Sermon Tone Analysis

Justification by Faith Alone

Galatians 2:15-21.

Justification means to be declared right in the face of God.

When Jesus died on the cross and took our punishment and guilt for sin on Himself, that did something massive for us.

It means that if you make Jesus the Lord of your life and repent (or turn away from) your former way of living, you are justified before God.

You are declared as right before God.

A big part of this is that you can do nothing to earn it!

You can never be justified based off of what you’ve done, because you will never be able to “work off” all of the wrong you’ve done in your life.

Being justified means that you acknowledge that you are a sinner, but that Christ died for you on the cross, and that therefore, the old you dies on that cross as well!

You don’t have to be the same person any more.

But, you have to die to yourself to get there.

The Danger of Tribalism

The definition of tribalism

“the behavior and attitudes that stem from strong loyalty to one's own tribe or social group.”

Essentially, tribalism is a state of mind that is us vs. them.

Tribalism says that you hang out with your own kind, and everyone else is wrong

Examples

Peter fell into the trap of tribalism

he started right, not caring who he ate with, but then fell back into sin because of tribalism.

Avoid tribalism at all costs

Don’t just be with people like you.

And don’t think that just because people don’t look exactly like you they can’t be Christians.

Maybe they don’t go to the same type of church, maybe they worship differently, maybe they hate tattoos, but if they believe in that Jesus is God, that He died for you, that He’s they way, the truth, and the life, and that you are a sinner in need of the grace that can only be given if you give yourself to Jesus, then you should be able to be together!

Too many churches get too focused on how we’re all a little different that they become ineffective at loving people and spreading the Gospel.

And I don’t want that for us, or for you.