Sermon Tone Analysis

HUMAN BEINGS have a remarkably high capacity for foolishness.

There is a story of a man who woke one morning in the dead of a Minnesota winter to find that the engine of his car had frozen.

His solution?

Pour hot gasoline into his car.

So he put some into a pot and warmed it on his kitchen stove.

As you can guess, that didn’t go so well.

In 1997, Police in Reston, Virginia, issued a statement saying they had found the body of 22-year-old Eric Barcia, who had apparently died attempting to bungee jump off a 70 foot bridge.

Eschewing commercial bungee operations, Eric had apparently taken matters into his own hands and tied several bungee cords together.

He strapped himself on securely, tied the other end to the bridge, and jumped, confident in the knowledge that he’d carefully measured out the bungee’s total length at 70 feet.

An Egyptian bus driver had an 
ingenious plan to beat a mandatory 
drug test: He used his wife’s urine.

Nevertheless, he failed the test.

He found out when his boss handed him the results and reportedly said, “Congratulations; you’re pregnant.”

Source: BBC News.

A college physics professor was questioned by a student … why do we only talk about the speed of light, why no mention about the speed of dark?

The only way you could top this kind of folly would be to try to finish the Christian life in your own strength.

That’s not a good idea; in fact, it’s foolish.

Yet how prone we are to do this very thing.

Paul is going to show that not only are we saved by the Gospel but we are also to grow by the gospel.

Paul is going to show us that we don’t begin by faith and then proceed and grow through our works.

We are not only justified by faith in Christ, we are also sanctified by faith in Christ.

This is important.

Dr. Tim Keller states, The first five verses of chapter 3 make a remarkable claim – one which is much missed by Christians, yet is absolutely critical for Christians.

I.

A Bewitching vs.1-3

- Who has cast a spell on you?

A. Paul is rebuking them with emphatic words.

Calls them fools and bewitched.

They were not following clear heresy, demon worship, practicing witchcraft, or worshipping other gods.

They were distorting the gospel.

Which is happening all over the place today.

He was also shocked that this was happening so soon and that it was happening at all.

B. Anoyetos – Annoyed.

Foolish or senseless.

This is not just the quality of mind, but also an attitude of the heart.

He was not calling them ignorant, but senseless.

Not stupid, but foolish.

It refers not to bluntness but to a sinful neglect to use one’s mental power to the best advantage.

Sinfully not using our heads.

C.

And is not everyone foolish who barters the truth of God for the lie of Satan, peace for unrest, assurance for doubt, joy for fear, and freedom for bondage?

– Hendrickson

D. But bewitching?

Well in the Greek just because the word Boskaino is used it does not mean literal witchcraft.

But the word more literally means “cast a spell on you.”

If you are believing that Jesus is not enough, faith is not enough, the gospel is not enough…then Paul is saying that some false teacher has cast a spell on you.

E. Hopefully one day we will recognize that bad teaching is a serious thing.

Once individual recently said concerning some of the bad teaching of today.

“They must be embraced as erring brothers and sisters.”

Titus

I can hear God better in a private jet.

F. The funny thing… sometimes when dealing with those deceived by false teaching, it kinda feels like someone had cast a spell on them.

- Martin Luther writes, Like Paul, we struggle with the Word of God against the fanatical Anabaptists of our day; and our efforts are not entirely in vain.

The trouble is there are many who refuse to be instructed.

They will not listen to reason; they will not listen to the Scriptures, because they are bewitched by the tricky devil who can make a lie look like the truth.

Since the devil has this uncanny ability to make us believe a lie until we would swear a thousand times it were the truth, we must not be proud, but walk in fear and humility, and call upon the Lord Jesus to save us from temptation.

Although I am a doctor of divinity, and have preached Christ and fought His battles for a long time, I know from personal experience how difficult it is to hold fast to the truth.

I cannot always shake off Satan.

I cannot always apprehend Christ as the Scriptures portray Him.

Sometimes the devil distorts Christ to my vision.

But thanks be to God, who keeps us in His Word, in faith, and in prayer.

The spiritual witchery of the devil creates in the heart a wrong idea of Christ.

Those who share the opinion that a person is justified by the works of the Law, are simply bewitched.

Their belief goes against faith and Christ.

G.

This is foolish and bewitching because the truth of the Gospel was made perfectly clear to you.

Christ crucified.

The meaning of the death of Christ was made clear.

There was no confusion.

There was not ignorance.

You are foolishly ignoring what you saw so vividly.

Like you were right there.

H.

So Paul is giving us the essense or foundation of the meaning of the Christian life.

Notice that it has nothing to do with what what we are to do, but what Christ has done.

The Gospel is an announcement of a historical event, not a set of instructions as to how we are to live.

It is a proclamation of what has been done for us not directions as to what we must do.

It is not good advice, it is good news.

- Modern gospel - God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

Follow these steps to unlock your potential and God’s blessings.

The Biblical gospel concerns itself with the word and work of Christ.

- And remember… any kind of variation of the Gospel, Paul declares it to warrant the destruction like that of Jericho.

And whoever preaches it, to be declared accursed.

Now we see that if people believe this as Christians then you are under a spell… bewitched and fools!!!

- Im telling you… they way we handle false teaching and false gospels today is far different from the way the Bible deals with it.

We compromise way too much and for what?

Do we think we are more mature and evolved than the apostles in how we handle bad teaching today?

Make no mistake family… we are going to be judged by God for this.

Let’s continue.

I. Christ crucified was Clearly Portrayed.

Greek - prographo.

Graphic.

The picture came not from a picture they saw, but a message they heard.

This is a wonderful picture of the power of preaching.

For the Galatians… Pauls preaching painted a picture and gave a moving view of the work of Christ.

What I think Paul meant when he wrote.

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians

J. To hear the Gospel and be changed by it, is so powerful that we could say that we have clearly seen Christ Crucified.

Its not literal seeing, but received it in such a way that it is clear and vivid.

This is why we preach the Word…why we preach Christ.