Sermon Tone Analysis

Main Point: The consequences of sin run far deeper than we realize, with each sinful act it becomes increasingly more difficult to follow the Lord.

· Sin is the active rejection of God

· Sin is the active suppression of God’s guidance

· Sin is the active embrace of God’s impending wrath

As we continue to look at the Gospel (or today, why we suppress it), let me begin with a quote from D.A. Carson that I read this week in a devotional:

“a little Gospel is a dangerous thing.

It gets people to think well of themselves, to sigh with relief that the worst evils have been dissipated, to enjoy a nice sense of belonging.

But if a person is not truly justified, regenerated, and transferred from the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, the dollop of religion may serve as little more than an inoculation against the real thing.”[1]

We must war against the temptation to suppress the truth of the Gospel by conforming it something we deem more palatable.

(all of us feel this temptation)

1.

We face the temptation to turn Jesus into nothing more than a comforting “force” within the universe.

2. We face the temptation to turn the Lord into a “cosmic-genie” that is supposed to grant me all of my wishes.

3. We face the temptation to turn our relationship with God into a dogmatic system of rules that we follow (and secretly break) in order to brag and boast in ourselves above others.

4. We face the temptation to water-down Christianity into a “get-out-of-jail card” that we secure sometime in our adolescence and never think about again.

The truth: NONE OF US IS FREE FROM THE TEMPTATION OF DISTORTING AND PERVERTING GOD, OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, AND HIS EXPECTATIONS OF US IN ORDER TO FEEL MORE AT EASE WITH WHAT THE BIBLE INSTRUCTS!

Paul desires that his audience understand the significance of rejecting the clear knowledge of God (which we can apply the lesser-to-greater principle in argument to Paul’s argument)

1.

If God pours His wrath upon those who reject the lesser revelation of God in creation; AND

2. God poured His wrath out upon Israel when they rejected the revelation of God through the prophets; thus..

3. God must pour His wrath out upon those who reject the greater revelation of God through Jesus Christ—who is God in the flesh (Immanuel)!

The point we see Paul make is this: WRATH IS TO BE EXPECTED FOR ALL WHO REJECT THE LORD!

On the other hand… The Gospel transforms the revelation of God’s righteousness from a message of terror into a promise of blessing!

1.

There is a point I must make (in agreement with numerous Biblical scholars), God’s wrath upon humanity is not the message of the gospel—but a consequence of rejection!

a.

His wrath poured out upon Christ is the content of the gospel

b.