Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
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
Tones
Emotion
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Anger
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Text
The world does good works in order to gain something by them.
It makes sense to love your neighbor, as long as it is understood that this doesn’t include enemies.
Enemies are to be destroyed.
“The third lick is mine”
Enemies are the “sinners” that are blocking you from the blessings of God.
Enemies are those who are the repugnant cultural other - those who are getting in the way of your way of life
Enemies are also those who cannot do anything for you.
The poor, the unwashed masses, the sinners who don’t know the law.
Love is universal.
It is the corrupted part of the image of God in us.
So we love, because we are in God’s image; but we only love the lovable, because we are fallen.
People groups are classified as less than human.
Propaganda presents these people groups as dangerous.
A spark is all it takes.
In the 90s, the Hutu population of Rwanda massacred close to a million Tutsi men, women and children.
The plan was genocide.
For decades, the animosity between the two groups grew and grew...
Genocides, war, murder, slaughter - a picture of a Jewish women in the 1930s circulates.
She is weeping, half-dressed, bleeding, and being chased barefoot through the streets by a mob laughing at her.
How did it get to the point where hatred is so unchecked that humans laugh, mock and torture whole people groups?
“Love your neighbor; hate your enemy.”
It is as old as Cain and Abel.
It is deeply engrained:
A neighbor, to the world, is one like me; one in my party; one who can invite me back to their place.
One that can benefit me in some way.
But Jesus turns this on its head
We do not determine who is our neighbor, and then show love to them.
Rather, everyone we meet, we are to be a neighbor to them!
How will this benefit me? is the wrong question.
He doesn’t say, “They will love you back eventually.”
He doesn’t say, “And this will end war”
“And they will see the errors of their ways and learn a valuable lesson.”
No.
He simply says this:
You will be sons of your father in heaven.
We are called to do good works in order to be “sons of our Father in heaven” - we are called to imitate God.
This is the restoration of God’s image in us because of the work of Jesus.
So first, we see that God does not enable wickedness, or justify the guilty - but he does good to all.
He gives his good gifts to the wicked and the righteous alike.
(Relative righteousness)
You know God’s love in general by his goodness to men.
But his specific love to his people you know by his promises, not by his providences.
His goodness doesn’t change based on who he happens to be dealing with.
If he waited until we were pure, none of us would receive his goodness.
(leper, and uncleanness)
So what does this mean.
Refuse vengeance (last week)
Bless the ones who curse you
Not putting yourself in danger.
Not enabling abusive behavior.
Not refusing justice or consequences.
But as much as in you lies, live at peace.
To bless the one who curses you:
Don’t gossip and destroy reputations
Don’t pervert justice, swinging the story your way
Don’t refuse to help where you are able if there is need.
No bribes, no perversion, no oppression
Give food and drink, even to one who curses you.
Again, not because they will learn a valuable lesson - Scrooge is only a story and rarely happens that way in life.
But to imitate you father in heaven.
Do good, even to the ones who hate you
Again with the donkey and the food and the drink.
Remember the Samaritan - he simply did what was necessary and helped.
Pray for those who use you.
Jesus on the cross; Stephen being stoned
Pray for repentance
Why?
So that you will imitate God as his dear sons and daughters.
“Your father’s sun.
Your father’s rain.
These don’t come by change, but are good gifts of God.
Every bite we take is from his grace; every breath is given to us.
Even the rising sun is his.
And he makes that sun rise and set on people like me!
There should be a distinction between the world and the believer - and the distinction is this:
The world loves based on getting in return.
When things are well, love abounds.
But when things get scary, when crises hits, when trouble strikes, the loving neighbor turns quickly.
But the new birth goes to the heart, so love isn’t broken when adversity strikes.
Even when people turn on you, curse you, oppress you - you may need to separate yourself, you might need to report crime; you might need to use the courts for relief -
But the love doesn’t change.
Not the emotions of the heart, but genuine concern for their welfare, praying for their reconciliation and repentance, and refusing to live in hatred and wrath.
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