Sermon Tone Analysis

Date:

Sermon Title: Love, salvation and obedience

Scripture Text: 1 Peter 1:8,9

1. Introduction:

The last time couple of times I preached, we learned about the doctrine of election and God’s purpose in our election.

We observed that election is when God shows mercy on sinners and chooses them for service and salvation.

We learned about how God operates outside our notions of time and space, and this is sometimes difficult to get our heads around.

This is because God operates in His way, by His plan and set of rules; and His rules are our rules.

The Christian life all about God, not us; or put another way, its not about us, its about God and other people.

That is one of the key messages from the ten commandments, in Ex 20.

The first table is about God and the second table is about others.

This is a profound difference between the Christian world view and the secular world view.

The secular world view is what people like Joel Osteen preach; its all about us, and God is there to make us happy - have your best life now.

The world view that God has used the Apostle Peter to teach us is very different from that - it recognizes that because our first parents turned their backs on God and fell from grace, God changed and transformed the world, He cursed it and us as punishment for our sin and our sinful nature, and the condition we find ourselves is the the result of this.

One of the fundamental, and increasingly acute effects of our sin is narcissism, or essentially self -pride.

Narcissism is the belief that life is all about us, not God, nor other people.

This is the theology reflected by Osteen and other prosperity preachers.

Before the Holy Spirit gets ahold of our hearts, we see God as a means to our ends, which is our own happiness, and, hopefully, some kind of eternal life in heaven.

God becomes a genie in a bottle, we ask and hope that He gives us those things that make our life here pleasurable, and when that doesn’t happen, we get angry with Him, or perhaps we try to placate Him.

Our view toward other people is that we see them as instruments for our satisfaction and pleasure.

The porn and gambling industries are built on this principle.

If they have no apparent use to us, then we ignore them or worse, hurt or kill them since in our mind they have little value.

We discount their humanity - we ignore that they too, like us, are made in the image of God.

Abortion is a good example of this.

The baby is considered an inconvenient and unwanted consequence of an act of self-satisfaction, and so must be discarded.

This is a perfect example of how sin and Satan cloud our outlook, blinding us to the fact that the child is created in the image of God.

To emerge from this morass of sin and wickedness, we must be born again (John 3).

When we turn to Christ, he begins the process of clearing the fog and sin from our minds.

Salvation is the light at the end of the tunnel for us as God takes us through our earthly journey, a journey that sanctifies us, freeing us from sin, but a difficult journey, full of suffering and chastisement, as we look to regain something better than Eden.

It is a hard journey, because Adam and Eve had a long and the impact of it has corrupted our natures in the extreme.

Everything God does is for His glory and creating and redeeming us is no different.

He blesses us immeasurably, as a reward for the race we must run, through sin, wickedness, the mire and the muck, to get to the prize - eternal life with Him in His Kingdom.

The question Peter addresses in this text gets to the heart of these issues, and helps us focus our thinking.

2. Interrogative:

What is the chief end of man?

Westminster Assembly.

(1851).

The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition (p.

387).

Philadelphia: William S. Young.

3. Exhortation/imperative:

Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.b

Westminster Assembly.

(1851).

The Westminster Confession of Faith: Edinburgh Edition (p.

387).

Philadelphia: William S. Young.

4. Transition: We fulfill our purpose of glorifying God by our faith, our worship and our ministry, which produces trials.

When God saves us, we get a taste of heaven to begin with and can look forward to enjoying Him forever.

This is the lesson the apostle teaches us in this text.

5. First Point: Salvation, v. 6, 9

a.

Explanation:

According to v. 9, salvation is the result of faith.

We don’t strive for faith, God gives it to us, to enable us to glorify Him through worship and ministry.

Elaborate.

“in this” or “wherein in the KJV.

Back to the previous statement

protected by the power of God because He chose them as His elect

salvation - preserved for eternity in heaven with God.

Heaven is the place where Jesus is, where He came from.

Salvation is the promise of heaven, eternity with God, who loves us and whom we love as well.

We will be together with Him and each other when our time on earth is done.

It is a benefit God blesses us with when He chooses us as His children.

“greatly rejoice” or “exult”

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update.

(1995).

(Ro 5:1–2).

La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

“greatly rejoice” or “exult”, in spite of being distressed by various trials.

When we turn to Christ in faith, we are justified and effectively already saved.

Heaven begins immediately for us - Immediate heaven is our church and in our hearts through our relationship with Jesus Christ.

This is what Christ meant when he said “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

This is why the early Christians were able to exult in the midst of their trials.

Through history, martyrs like Polycarp, John Huss, William Tyndale and thousands of others were able to provide such a moving and powerful testimony before they were put to torture and death.

b.

Illustration: The British Army employs Gurkha soldiers from Nepal, to augment their forces from the UK.

Gurkhas are very competent, brave, professional soldiers who, after they have performed their period of service, are provided with a pension and a place to live, back home, for the rest of their lives.

They are taken care of so to speak.

This is because the British military will subject them to a dangerous and difficult service during their tenure, which they may not survive.

This is also the concept behind the social safety net for retirees, that many companies and governments provide. is far more glorious than this, as God takes care of us for eternity, in a place infinitely more glorious than a mountain plot in rural Nepal or a small flat in Europe somewhere.

Heaven promises not only eternity with our beloved Jesus, but also with those we love and who love him, for all time.

c.

Argumentation: This concept is alien to the unbelievers and those of a more secular world view.

Many so-called Christians now no longer understand the concepts of heaven and hell.

They are fixated only on the here and now and no longer accept, or are ignorant of what the Bible says about heaven and hell.

Some argue that there is no hell, that its not in the Bible, but of course Jesus taught about it as documented in the synoptic gospels.

The obvious question is, if there is no hell or heaven, then why is there a need for a Saviour?

The arguments are tight and logical, but the real proof is that God told us about it in His revelation to us, so that we would understand His plan for us.

d.

Application: God’s will for us here in the 21st Century has not changed.

As time moves on, our Christian faith comes under increasing attack from the world, from Satan and his followers.

On the one hand, Christ commands us to “go ye therefore and teach all nations”, but to do so requires us to confront, in love, a wicked and hostile world that hates the message of “repent”.

They don’t want to accept that they are sinning and they will bring any means available, to include violence, law, even deprive us of our livelihood, in order to silence us.

e. Exhortation: Expect suffering and expect worldly consequence, but also expect heaven and to be able to enjoy God forever.

6. Second Point: Faith, jumping to v 8.

a. Explanation:

Peter’s congregations had never seen or heard Jesus directly yet they were committed Christians.

They had no direct experience of Jesus whatsoever

All their knowledge came from preaching - conviction came of the Holy Spirit

Their faith was being tried by persecution and suffering.

It was literally being tested by fire.

Nero used Christians as human torches.

They were in a vicious spiritual battle, between Satan and the Holy Spirit