Sermon Tone Analysis

Growing Up Questioning my Salvation: 2 Reasons why People Question Salvation

Age 5 CCS, Age 13 Hell, Age 15 Emotional.

Age 18

Seemed that every time I went to camp, I got saved.

For the Longest Time, I embraced unknowingly the false belief that I had prayed a prayer, and that I was fine.

I could now live as I wanted.

Then it turned to the other problem.

one extreme to the other.

Then I believed that because I was better than most, going to church, living a life affected by religion but no awe of Jesus Christ, no desire to love Jesus, no desire to serve Him.

Jesus was a welcome addition, but he was not all.

Called to Freedom

The word here implies the state of being free.

This isn’t in the process of calling.

This isn’t talking about a specific type of call that we see in the church today.

This is talking about the state that we are in Christ.

Hence, why he uses the term Brethren as well.

With this state of being free, there are two extremes that people often go to which are both in contradiction to grace and the freedom to which we have been called.

Two Problems

Some Say: (First Problem)

Legalism

A dependence upon works to make one right before God.

“You know preacher, Im just trying to do the best I can.”

and they are.

They really are trying.

They are zealous for it.

The problem is, we aren’t good enough.

Because I have been set free, I can now live as I want with no consequences.

Because I have been set free, I can now live as I want with no consequences.

Please understand.

This mindset is not one that a Christian has.

This mindset is one of an unbeliever.

One of Satan.

One that is continuously bent on evil.

There is no freedom here, only slavery to sin.

This is what the problem with so many people in churches today.

They have been preached a cheap Gospel.

They have been told that “all they have to do is....”

The Gospel message and the Gospel response is simple but it is not not easy.

So what we see happen is this.

People grow up in church… get scared of hell at an early age, and have been taught to say a prayer and they can live free of worry of Hell.

They leave the church after High School, when Mama and Daddy stop forcing them to go.

They come back after they have kids, because it just seems like the right thing to do.

All the while they cling to a prayer they prayed, they cling to a baptism performed, they cling to life of good works or at least better than most.

This is dangerous.

This is a false Gospel.

The same type of false Gospel Paul is dealing with in the letter to the Galatians.

Listen again to what Paul says:

For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh

What ends up happening is just this…

People mistake grace for passivity.

People mistake repentance for feeling bad.

Just because we feel bad about our sins one time in our life and try to make our self feel better by getting baptized, doesn’t necessarily mean we are saved.

We are saved by grace through faith in Christ.

Salvation involves more than saying a prayer and then living the rest of our lives with NO Acknowledgement that Christ is Lord.

No, salvation is a beautiful picture, where we become broken hearted over our sin to the point where we cling to Christ and leave our sin behind, because we have what the purpose of life is, and we know that it is not found in worldly pleasure.

This problem is why I think we see so many problems in churches today.

Look at the end of verse 13

but through love serve one another.

Second part of this verse is what is required of the believer.

Through Love-

What kind of Love?

Love of God and Love of Neighbor.

Two Greatest Commandments

Matthew 22:26

Through Love of God, love Your Neighbor.

You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything.

.You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything.

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Honor your father and your mother.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.You shall not steal.

You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house, wife, or property.

The Vertical Relationship has to be dealt with first, before the Horizontal is dealt with.

The whole Law is fulfilled in the love of neighbor.

However look at the warning given in verse 15

However look at the warning given in verse 15

Paul uses imagery here implying that when Christians attack each other, what ends up happening is the body of Christ implodes from the inside.

The church is rendered ineffective because of problems within among church people.

We all have seen this.

Churches that have been rendered useless because members have devoured each other.

“That church is a hornets nest.”

“Church split here, church split there.”

“Pastor killer.”

Why are all these true?

Because the people within are living according to the flesh and not the Spirit.

This can mean two things:

A disobedient/rebellious Christian.

A unbeliever.

The fights that I have hear about/seen in church and the things said that I have heard about some cases within churches, its hard to distinguish one case from the other.

There is too much at stake for this to go on.

Paul writes to the Galatians knowing that if people use there freedom in Christ to walk in the flesh, that the church will be destroyed.

Paul’s encouragement now follows.

Walking by the Spirit is in direct contradiction to walking by the flesh.

Walking according to the flesh equates to being of the flesh.

regardless of what you say, what you do is of the utmost importance in determining who you are.

Walk by the Spirit.

How is this possible?