Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Emotion Tone
Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Confident
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Tentative
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Anger
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Intro:
Valentine’s Day
Read Matthew 5:27-30
Transition:
Jesus continues to unmask the self-righteous externalism
The only righteousness acceptable to God is purity of heart
He judges the source and origin of sin
The solution to sexual impurity cannot be external
Infidelity is first of all a matter of the heart
I.
The Moral Standard vs. 27-28
vs. 27 7th Commandment
Jesus recites the 7th commandment
The sixth commandment “do not murder” protects the sanctity of life
The seventh commandment protects the sanctity of marriage
Anger and lust are two of the most powerful influences on mankind
The person who gives into them will find themselves more controlled than in control
Every person has given into them to some degree
We live in a time of unbridled indulgence in sexual passion
Marriage and moral purity are scorned and ridiculed
It’s not new to our day
Paul faced this in Corinth
This was a common Greek expression that believed biological functions are just that and have no significance
Sex is simply a biological act
No different than eating or drinking
But the body is not meant for sexual immorality
Our bodies are for the Lord
Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
Disciples should have one response to sexual temptation… to run away
Sexual license is destroying families and now communities
Story of Drag Queens story hour at schools
Promote acceptance
Adultery is often used in the parameters of marriage, but the way that the word is used here is more encompassing
It relates to sexual intercourse with anyone other than one’s marriage partner
vs. 28 Too Strict?
Most of the world and many in the church would say that this verse is too strict
They argue that people should be free to choose to choose their own lifestyle
A person should be free to be with anyone they want
That includes homosexual and Trans relationships
The requirement of faithfulness stated here takes it too far
The progressive would argue that a true loving God would never require this
The Pharisee’s taught that marriage be based on the man’s feelings
Moses allowed certificates of divorce if a woman was found to be unfaithful
Later on a man could divorce if he felt like
Jesus’ words reclaim God’s desire for marriage
He puts His own word above the authority of revered rabbinic tradition
He addresses the issue of lust and links it to adultery
“Look” refers to the continuous process of looking
It is not an involuntary glance but of repeated gazing
Jesus says that if a man looks at a woman in this manner he is committing adultery
This includes areas like pornography
Adultery of the heart is just as serious as the physical act of adultery
The Mind for Adultery
Jesus cautions men against about eyes with “lustful intent.”
Men are more oriented to seeing than feeling
Don’t think this is just a guy issue
But our culture is trying hard to teach women to lust after ‘eye candy”
Women looking at porn has exploded in the last 20 years
The FBI raided an NSA employee’s house and found 16 million pictures of male genitals
It is one thing to notice that a woman is beautiful or a man is handsome but it is another to turn it over to your imagination and entertain immoral fantasies
It is good to dress attractively but to dress seductively
Outfits shrink leaving little to the imagination
Jesus says that adultery begins in the eye and the heart
The heart moves the eye and the eye inflames the heart
Adultery doesn’t just happen
Adultery with the body follows adultery with the heart
We cannot prevent certain thoughts from entering our minds
The question is “Are you going to entertain them or cast them aside?”
Martin Luther: “We cannot keep birds from flying over our heads but we can keep them from building nests in our hair.”
II.
Consequence of Lust vs. 31-32
There are consequences to lust
Lust starts in the heart and it can move to the physical act of adultery
Often, the consequence of adultery is divorce
Divorce
Divorce was common in Jesus’ day
Women were considered second class citizens and nothing more than property
Their role was to produce male children to carry on the name and to keep the house in order
If a man grew tired of his wife he could throw her out and divorce her
Jesus hits this issue head on because it wasn’t his father’s design
All the way back in Genesis God told Adam and Eve that a man shall leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife
The two become one flesh never to be separated again
When Israel was in the wilderness God allowed divorce if the woman was found to be unclean
I think God did this because the woman was rarely found to be that way
During the intertestimonial period one of the Rabbinical teachings allowed divorce for any reason
By Jesus’ time it had gotten out of hand
He lets everyone know how God continues to see marriage
If a man divorces his wife for anything except sexual immorality, he causes her to commit adultery
Why?
The two become one flesh
Whoever marries that woman also commits adultery
Discontentment
Discontentment is the source of much of the lust that people experience
We have been conditioned to want more, to upgrade
We become easily dissatisfied with what we have and think we deserve more
Men are allured by the photoshopped image or plastic surgery induced version of a woman
They start to transpose that image on their wives
Women are mesmerized from an early age that they are a princess and that any frog they kiss is going to turn into prince charming
When they discover the warts remain after “I do” they attempt to pick them off
III.
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