Sermon Tone Analysis

John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod and was sitting on death row.

He previously baptized Jesus and identified him as the Messiah, but now that things were looking grim.

John was wondering if he made the greatest life choices.

He sent some disciples to get an answer from Jesus, and Jesus didn’t reply with a “just have faith” type of cliché.

He pointed to the evidence from his miracles and fulfilled prophecy.

Jesus had mercy on doubters.

He repeatedly used his miracles as evidence of his identity.

I.

People can believe just as sincerely as we do

There have been many people who have died as martyrs for causes and beliefs that are non-christian, even atheistic in nature.

For example:

Buddhist monks burned themselves alive protesting the U.S. pressure in Vietnam

Japanese kamikaze pilots in World War II would crash their planes into U.S. warships on purpose because they sincerely believed that their Emperor was divine and this suicide mission would guarantee their afterlife.

So members of the Church of Christ don’t have a corner on sincerity or zeal when it comes to religion or faith.

Even the pagans who lived in the land of Canaan before the Jews sacrificed their own children to their gods as a sign of their faith.

And we must remember that it will be as difficult for them to change their minds as it would be for us to do so in the same circumstance.

RULE #2 – STICK TO THE BIBLE

We get into more problems and emotional turmoil because we go from discussing what the Bible says or doesn’t say, to judging opinions, habits, traditions, feelings.

For example,

In commenting on the Roman Catholic practice of having a religious service at midnight on Christmas morning someone will call it “crazy,” “useless,” or “dumb.”

For those who grew with this tradition and practice, such a comment would be extremely insulting, hurtful and unproductive.

A – IT’S BIBLICAL

Sticking to the Word is how the Word itself tells us to debate and discuss with others about faith.

Paul tells a young preacher, Timothy, that it is the Word of God that has the ability to instruct someone in matters of faith (teach).He says that it is the Word of God that is to be used as the standard for proving or disproving the validity and truthfulness of any idea or religious claim (reproof).

It is the Word of God that is to be used to adjust a mistaken idea or proposal in spiritual matters (correction).It is the Word of God that is to be used to train a person in how to live a pleasing life before God, or how to serve Him, or how to worship Him (training).

The Bible itself tells us that we should use it in trying to convince, debate, or teach other people.

B – IT KEEPS THE DEBATE IN PERSPECTIVE

Many times when a religious discussion gets ugly and bitter, it’s because it becomes personal.

Comments like well, “what a stupid idea” or “that’s not the way we do it at my church” or, “my preacher says that you people are all going to hell.”

Religion and faith are deeply personal things and just discussing them with someone else is a very risky thing.

You’re afraid of being wrong or looking ignorant or being rejected.

Try to remember that the discussion is not between

your church versus their church

your faith versus their faith

your ideas, traditions, leaders versus theirs

To be productive, non-confrontational, and edifying, a religious discussion should be framed in the following perspective: “how do our respective beliefs, faith, religions, line up with the Bible?”

RULE #3 – BE PATIENT

Some folks don’t understand that just because a person understands intellectually (in their head) the teachings of the Bible, it doesn’t mean that they believe and accept (in their heart) the teachings of Christ.

For example, the Apostles were with Jesus for three years, and yet, it took almost ten years after His resurrection for them to understand that the gospel was meant for the entire world and not just for the Jews in the entire world.

There are many obstacles that stand in the way of faith other than ignorance of the doctrines.

For example,

- Loyalty to family and church group

- Culture

- The fear of change

- Love sin and this world (John 3:19-20)

- Comfort within the way things are

When we’re discussing religious issues with someone, we need to remember that all of these issues and more may be affecting the other person’s response and attitude.

We need to be willing to keep the discussion and the interchange going as long as the other person is willing to share and exchange ideas.

So many people have been turned away from Christ because they were approached by people who were in a hurry to convert them without taking the time to understand them and their issues.

Some are won over quickly, and others have many obstacles that need time to think about and accept the points you may be made concerning the Bible, so be patient.

SUMMARY

So when we engage someone in a discussion about religion, about questions concerning the Bible, we need to remember three rules of engagement in order to avoid bad feelings and, of course, wasting our time.

Give people credit for being as sincere as you are.

This demonstrates true Christian love and respect (not for religious practices that may be false) but rather for people’s genuine effort to serve God.

Respect will set the tone of the exchange and enable the person to truly listen to what you are saying.

If you offend them with your disrespectful attitude, they won’t hear a word you’re saying.

Study God’s word, not your opinions.

The biggest mistake people make in a religious discussion is that they don’t even open their Bible.

Find the passage and keep the debate centered on understanding what the Bible says about the issue, not various positions of different groups.

Be patient.

You are sharing in order to teach somebody more perfectly the way and the word of the Lord – this requires patience.

If all you want to do is win an argument, you need skill and intelligence, if you want to win a soul, this requires love and patience in addition to skill and intelligence.