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
0.11UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.1UNLIKELY
Fear
0.09UNLIKELY
Joy
0.65LIKELY
Sadness
0.53LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.67LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.16UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.91LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.87LIKELY
Extraversion
0.36UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.88LIKELY
Emotional Range
0.78LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
Introduction
One of my passions is studying God’s word.
Particularly, I enjoy doing book studies.
Every book in the Bible in my opinion, is relevant to today’s world.
Such is the case with Galatians.
If one could sum up Galatians in one word, it might be the word FREEDOM.
The Church today still struggles with the same issues that the Galatian churches found themselves struggling.
People found it difficult to accept salvation as a free gift.
They wanted to earn it, so they developed rituals to justify themselves.
They felt that because of these holy acts, they could find themselves experiencing God’s salvation.
In other words, the Galatians felt they could live good lives, be good people, and do good things to get the reward of eternal life.
How many people do you know that feel like they live good lives, or they are good people or they do good things and feel like they have earned the favor of God?
Not too long ago, I talked with a man that had rather long hair.
He was a professional man with a doctorate degree.
He talked about how he was growing out his hair to donate it to an organization that made wigs for cancer victims.
I stood and listened to him talk about this for 15 minutes and how wonderful he was for doing so!
He went on and on to say how he was obligated to keep growing it and how he was doing good things without having to go to church.
Now don’t get me wrong, I admire organizations that can help cancer victims and I admire people that do work to help them.
This man was bound to a task of growing his hair to justify his relationship with God.
Doing things like are respectable, but it will not earn you a spot in eternity with Jesus.
The Book of Galatians reminds us that we are free from the yoke of rituals and good works.
We will see that our justification comes only from faith in Christ and that faith in Christ allows believers to serve God and others in the Spirit by love.
As we study this book, we will spend lots of time in it.
It is only six chapters long, but in those six chapters there are great A writing plan for the month of September has been developed to help you read through it as write it out.
I will spend time in our sermon series going primarily in sections that are a few verses at a time, so we will be in this book for a while.
However, I do not think you will be bored with it!
Having said all that as a point of introduction, let’s dive into the Book of Galatians.
We will begin with Galatians 1:1-5
We see here that Paul is establishing with the churches in Galatia his credentials.
Now credentials are important.
If you have ever traveled abroad, you know that in order to go into another country, you have to have a passport or visa.
These documents give you credentials to move freely about.
If you are dealing with financial planning, the person that helps you professionally had credentials to guide you in that process.
Paul is sharing what his credentials are.
This morning we are going to look at the foundation, the fellowship and the favor that one’s credentials in Christ give to those who are His.
The Foundation of One’s Credentials
Paul declares himself to be an apostle.
We who are in Christ should KNOW WHO WE ARE in Christ.
Know Who You Are
If you remember Paul’s story, he was formerly known as Saul.
He was a persecutor of Christians and would order and carry out horrific beatings and such of anyone that claimed to be a believer in Christ.
Saul encountered Jesus on the Damascus Road.
We learn about this in Acts 9:1-9.
The Bible tells us that Saul was traveling down the road when a light from heaven flashed around him.
He fell to the ground.
The voice of Jesus called out, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
We see in that passage that Jesus introduced Himself to Saul in a mighty and powerful way causing Saul to lose his sight.
We see that Jesus is also working in someone else’s life at the same time.
Our Lord is always at work.
He tells Ananias to go to a certain house and place his hands on Saul’s eyes to restore his sight.
Ananias is apprehensive and reluctant because he knows of Saul’s reputation, but notice what Jesus tells him:
Jesus later changed Saul’s name to Paul.
Some thirty years later, Paul pens this letter to the Galatians.
Paul knew that he was a sinner saved by grace.
Paul knew that he was chosen for a special assignment.
He knew who he was and he knew whose he was.
Know Whose You Are
Paul was not just an apostle chosen by other men.
If you remember, there were a couple of the apostles that were chosen by the other apostles.
Paul was chosen by God the Father and Christ the Son.
Being the devout Jew that he was, he understand what it meant to be chosen by God.
I believe he would have had an understanding of Deuteronomy 7:6:
Paul would have understand even more clearly that He was chosen by God the Father and God the Son to proclaim Jesus to a world that did not know Him.
By the way, you and I are also chosen by God the Father and His Son Jesus to share with the world the hope we have!
Do you know what you have in Christ Jesus?
Know What You Have
We have the One that has been raised from the dead and exalted on His heavenly throne.
We have the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!
I love that last phrase in that verse, Jesus is interceding for you and for me!
The Book of Galatians has Paul from the get-go showing us his credentials.
By the way, what do your credentials look like?
Do you know who you are? Do you know whose you are? Do you know what you have?
The Fellowship as a Result of One’s Credentials
Paul flexes his credentials by revealing the fellowship he has as a result of those credentials.
The beauty of being a Christian in addition to eternal life is the opportunity to be around other Christians.
Recently as we joined in fellowship with another church during our Hymn Sing, we saw an example of that!
I sang the hymns louder because they were singing loud.
I sang and smiled because they were also doing so!
I enjoyed that glorious glimpse of heaven as we praised our Lord together!
Paul shows us a few other things about the fellowship as a result of one’s credentials.
First I see:
Accountability
One beautiful thing about being around other Christians is the concept of accountability.
It is incredible to know that you have my back and that I have yours!
You are going to help me be strong in my faith and I am going to help you!
Are you helping others grow and be encouraged in their faith?
Paul was quick to point out that there were other brothers with him as he wrote this letter.
Believability
When others share your story about Jesus, the believability of your credentials increases.
Acts 4:33
There is strength in numbers.
Did you ever wonder why Jesus sent out the disciples 2 by 2? There is strength in numbers.
In fact, the law stated in Deuteronomy that the testimony of 2 or more was always better than the testimony of one.
Deuteronomy 17:6
That is an interesting verse to quote but it shares a concept that shows there is strength in numbers.
The same is true when it comes to understanding one’s credentials.
Paul was emphasizing that he was not alone in his beliefs and was supported by other reputable believers.
Credibility
This produces credibility that gives support that which one is standing firm.
I am reminded of the parable Jesus told about the man who built his home on the rock verses the shifting sands (Matthew 7:24-27).
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9