Sermon Tone Analysis

Rip Tide

Do you like to be in control?

Be honest, do you?

We like to have control or assume we have control, a handle on things don’t we?

This morning we will be looking at helpless but not hopeless.

(Insert Rip Tide picture here)

(Illustration, rip tide) - A rip tide takes you where you don’t want to go, is stronger than you think, and the more you fight it you just get worn out and gain nothing.

The same is with our salvation.

We cannot save ourselves (Eph2:8-9)

Eph2:8-9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

You have been justified, God did for you what you could not do for yourself (Rom5:1-2)

ROm5:1-2 “1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

God is like, but better than a lifeguard.

But a lifeguard uses a skiff to get someone out of a rip current but the swimmer must make a decision to get into the skiff, just like you need to make a decision to be “in Christ.”

The rip tide can be compared to our tribulation (Rom5:3)

The skiff brings about a solution (Rom5:3-5)

ROm5:3-5 “3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Peace with God (Rom5:1) peace of God (Php4:7-8)

You have hope!

(Rom5:5)

You see the lifeguard skiff, you are not saved from the rip tide current yet, but you know help is there.

While you were yet a sinner God sent Jesus to give you hope so that You could be saved.

Christ’s death made our way to be saved (Rom5:6-10)

Christ’s life made the way of our salvation (Rom5:9-11)

Christ’s life reconciled through death to a risen life in the son (Rom5:9-11)

Last week we did not finish our billboards and we need to review quickly and do our last one before getting to our passage today.

Talked about purpose of a billboard

Billboard of Scripture

Billboard of tribulation and suffering

(Transition) that is where we finished last week, and still have one more to cover, the billboard of hope.

Billboard of hope

Hope, we all want hope, and if you are a justified Christian you have hope (1Tim1:1) and that hope has a name, Jesus Christ.

Our billboard of hope should display Jesus Christ and the hope we have in Him.

I want to take a side journey right now into hope, so grab your outline for there are some blanks to fill out in this, then will return to hope that does not disappoint.

We are to have hope against hope (Rom4:18)

Speaking of Abraham! and you, because of your faith, because of your hope you are Abraham’s descendant!

We are to exult (celebrate) hope (Rom5:2)

For we have been saved in hope, in what is not seen (Rom8:24)

Oh wait, there is much more, I want us to get a good picture of hope

For God is the God of hope that fills us (Rom15:13)

Hope that is in the hope of His righteousness (Gal5:5)

And there is only One hope according to Eph4:4; Hope laid up for you in heaven (Col1:5)

Firmly established hope in the gospel (Col1:23)

Set your hope on living God (1Tim4:10) and hope in eternal life (Tit1:2)

Boast in your hope (Heb3:6); Realize the full assurance of your hope (Heb6:11) it is an anchor to your soul (Heb6:19)

and be in full assurance

For it is an anchor

Hold firmly to the hope (Heb10:23); our living hope through the resurrection (1Pt1:3)

Cling to, hold fast to the confession of our hope.

to our living hope made possible through the resurrection

So, now back to our passage

Hope does not disappoint the one who is

Justified by faith (5:1)

Perseveres through proven character (5:4)

The one endures knowing they will get to share in the glory of God!

The glory of God that was poured out (5:5)

The billboard of hope is a tree of life may we remember to cling to our hope!

For Disappointment can lead to discouragement

Discouragement can lead to unproven character

Unproven character to despair.

But to the believing, hope filled Christian, hope will not disappoint, why for God’s love has been poured out

At the right time, God sent Christ to die for us.

God sent His Son with a passion and a purpose.

May our lives be lived with a passion and a purpose!

(Insert Billboard of hope PowerPoint here)

What kind of billboard are we going to be? Do we need to make adjustments, changes?

Are we willing to?

God has equipped us to, so lets be a good billboard for Jesus!

(Transition) Now let’s see how far we get into today’s passage, I don’t expect that we will finish, and that is OK.

Believe it or not, I’m learning to be OK with it these days.

Our Passage

What observations do you make in looking at this passage?

What did Christ do for us while we were helpless (v.6)?

How did God demonstrate His love for us (v.8)?

Besides being saved by His blood, what more are we saved from (v.9)?

How is man reconciled to God (v.10)?

What should be our response to our salvation, our reconciliation through the Son (v.11)?

Saved: By Christ’s Death

Paul describes the greatness of God’s love through the death of Christ on the cross.

While we were still helpless, Christ died for us (v.6)

While we were without strength (NKJV); Christ died for the wicked, the ungodly sinners.

We were undeserving

Christ died at the right time, in due time, a chosen time.

or at the fulness of time (Gal4:4) God sent His Son.

There were many things that needed to be done, put in place before the prophesy of Jesus was to be fulfilled.

The Pax Romana as mentioned before (time of improvements, peace, roads, etc) had to be in place first.

At the right time when the sinners needed a Savior, the Savior was born of a woman, under the law, to save man from the law., having become a curse for us.

(Don’t need to read the verse below, just put it on the screen)

Christ died for the ungodly (5:6)

Back in 3:25 we saw the word “propitiation” which is substitutionary sacrifice to satisfy God’s wrath. in the Greek the word is “huper” I may have mentioned before, it means “for the sake of, in behalf of, instead of.

Spurgeon says this:

“You will say, ‘Oh, I am one of the worst of the world.’

Christ died for the worst of the world.

‘Oh, but I have no power to be better.’

Christ died for those that were without strength.

‘Oh, but my case condemns itself.’

Christ died for those that legally are condemned.

‘Ay, but my case is hopeless.’

Christ died for the hopeless He is the hope for the hopeless.

He is the Savior not of those partly lost but of the wholly lost.”