Sermon Tone Analysis

Step Up for Growth

2 Peter 1:

Growing would be the opposite of diminishing or backsliding.

1. THE DANGER OF DESCENDING INTO COMPLACENCY (falling from steadfastness.)

When you no longer focus on growing, you will grow complacent and other ideas will fill your mind.

The word “fall” (ekpesēte) refers to apostasy (cf.

Rom 11:11, 22; 14:4; 1 Cor 10:12; Heb 4:11; Rev 2:5), to departing from the Christian faith.

Experienced mountain climbers ensure their safety by studying their climb, taking necessary precautions, and knowing their climbing partners.

Paying attention to warnings does not quench confidence but is the means to it.

You need to know your equipment does not have flaws and you need to trust your partners to set the crampons or gear properly.

The growth in the knowledge of Jesus does not satiate the appetite, but only whets it.

You cannot grow in "degrees" as from an institution where Jesus is concerned as He is God and by nature, eternal and infinite.

But you can grow in Grace!

1 corinthians

Be wary of having an example of the one who with the LIPS says, “Amen!”, but with life, Nah Man!

Let it be understood that those who are not found living as He taught are not Christians—even though they profess with the lips the teachings of Christ.

Justin Martyr (c.

160, E), 1.168.

There is no law forbidding the mere places [i.e., the circus] to us.

For the servant of God may enter without any peril of his religion not only the places for the shows, but even the temples—if he has only some honest reason for it, unconnected with their proper business and official duties.

Why, even the streets, the market place, the baths, the taverns, and our very dwelling places are not altogether free from idols.

Satan and his angels have filled the whole world.

It is not by merely being in the world, however, that we lapse from God, but by touching and tainting ourselves with the world’s sins.…

The polluted things pollute us.

Tertullian (c.

197, W), 3.83.

1. THE CLIMB OF CONTINUED GROWTH.

CAMP

Survey the Mountain

Every climb begins at the base of the mountain – base camp.

Potential climbers see the mountain, interact with the climbing team, and survey the journey.

Questions arise.

Interaction with fellow potential climbers and those already climbing becomes a key factor in their choice to embark on the climb or not.

Camp is where waters are tested and exploration is celebrated.

SLOPE

Embark on the Climb

We continue to celebrate exploration as potential climbers choose to embark on the climb.

The angle of the climb begins to grow a bit steeper, but our team is with us.

Climbers begin to learn to identify and use the basic tools of climbing as we grow accustomed to the life of a climber.

The Slope is where new climbers get oriented, and where long-time climbers become reoriented.

CRAG

Find the Footholds

The crag can get rocky.

It’s getting steep and more jagged.

Air continues to thin, and climbing takes some hard work.

While these obstacles can be tricky, we know it’s time to find those footholds that keep us grounded, and hold on for dear life.

We rely more and more on our team and the belay that softly but surely guides our way upward.

When we slip, the belay catches us; our teammates pull us up, and we reach back to pull another up with us.

We’re still exploring; we’re keeping our climbing tools sharp; we’re pressing onward past obstacles, pushing ourselves to what may seem like our limits.

CREST

Reach New Heights

The crest goes higher and deeper.

Obstacles remain, but climbers on the Crest remain sure-footed and grounded in our footholds and our team; we even become the anchor for those who may not be as far along as we are.

The crest is where things start to get even steeper.

Exploration and pushing ourselves and others to new heights becomes a joy.

We can look back at our journey and identify the difficult times, the easier times, the sorrowful times, and the joyful times.

We can see how the belay and our team formed us, and we’re inspired to be that for others along the way.

The crest is where we start talking about sacrifice.

About sharpening our tools and passing them on.

About looking beyond the climb for ourselves, and looking out and around to bring others along the journey of a lifetime.

SUMMIT

Ascend the Peak

The top of the mountain is a glorious sight.

On the summit, there’s perspective.

Clarity.

A sense of accomplishment, meaning, and gratitude for the climb.

It was all worth it: the slips, the falls, the rocky terrain, even the drifts.

It will always be worth it.

The sun shines on climbers’ faces, and we know what matters.

It’s all become clear, and our lives will never be the same.

The verb here is a present imperative, giving the sense of continuous action, as in TEV “continue to grow.

Our author’s chief interest, then, is that they “be on [their] guard.”

This is the main verb of the sentence.

While this verb can mean things like “keeping” the law (Mark 10:20 par.

Matt 19:20 par.

Luke 18:21; cf.

Acts 7:53; 21:24; Rom 2:26; Gal 6:13), its meaning here is more closely related to that in such passages as Luke 12:15 (“Watch out!

Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”); 1 Tim 6:20 (“guard what has been entrusted to your care”); 2 Tim 4:15 (“You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message”); and 1 John 5:21 (“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols”).

What are these people to be on their guard about?

The answer is, “so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.”

“Error” for our author is the situation of those who are outside the community of the followers of Jesus (2 Pet 2:18; cf.

Jude 11, where it characterizes Balaam, and 2 Pet 2:15, where the verbal form of our word is used for Balaam), and “lawless people” for him were the people of Sodom (2 Pet 2:7); in both passages he is implying that error or lawlessness is also the situation of the false teachers, whose lack of morality he is unmasking

The fact is that most people do not set about to err or to give themselves over to lawlessness.

However, group pressure, the spirit of the age, plausible arguments, and the like can lead to one’s being carried away by error, perhaps because one is ignorant of or ignoring the fact that the proponents of the error are in fact lawless.

Before they notice, they are themselves involved in lawlessness, and then, perhaps, either caught in a web of rationalization or else feeling trapped because they feel too guilty to return.

How do we keep from falling?

By growing and building ourselves up in the Lord (Jude 24–25).

“Baby Christians” who will not feed on the Word (1 Peter 2:2) and grow in the Lord are unstable.

In this wicked world, Christians must take time to feed on the Word, pray, and exercise their spiritual muscles.

a. COMMITMENT

b.

CONSISTENCY

c. CHALLENGE

1. Building Strength

2. Increasing Stamina

Bodyweight training is a great place to begin if you're not already fit, including exercises such as pushups, pullups, dips, squats, and lunges.

Once your body becomes comfortable with those exercises, it's time to add some extra weight, via a weighted vest or a loaded pack on your back.

In addition, getting into the gym for some classic weight training is going to net your body the strength it needs to get up (and down) that mountain.

Some suggested strength training exercises for mountain climbing are dead lifts, front squats, bench press, power cleans, and military presses.

But weight training alone isn't going to translate perfectly into strength on the mountain, so emulating some real-world conditions is a must.