Sermon Tone Analysis

INTRODUCTION

In 1 Corinthians 8:6, we see that Christianity is monotheistic, meaning, we worship one God.

This one God exists as part of a trinity - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each persons distinct from one another, but making up one God.

We are told in this verse that God created the universe, but He is a Father to His people and He is revealed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son.

God is our Father, not only because He is our Creator, but that He is also our Redeemer; this fact is what allows us to relate to Him as Father.

I-THE CHARACTER OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER

A- “The LORD is merciful and gracious,”

1-Mercy is not getting what I deserve; grace is getting what I don’t deserve.

2-Mercy pardons sin and grace bestows favor;

3-God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense

B- “Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”

1-God's mercy causes Him to be patient with our many failures and shortcomings.

This does not lessen the requirement of repentance but says God waits and waits for us to repent.

II-THE NATURE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER

A- “He will not always chide”

1- He will not contend with us continually...

2- When we turn from our sin, God will turn from His chiding, or rebuking.

B- “Neither will he keep his anger for ever.”

1- God bears no grudges.

2- When He is done with rebuking, He is done with anger.

III-THE DEALINGS OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER

A- “He hath not dealt with us after our sins”

He doesn’t deal with us because He has dealt with Another regarding our sin...

B- “Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities”

1- Iniquity = crookedness — Not just our weaknesses and failures, but the gross, enormous, crimson red sins that we commit.

He forgives them all — original, actual, life, lip, heart, omission and commission, are all washed away in the precious blood of Jesus!

2- Richard Baker writes, “Having rewarded Him according to our iniquities, Thou wilt now reward us according to His merits.”

- Here is the wonderful grace of God!

C- “For as the heaven is high above the earth”

We take a point on this planet and we draw a line upward.

We extend that line beyond the clouds, up beyond the remotest planet, up beyond the highest star.

Up!

D- “As far as the east is from the west”

As far as the east is from the west is much greater than saying as far as the north is from the south, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.

If you travel north on a globe, you begin to travel south as soon as you go over the North Pole.

But if you travel east, you will continue east forever.

Given the true shape of the earth, east and west never meet – and this is how far our Heavenly Father has removed our sins from us!

IV-THE PERSPECTIVE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER

A- “Like as a father pitieth his children”

1- We think of a loving father dealing with his tired children.

He does not demand more of them than they can perform, but with care takes into account their weaknesses.

He comforts them and measures his expectations according to his wisdom and compassion.

2- His pity never fails to show, and we never cease to need it.

Spurgeon considered the many ways God may pity His children: He pities our childish ignorance, our childish weakness, our childish foolishness, our childish naughtiness, our childish stumbles and falls, the pain of His children, the child when another has wrong him, and the fears of His children.

B- “For he knoweth our frame”

1- He knows us because He made us…our frame; literally, formation or fashioning.

He knows our makeup, build, temperament, personality, infirmities, temptations; everything about us.

2- The pity and compassion of God toward His children are rooted in His knowledge and understanding of our inherent weakness.

C- “He remembereth that we are dust”

This pity and remembrance were turned to empathy at the incarnation.

God Himself added humanity to His deity and experienced our frame and our dust-like weakness.

What before He knew by observation, He submitted to know by experience.

CONCLUSION