Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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! “Holy” is not a 4-letter Word!
!! “Holy Joe” Reality Game
v Goal: To correctly identify which of the self-proclaimed “Christian cast-members” was the real Christian.
v How would you make that determination?
v What if they all had great “salvation testimonies”?
You might not realize it - but you’ve just been trying to define the word “holy”.
v *1 Pet 1:15-16* - One of the scariest verses in the New Testament.
Ø WHA??????? ARE YOU SERIOUS???
Ø Set in the context of the greatness of our salvation.
In response to this, the call to holiness is reasonable.
v Ironic that one of the most revered descriptions of God is also one of the most feared descriptions of Christians.
v But what is it about this call that puts us off sometimes?
I don’t always have a positive gut reaction to the word “holy”.
Sometimes holiness conjures up words like ...
Ø Sterile, Dull, Boring
Ø Plastic, Superficial
Ø Nauseating
Ø “Ned Flanders”
Ø Judgmental, Critical, Proud
Ø Untouchable
!! A. Reacting to the word “Holy”
“Things we secretly think about holiness, but would never actually say out loud in church”
!!! 1. Holiness is boring
v Kid at camp, “Man this place is to holy for me.”
Ø Have you ever gotten upset because people think you’re a “goody-goody” and you want to let them know “Hey, I have a wild side.
I run with scissors.”
§ I have seen friends do it.
I’ve done it to.
*Why is that?*
Ø Do we have this idea that to be holy is to be boring?
\\ v We want to be “sort of holy”, but not so holy as to become boring.
Ø Holy enough to get a passing grade at church, but no so holy that we get a failing grade at work~/school
Ø We prefer middle-ground, mediocre holiness.
Ø *We want to be “holiocre”.*
§ Holy, but not too holy.
v Being holy is like eating healthy.
Ø Old Slogan: Anything fun is either illegal, immoral, or fattening.
Ø “The healthier the food, the worse it tastes.
The tastier the food, the more unhealthy it is.”
v Sin can appear surprisingly attractive, and holiness disappointingly dull.
!!! 2. Holiness is burdensome
v Sometimes we see holiness as a burden to be endured more than blessing to be celebrated.
v “Be Holy” = Try harder.
Do more.
Follow the rules.
Ø One website identified */667 sins /*listed in the Bible, although they admit that their list may still be incomplete.
Ø You could sin twice a day and never repeat the same sin in a year!
Isn’t that wonderful?
Ø It’s overwhelming.
v Then on top of the rules specifically named in the Bible, religious traditions tends to add another layer of “derived rules” ~/ “slippery slope rules”.
Ø These are the buffer zone guidelines.
§ Intent: To create a safety zone by avoiding even those things that – while not technically wrong – might take you too close to the edge.
Ø Examples:
§ The best way to avoid the sin of drunkenness is avoid alcohol altogether.
§ The best way to avoid immodest dress is to define modesty in terms of inches above the knee or below the collar.
§ The best way to avoid sexual sin is to avoid extended social contact with anyone of the opposite sex.
§ The best way to avoid the junk on TV~/computer is not to have one.
Ø Goal is wise and admirable: To avoid sin by staying as far away as possible.
Ø Result is legalism: The “guidelines” eventually become “rules”.
What was once “amoral” (not sin) becomes “immoral” (a sin of tradition)
\\ v We’ve some invented strange rules.
Ex.
Strange laws reported from USA
Ø In Arkansas, it is illegal to mispronounce the word “Arkansas”
Ø In Waterville, Maine, it is illegal to blow your nose in public.
Ø In Gary, Indiana, it is illegal to attend a theatre within four hours of eating garlic.
Ø In Illinois, it is illegal to speak English, you must speak American.
Ø In Seattle, Washington, you can’t carry a concealed weapon that is over 6 feet in length
Ø In Tennessee, it is illegal to sell bologna on Sunday
Ø In California, a 1925 law declared it illegal to wiggle while dancing.
Ø In West Virginia, you can be jailed for cooking sauerkraut or cabbage
Ø In Virginia, it is illegal to tickle women
Ø In Memphis, Tennessee, it is illegal for a woman to drive by herself, unless a man is walking or running in front of the vehicle, waving a red flag in order to warn approaching pedestrians and motorists
Ø In Nicholas County, West Virginia, no clergy members may tell jokes or humorous stories from the pulpit during church services.
v All these regulations probably began with serious, sober-minded discussion over a matter of significant social and moral concern.
Ø All the rules derived by any given Christian traditions likewise began with sober discussion over weight moral and spiritual matters.
Ø But somewhere along the line, wisdom became entangled with legalism.
Ø And holiness became a heavy burden.
!!! 3. Holiness is hypocritical
v Common reaction to the burden of holiness: At least “fake it”
Ø If you can’t be holy, at least /pretend/ to be holy.
Ø So we learn to live within the external rules of our church~/context.
But inside, we often know that we’re just playing along.
We’re actors in a game
Ø The NT word for actor is “hypocrite”.
v Jesus openly confronted the Pharisees because they had turned the legitimate pursuit of holiness into a game of rules.
Ø Pharisaism began as a legitimate concern for holiness
§ Don’t be too quick to pick on the Pharisees
Ø But it became a contest of self-righteousness.
§ *Holiness became a matter of external appearances instead of inner righteousness.
*
\\ v We instinctively object to hypocrisy – when we detect that someone is trying to appear better than they are.
v *So, what do we do if we discover hypocrisy in ourselves?*
Ø Excerpt from John Ortberg, /Life You’ve Always Wanted, /pg.
11-13.
/I am disappointed with myself.
I am disappointed not so much with particular things I have done as with aspects of who I have become.
I have a nagging sense that all is not as it should be.
\\ \\ /
/Some of this disappointment is trivial.
I wouldn’t have minded getting a more muscular physique.
I can’t do basic home repairs.
So far I haven’t shown much financial wizardry./
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