Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Summarize:

Context of v11-22: The unity of the corporate body of the Church

v11-13 all are brought near through the blood of Christ and not by any effort of man.

Exposition

Author: Paul

Audience: All the Saints

Content: Both Jew and Gentile are brought near by the blood of Jesus

Context: We are a unified church, not separated by nationality

Comparison: 1 Peter 2:1-12 We are separate from the nations and called to holiness.

Explanation

Verse 11

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision”

The Gentiles/uncircumcision do not keep God’s law, but instead live according to the desires of the flesh.

Keeping any other legal standard than the Holy Scriptures is to gratify the flesh.

by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-

The circumcision and holiness

To be circumcised is to be cut apart in the flesh and dedicated to God and His law

To be holy is to be set apart from the flesh-nature and dedicated to God and His law

Verse 12

remember that you were at that time separated from Christ,

Separated from Christ by our sin

alienated from the commonwealth of Israel,

no citizenship in the theocratic state of Israel.

This is not referring to the Israelites of the first century or a past or present political nation called Israel, but the heirs of the promise.

Genesis

and strangers to the covenants of promise,

Strangers to the covenants made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

having no hope

no hope for eternal life

no hope of redemption

no hope in judgement

and without God in the world.

Still under common grace and common judgement, but no communion with the Creator

It is a hopeless situation, but there is good news in verse 13

Verse 13

The crux of the passage:

We were once separated from God.

Before Salvation

Under a false salvation

We are now separated for God.

If you have been separated for God, you will:

Continually repent of your sins (by the conviction of the scriptures)

Walk in Holiness (according to the standard of the scriptures)

Christ’s holiness imparted upon us

Christ’s holiness practiced among us

Christ’s holiness heralded from us

make disciples (following the pattern of scriptures)

If you have been separated for God, you will be BIBLICAL.

If our lives do not reflect the scriptures, we gaze into the scripture as a mirror for correction.

If our church follows self-indulgent tradition rather than humble obedience we must wholly repent or eventually become a whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones.

Not only on the micro, but on the macro

I truly believe the SBC has many wonderful, God-fearing churches that seek the Lord, but there are many that have installed a string of pastors with moral failures (embezzelers, adulturers, child abusers) and if you think some of those reprobates haven’t gained position and influence within the convention, you’re fooling yourself.

Paul told us to “watch for fierce wolves that come among you, not sparing the flock” and “from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things” (ACTS 20).

Even on a national level: we’re incredibly blessed to have a voice within our government, but the republic is falling every day to mob mentality and majority rule.

But when you involve yourself in the politics of our federal, state, or local government, you stand on the convictions of scripture alone.

Where a party platform deviates from scripture, we deviate from that party.

If you have been separated for God, you will not:

Continue in your sins, add new sins (Taking the counsel of the world)

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.

We are far too easily pleased.

Walk in the flesh

Dilute the Church

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