.
His hair, high and tight.
Do you think that young man would stand out in his dorm?
Absolutely!
And while some may ridicule him for the way he acts, it would open doors for a lot of conversations.
When you and I live the gospel everyday we are going to stand out in the world.
And while some may ridicule us, doors will open to have conversations about Jesus.
D. Living the gospel means living out the change Christ has made in us.
E. When we live the gospel we will stand out.
1.
People will see the presence and power of God with us (Jesus).
2. People will see our holy behavior.
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