Sermon Tone Analysis

*“Gospel Growth in the Church”*

*Colossians 1.3-6*

 

            Having concluded our study in Jude and launching into our year ahead, I thought it would be beneficial if we took a couple of weeks to anchor ourselves in some of the biblical expectations of the church and look at how Squamish Baptist Church plans on pursuing these practically.

So, this week and next we will be looking into a topic identified as /Gospel Growth/.

At the outset, it is worth noting that everything that we do needs to be rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ which is contained in the Word of God, the Bible.

We believe firmly in the authority and sufficiency of Scripture and that it contains the truth by which we live.

I took some time recently to try to unpack some of the core values of Squamish Baptist Church.

You’re probably familiar with this terminology.

We have often talked about the concepts of “worship, discipleship and evangelism.”

These are the core values and I have altered the words slightly and opted for terms that communicate action.

So, I’ve replaced the noun forms with verb forms.

Here they are.

The first core value of Squamish Baptist Church is “exalt.”

“We exalt the One True God.”

This is what we have previously identified with worship.

Last week in our conclusion of Jude, we noted that in his doxology is a reference to the */only God/*.

And I indicated that despite political correctness, diversity and tolerance, we will worship and declare that there is only true God.

And he alone is worthy of all worship.

And it is to this God, we are committed to exalt regularly and fervently.

We will do this with a couple of things in mind.

Squamish Baptist Church is committed to regularly gather to exalt God */corporately/*.

And we are committed to */individually/* exalt him in our actions and our speech.

Paul says in Colossians that in whatever we do, we are to glorify God – even the things that appear to go unnoticed.

Scripture everywhere calls believers to right action and right speech because they either portray God in a positive or negative light.

Every circumstance in life, every conversation that we have is opportunity to bring glory to him or to defame him.

As members of this church, we will strive to honor God when we meet together and when we are apart.

The next thing we value is “equipping.”

“We are committed to equip believers for the work of ministry.”

I mentioned also last week, that it is not solely the pastor, elder board, leadership team, music team who are the ministers in the church.

All believers are endowed with spiritual gifts to utilize for the edification of the body.

We know this from Ephesians 4, Romans 12, and 1 Corinthians 12.

The head, arms, legs, and even toes are needed.

So, if you have been attending this church and are merely “spectating,” I want to challenge you to consider your contribution to the building up of the church.

The church needs you and God expects it.

I’ve been hammering on this “community project” that we are a part of.

We are to strive together to make disciples and to encourage perseverance with one another.

No sitting on the sidelines.

If you have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation and have not yet been baptized, let’s get this done!

If you’ve trusted in Jesus and have been baptized and you’re not yet a member, let’s get on with it!

There’s too much work to be done in this world for the gospel to be lollygagging.

Never thought I would use that word in a sermon… We’re going to be rolling up our sleeves and getting to work.

We need you and would love to see you grow alongside the rest.

The final core value is that SBC will “engage.”

“We will engage the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

We will take seriously our responsibility and privilege to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ as the Saviour to the nations!

Acts 1.8 speaks of being “witnesses” for Jesus in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

We will continue to seek out ways to be invested locally and globally for the cause of Christ.

I will now ask you to turn in your Bibles to Colossians 1.

For the next couple of weeks we will be looking at /Gospel Growth/.

Though there is a lot to understand with the first core value of “exaltation,” we will be looking primarily within the scope of the latter two values for the year ahead.

To “exalt” God encompasses everything we do and so technically everything is a subset of exalting God.

As you can tell from the sermon title, this week we will deal with *Gospel Growth in the Church*.

Though there are not often clear distinctions between core values, this will deal primarily with “equipping.”

And yet there are obvious implications regarding exalting and engaging.

Next week, we will discuss *Gospel Growth in the World.*

And I will try to articulate how we see our role and plan for the future in our “engaging” the world with the Gospel.

So, as we consider Gospel Growth in the Church, let’s look at Colossians 1.3-6.

*READ.

* 

Within two short verses we come across three familiar characteristics: faith, hope, and love.

The first point I would like to look at is *Gospel Faith.

*This is probably the most obvious components of the gospel.

Paul is writing to the church in Colossae.

And what is readily apparent is the fact that they have embraced the gospel.

He begins by thanking God in the prayers for them /because /they heard of their */faith/* in Christ Jesus.

From verse 7, it appears that Epaphras was responsible for bringing the gospel to town.

He, too, had heard the good news of Jesus and had a burden to declare it in Colossae.

Paul says also in verse 5 that the church has heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel.

We need to trace some pronouns here in this passage.

When you see “it” in verse 6, “it is bearing fruit and growing – as “it” also does among you, since the day you heard “it” and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned “it”.”

This is the gospel.

And just so we’re on the same page when we use the word, we should probably clarify what the “gospel” is.

If you were to look for a summary in a verse, I would suggest 2 Corinthians 5.21.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

This is what is known as “the great exchange.”

Jesus took our sin and gave us his righteousness.

And this was all made possible in the events surrounding the cross.

If this is foreign to you, let me put it this way to get you up to speed.

The Bible begins with the account of Creation wherein God spoke the universe into being.

He created all things including the first human beings, Adam and Eve.

Everything was perfect – including people.

But God also gave Adam and Eve the ability to rebel.

And they did.

Despite the warnings, Adam and Eve disobeyed their Creator and sin and death entered the world at that point.

From these very introductory accounts and all throughout history, God was communicating his plan to provide a payment for the sins of mankind so that the relationship between God and people could be restored.

All of the Hebrew Scriptures anticipate Jesus and his death on the cross.

In fact, all of history finds its significance in Jesus’ death on the cross.

The New Testament includes the life and ministry of Jesus and the consequences of the cross.

And, as you may know, speaks of the return of Jesus Christ to bring history to a close.

The good news is that if you repent of your sins and trust completely in Jesus Christ, your relationship to God is reconciled.

Romans 10:9 “9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

The Colossians embraced this message.

Epaphras was the evangelist who told them, they heard and understood the grace of God in truth in verse 6.

And this resulted in their great transformation that Paul is excited about.

We will revisit how the gospel impacts outside these walls next week.

But recognize that this is the foundation for all that happens amongst the church.

Let’s look next at *Gospel Hope.

*Beginning in verse 3, Paul says that they thank God because of their faith in Jesus, the love for the saints because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.

We are going to see a circular dynamic taking place when we consider faith, hope, and love.

Here’s where hope is foundational for the others.

When we become Christians, those who have trusted completely in the provision of Jesus Christ, everything changes.