Sermon Tone Analysis

Can people change?

How would most people answer that question?

Skeptical…people change only to manipulate you or others.

“leopard does not change his spots”…meaning the die is cast and who we are is who we are...

excuse bad behavior…that is just who I am

Is any real change possible?

past tense = were = change is possible

In route to becoming a healthy church, we must have a biblical understanding of the great change that takes place through genuine conversion…

many answer no…choose complacency about their human condition.

“what makes your way of looking at the world, your way of living any better than mine?”

Does the Bible clearly teach that change is needed or are we just fine?

The Bible teaches we are in trouble...

In , Paul quotes the OT to denounce any claim we might make in being righteous in and of ourselves.

Consider this statement…We are in desperate need of God’s grace; and god owes his grace to no one.

What we are owed is justice for our sin.

When the Spirit begins to call us to turn from our sin, we begin to understand the seriousness of our sin…our view of sin begins to take shape and the seriousness of that sin takes root and grows…we begin to think like the Psalmist

The image the Bible paints of our condition is quite radical...

being in debt

enslaved, bankrupt, and even dead.

Our condition is disastrous and we had best get out of it!

So yes we clearly need to change!

Understanding Biblical Conversion

All men suffer the curse of sin..not only do we sin, it is our nature to sin...

At our core we are alienated and hostile toward God…we prefer to satisfy our own sinful cravings and desires more than to honor and worship God…we are enslaved to sin.

Because we are sinners by nature, we are guilty before God and deserve the punishment God promises…unless radical and profound change takes place, we are doomed to judgment…our minds are set on evil, we have no desire to please God…we need a new heart.

This is what the Bible calls “conversion”…the radical turn from a life enslaved to sin to a life of pursuing and worshipping God that is free from the power of sin…

Conversion is a change of life, not merely a decision…it is not a moral re-calibration, self help or behavior modification...

It is not accomplished by outward displays or religious practices like walking an aisle or raising a hand…

It cannot be accomplished by human effort, but only by the power of God...

When the Spirit begins to call us to turn from our sin, we begin to understand the seriousness of our sin…our view of sin begins to take shape and the seriousness of that sin takes root and grows…we begin to think like the Psalmist...

The Holy Spirit then grants the twin graces of repentance and faith to those who turn from sin and turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

being in debt

enslaved, bankrupt, and even dead.

Our condition is disastrous and we had best get out of it!

So yes we clearly need to change!

Jn

Conversion requires genuine conviction of sin that leads to turning around (repentance) and relying only on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation (faith).

Inward implications

Inward implications

We must ask ourselves if we have received a changed heart by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ...

Knowing our own souls is the first order of business...

Are we trusting in the finished work of Christ alone...

Is there evidence of God’s grace in our lives...

Are we growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ…are we seeing the fruit of the Spirit…

Are we seeing growth in the virtues of the beatitudes…

1 John is a good book for believers to study when examining the work of God in our souls…here we find several tests to help Christians know if they have come to possess saving faith...

Lets turn to …

Do we walk in the darkness?

Their should be grief over sin, a desire for the light of life in Christ, a desire to work and walk in integrity and righteousness

Persons habitually and unrepentantly living in sin, who deny they are sinners are not genuinely converted…,

Do we love God the Father?

Why is this important…people will often quote a love for Jesus because they see him as “meek and mild”, but will show no affection for the Father because they see Him as the unloving God of the OT.

Jesus is the God of love and tolerance…The Father is the God of judgment and condemnation....

Look at ,

There is no way to love both the world and the Father…there is no way to embrace Christ without embracing the Father…we cannot come to the Father without a belief in Christ

Do we love other Christians?

Many people appear to live without a genuine affection or concern for other Christians…view their Christian walk as a “solo activity”...

Look at :1

1 Jn 3:14-15

If our love for other Christians is cold, we need to examine whether or not we have genuinely believed on Christ as the Son of God...

Do we have the testimony of the Spirit that we are children of God?

The Father did not leave us without a testimony of his love…we can have the assurance of being adopted into his family by God Himself…the Holy Spirit...

Rom 8

When we believed the gospel, the Holy Spirit took up residence in our lives...

Are we persevering in the faith?

1 jn 5

Those who believe and continue to believe are those who overcome the world by faith in Christ…genuine faith is a persevering faith…that doesn’t mean we will not face doubt or discomfort…but it does mean that genuine Christians press onward in their faith, trusting God and his good plans and will...

Church Culture

As we ask these questions in the culture of the church, we can help each other see ourselves accurately…we can love each other by both pointing out evidence of God’s grace in each other and by asking tough questions about our profession and walk...

This will help us avoid the extremes of despair and complacency...

Implications on Evangelism

How we view conversion ought to affect our approach to evangelism...

We will understand that it is God that actually converts the sinner and for some reason chooses to use his redeemed people as proclaimers of His message…none of us can take credit for any soul that comes to Christ...

In the conversion of Cornelius in , God could have just zapped him with salvation, but instead He brought someone (Peter) to him who knew the Word...

God told Cornelius to send people to the city to find Peter

Ezk

God gave Peter a vision to convince him it was okay to talk to Gentiles about Jesus

1 Cor 2

God sent an angel to accompany Peter back to Cornelius.

joel

When God brings life, He does it through His Word…God could have saved Cornelius directly, but like He always did, he used His Word and human agents...

Just so we don’t miss it, just so we are not tempted to put a notch in our belt, just so we don’t evaluate ourselves by the wrong measures, lets look at some other Scripture...

eph

ps 19

Consider — God

Consider — God

Consider — God gave Ezekiel a vision of going and preaching to a valley full of corpses, but through the preaching of God’s Word, God’s Spirit goes out and brings life...

In any of those passages, do we see God giving us the responsibility to save people...

Evangelism is not a matter of clever techniques, but a complete reliance on the Spirit of God to bless the Word of God to effect spiritual rebirth and the radical change of conversion...

The message from Christ and about Christ is the only means that God uses to bring about conversion...

Look at evangelism next week...