Sermon Tone Analysis

epieikeia suggests the yielding of a judge, who, instead of demanding the exact penalty required by strict justice, gives way to circumstances which call for mercy.

Thus the concession of a legal right may avoid the perpetration of a moral wrong (see R. C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, pp.

153–157).

Similarly in the OT the Heb.

‘ānâ, ‘to be humble’, and its cognate noun are used of God: ‘Thy gentleness (RSVmg.)

made me great’ (2 Sa. 22:36; Ps. 18:35).

Although the word itself is rarely used, it expresses the typical condescension of the divine Judge, whose refusal to exact the full demands of the law lifts up those who would otherwise be crushed under its condemnation.

The adjective epieikēs describes one of the qualities of the Christlike believer.

Note the other qualities with which it is associated in 1 Tim.

3:3; Tit.

3:2; Jas.

3:17; 1 Pet.

2:18.

epieikeia is used in a formal rhetorical sense in Acts 24:4.

PRAYER

We have been walking through

The Apostle Paul is trying to make it clear to his readers that there are certain characteristics that ought to be true of us if we are establishing , growing our lives in Christ; ultimately we will take on his characteristics.

Paul got it!

He could be bold, show strength,

Puritan leader and Theologian Jonathan Edwards called gentleness "the Christian spirit."

Edwards said, "All who are truly godly and are real disciples of Christ have a gentle spirit in them."

“All who are truly godly and are real disciples of Christ have a gentle spirit in them."

Known for his great quotes and his stellar perm

When the OT describes what the Messiah would be like...

Matt.

Paul would often point to the gentleness of Christ as a reminder of how we ought to live.

What makes it difficult for many today is that many equate gentleness with weakness.

II.

Cor.

10:1

with getting stepped on.

But the Bible description of gentleness is something very different.

In scripture rather than a weakness we see gentleness as a display of strength, we see that rather than steal life away it enhances it.

Rather than something we ought to run from it ought to be something we embrace as the very character of Christ which saved us.

PAUSE

Looking back at our opening text, of Isaiah 40:10-11

This text from Isaiah speaking of the reign of God over his people.

This text from Isaiah speaking of the reign of God over his people.

That he is powerful and strong, he is mighty, his recompense is before him, means that he has the power to make things right.

All power and authority are his......

yet......

he is also in the same text described as a a gentle shepherd, who lovingly gathers his lambs, carries them, and gently leads.

And when we take the text in its entirely we see what seem to be two very different aspects of God’s character being described.

Power and might but also tender gentleness and care.

So it clear that gentleness cannot mean a lack of power or strength.

I. THE STRENGTH OF GENTLENESS

Gentleness takes strength, especially when everything in us screams for justice!! it takes strength; much more than I can often muster at times!

Speaking about leadership in the church, the Apostle Paul writes that....

notice that in all these scenarios they have a choice.

They can go with power, show their ability to argue, show strength....

Gentleness is not what we do when we have no other choice....it is chosen, in place of lashing out.

it takes nothing to lash out!

It isn’t strength that loses its cool.

That has all the power and is sure to use it to put others in their place!

A few years back, I remember a guy getting out of his truck, bald big beard and tattooed, apparently the lady in front of him (a tiny little thing, a visual minority) had done something that he didn’t like and so when the traffic stopped he jumped out of his truck and started yelling at her through her window, screaming, telling her how stupid she was as she glared forward too scared to look at him.

Fortunately the traffic started moving quickly and he needed to get back in his truck.

everyone started honking at him as he turned and showed everyone the one way sign, except he learned it wrong.

No one looks at the guy freaking out in traffic and says wow!!!! that guy is so strong!! Look at the way he stood outside the poor little ladies car and screamed expletives at her!!

Respect!

Respect!

There is nothing wrong with strength, but that was not a show of strength!

In fact the effect of gentleness is enhanced when a show of strength is an option.

PAUSE

We always get out of whack as Christians, theologically and in practice when we are unwilling to take God on his terms.

When we take an aspect of God we like at the negation of ones we do not.

Ultimately making him less than he is.

Is.

So, we like the God of love some argue that we find in the NT,

But not the God of wrath.

But what we find in Scripture as God reveals himself, is that when we are content to remove aspects of God we are not improving him, we are actually making him far less than he has revealed himself to be is.

When we remove one aspect of his character we actually neuter those parts we think we are improving on.

For instance, we say we like the God of love, but not a God of wrath, but in the cross we see that because God is a God of wrath who takes sin seriously, His love is intensified in its display for us on the cross.

Thomas Jefferson Bible

In May of 1820 Thomas Jefferson produced what would come to be known as the Jefferson Bible.

in May of 1820 Thomas Jefferson produced what would come to be known as the Jefferson Bible.

Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, was like many of thew founding fathers a deist, meaning he believed that that God was more like a watchmaker who constructed everything, turned the crown, wound it up and left things to run on their own without intervening.

There was much in the Gospel accounts that Jefferson didn’t not agree with.

So taking a pen knife he began to cut out those bits that seemed for him hard to take.

Owen Edwards from the Smithsonian Magazine says this....

“Much of the material Jefferson elected to not include related miraculous events, such as the feeding of the multitudes with only two fish and five loaves of barley bread; he eschewed anything that he perceived as “contrary to reason.”

His idiosyncratic gospel concludes with Christ’s entombment but omits his resurrection.”

One wonders what the point of loving or following this Jesus would be.

and if you are like me you say…the audacity!!

Who does that?

We all do!!

There are parts I wish were not in the bible!!

There are aspects of the bible that speak of sexuality, that if I took my scissors to it would sure make my life easier as a Christian

But to do so is to say to God you are not wise.

A God we do not disagree with is just a bigger version of ourselves and not a God worth worshipping!

See you can buy the Jefferson Bible today.

And this is what you will see.

(Pic)

That is no longer the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whose Gospel is that?… its easy to serve a God who we create.

And a God we never disagree with is just a bigger version of ourselves and not a God worth worshipping!

A God we do not disagree with is just a bigger version of ourselves and not a God worth worshipping!

God’s gentleness can only be understood when it is placed next to his strength!!

Do you ever watch these gory animal shows, there there are like lions chasing gazel, and like a cheetah lying in wait, takes down an impala and then the hyeenas and buzzards come in!? It’s worse than Game of Thrones, but a BBC natural history program, and the protagonist was a crocodile.

Its victim was a wildebeest.

What I always find fascinating about these shows are the amazing power you can see in one shot and the gentleness in the next.

A lion taking down a beast, with its great speed and strength, and in the next playing with its cubs.

Some of you have maybe seen one from a few years back of a crocodile taking down a wildbeast wildebeests cross a river while the crocs lie in wait.

It is the biggest feast of the year for them.

It’s not as if wildebeests are easy to take down.