Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
Someone asked this week in a whatsapp group I am in, for some tips on how to memorize scripture
I am no expert in scripture memorization, and I have not memorized much scripture myself
I have memorized some passages for sermons I was preaching
I have memorized
I have begun memorizing Romans
I can tell you what works for me: repetition
I start with the first verse and say it out loud
I repeat it until I know it from memory
Then I go to the second verse and memorize that one, but I repeat verse 1 and 2 together
Then verse 1, 2 and 3 together, and so on
Tanya Dunn gave a good tip in the group -
she suggested printing the verses and putting them all over the house where you will see them all the time
this is also a good tip - and the principle is similar… repetition
The Jews use repetition in the Hebrew language to express that something is important and being emphasized
That is why we see Jesus saying “Truly, truly...”
That is why we see Jesus saying “Truly, truly...”
He is emphasizing and underlining that what He is about to say is an important truth - and we need to take note
Repetition is a powerful tool for making people see the importance of something, and making sure they remember it
In , John uses the words “love, loves, loved, and beloved” 29 times - an average of 2 times per verse.
It is the most highly concentrated section on the theme of love in the whole bible, with a close second.
So it isn’t very difficult to figure out the main theme of this passage and for this sermon
Obviously John - “the theologian of love” as some call him - is trying to tell us something about love.
I have taken as the verse that best summarizes John’s main point:
That verse also gives us the outline for my sermon today:
God has loved us
We ought to love one another
1.
GOD HAS LOVED US
From the outset it is very clear what John wants us to do.
He gives it to us as a command:
“Beloved, let us love one another”
Simple, right?
Love one another.
It is so simple, and so obvious.
Of course we should love one another…
But if it is so simple… why is it so hard to do?
It is simple and easy to say we should love one another… but putting it into practice always seems a little more complicated and difficult.
And that is why John doesn’t just give us the command to love one another, but also a compelling reason to do so…
“… for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
and if you are one of those people who like to highlight or underline in your bible, go ahead and highlight those 3 words: “God is love”.
A) God is Love
Love one another because love is from God, and God is love.
God is the source of love, and God is love.
Now there are a lot of descriptions of God in the Bible, that say things like “God is mighty”, and “God is merciful”
These are attributes of God that describe His character
But John is not saying here that “God is loving”.
He is saying that “God is love”
What is being said about God here is more than a description of His character.
John is describing the very essence of God.
We can say that Pastor Bruce is a very loving person - and that is true.
But John is saying more than that about God.
He is saying that love is not just a quality that God possesses, but it is definitive of His being.
It is woven into the fabric of who God is, as John Piper puts it.
So God is loving, and God IS love.
The World’s Concept of a God of Love
You have obviously heard this before, but I feel this needs more exact clarification still,
because the world’s concept of a God of love or a God who is love is very different from what John is talking about here.
The world’s concept of a God of love or a God who is love,
is a God who doesn’t judge anything or anyone
and a God who is tolerant of all lifestyle choices and theological perspectives.
They see a God of love as a God who would never condemn
Most certainly, the world sees a God of love and who is love as a God who would never send anyone to hell
They will say things like, how could a loving God send someone to a place of eternal torture?
And then they will come down like a ton of bricks on any Christian who points out that their lifestyle is sinful
To the world, a loving God accepts all people exactly as they are regardless of their lifestyle choices - whether that be
In this day and age, all a Christian has to do to make enemies in the world is to call anything a sin
to call homosexuality a sin
or to say marriage is only to be between a man and a woman
or say abortion is murder
homosexuality or transgender
or to say that salvation is only found through repentance and faith in Jesus
Christians are being arrested around the world for saying these things
living with someone or sleeping with them outside or marriage
Because the world believes that to be loving also means to be accepting of everything, even if it is immoral
This is playing itself out in the world in very scary ways
To the world, love and tolerance must go together, hand in hand
It started with normalising homosexuality as natural
The Christian Concept of a God of Love
Of course, this is not John’s concept of love, and this is not what is meant by “God is Love”
Love is not a simplistic call to acceptance and affirmation of all human choices and lifestyles.
Love is not a simplistic call to acceptance and affirmation of all human choices and lifestyles.
John gives us 3 “God is” statements in his writings that define God’s essence:
John gives us 3 “God is” statements in his writings that define God’s essence:
In he says “God is spirit”
and here in 1 John he says “God is love”
but he also says in that “God is light”
It is important to note that in John also says that “God is light”.
John describes God’s being this way in 3 places in his writings.
In he says that “God is spirit”.
And in he says that “God is light”.
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
It is important to remember that God is not only loving, but He is also holy.
and as the late R.C. Sproul pointed out in one of his lectures...
we never see Scripture say that God is love love love,
or merciful merciful merciful
but we do see Scripture say that God is holy, holy, holy
We should remember that God’s love does not stand in contradiction to His holiness.
God is both
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