Sermon Tone Analysis
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In Afghanistan, I was surrounded by men who believed they were fighting for the freedom of many.
Yet, in doing so they themselves were not free.
Someone told them what to do every second of the day.
When I mention freedom, what do you think about?
Is freedom something you experience or is it something others experience because of you?
Is it something familiar or foreign?
Intro
Illus: Ignorance is bliss.
Do you know the story behind the saying.
When US President James Garfield was shot in an assassination attempt his physician had the major problem of dealing with the bullet that was lodged in his gut.
The bullet had gone through his back and into his abdomen.
Without anesthesia his physician, Dr. William Bliss started probing for the bullet.
This process was an attempt to find and remove the bullet so it would not poison the body.
The Dr. would spend months opening the President through incision to search for the bullet numerous times.
Although his shooter, Guiateau, was sentenced and killed for his shooting of the president it wasn’t the bullet that killed President Garfield.
No, it was the repetition of probing without sterilization that actually created infection that killed the President.
Hence, the phrase “ignorance is bliss.”
This illustrates what happens when Christians attempt to address their own depravity with man made ideas.
It is true that we are all born sinners.
And, in order for us to survive death and to have eternal life, we must be sinless.
Yet, the attempt by many of us to do this ourselves is ignorant.
And, as ignorance is bliss.
Any attempt to save yourself will end in death.
Any attempt to forgive your own sin.
Any attempt to earn your own salvation.
Any attempt to use the bible as a self help book to have a better life, will end in death.
No, we who have heard and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ are saved by God’s grace.
We are to live in that grace and experience the freedom that it brings.
Living in God’s grace means that Christians embrace the freedom we have in Christ.
Drama
Paul and Barnabas just shared the gospel and are now pleading to the believers to believe in Jesus
Warning to not reject him as the one who accomplished a victory over sin that was necessary for our salvation
Paul then encourages them to continue in the grace of God (43).
What does it mean to continue in the grace of God?
Doctrine
Freedom in Jesus Christ
includes forgiveness of sins
Four fold state of man
Augustine of Hippo - (a) able to sin, able not to sin (posse peccare, posse non peccare); (b) not able not to sin (non posse non peccare); (c) able not to sin (posse non peccare); and (d) unable to sin (non posse peccare).
grace and forgiveness are key elements in our freedom
A freedom that the law could not provide
This is why nothing that you do applies to your salvation
We have freedom when we realize that our obedience to God isn’t merit
As we oscillate in life with sin and our disobedience we can rest in the forgiveness of our sin - this is freedom
includes the ability to see
the things of God
(38)- “Let it be known” - understand
There is a quickening or renewal of the mind
A transformation from the old man to the new man
should serve as a warning
(40) - Beware - see
Disbelief leads to death
Slave to death and sin
Some will be told the gospel and still disbelieve
This shows that the work of salvation is the Lord’s work
Freedom from the bondage of sin
includes a desire after the things of God
Ability to sin or not sin
People “begged” (42) to hear the affects of the gospel in their life
seeing and understanding God’s grace will drive us to the things of God
We will love what he loves
We will seek his presence
Psalm 42:
“Almost the whole city”
The gospel has the power
Doxology
Freedom in Christ:
Knowing that our sins are forgiven and the guilt we are living with is our own
Knowing that we have been given the ability to see and know the things of God
They are not hidden to us
Knowing that salvation is not my job.
Whether someone comes to salvation in Jesus belongs to God the Father.
Knowing these things allows us to now live differently
Knowing that my sins are forgiven can help me forgive others
In his book.
Lee: The Last Years, Charles Bracelen Flood reports that after the Civil War, Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky lady who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her house.
There she bitterly cried that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Federal artillery fire.
She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss.
After a brief silence, Lee said, "Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it."
It is better to forgive the injustices of the past than to allow them to remain, let bitterness take root and poison the rest of our life.
Knowing that I have been given ears to hear helps me have faith and trust in what I read and hear
Jesus often refers to the Christian as one who has ears to hear.
Knowing that God is in control of salvation allows me to freely speak with my neighbors and friends about Jesus without fear of failure
During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths.
Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays.
Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell.
Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net.
After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted.
A worker or two fell into the net but were saved.
Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.
- Richard Baxter, The Free Gift.
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