Sermon Tone Analysis

Almost 500 years ago, a pugnacious Augustinian Monk named Martin Luther tacked a document to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, Germany as a protest against the sale of indulgences by the papacy.

It turned out to be the spark that ignited what history has called the Protestant Reformation.

After earning his doctorate in theology, Luther was assigned to teach at the new university at Wittenberg.

As an academic professor, one of Luther's assignments was to teach the book of Romans.

It had a profound affect upon him.

Romans 1:16-17 stabbed at his heart and conscience:

/"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and a/so to the Greek.

17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."/

(Romans 1:16-17, NASB95)

Luther wrestled with the passage because it was just the opposite of what he had been taught by the Roman Catholic Church.

One day while in his room, Luther was agonizing over Paul's phrase, the righteousness of God.

What did Paul mean?

He looked at his bookshelf and saw all the important manuscripts of the Fathers of the Catholic Church—the great theologians of days past—but they were of no avail.

He cried out to the departed saints, but they gave no answer.

Luther again read through the Book of Romans.

Suddenly, his spiritual vision cleared; he felt as if a veil had been taken away.

He could see what Paul meant.

The righteousness of which Paul spoke was not a righteousness God seeking retribution, but a righteousness which was imputed to the believer by a gracious God when they put their faith in Christ.

It was at that moment that Luther was delivered.

Luther would write of that event:-"It seemed to me as if I had been born again and as if I had entered paradise through newly opened doors."

Luther discovered in a practical way what Isaiah here says: “ ... so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

From that moment on, Luther rejected the Creeds of the Ecumenical Councils, the Traditions of the Church, and the Authority of the Pope, and proclaimed that Scripture alone should define the faith and practice for the Body of Christ.

He adopted the motto, Sola Scriptura—that is "Scriptures alone!"

Luther would have made a good Baptist at this point.

One of the reasons we as Baptists have such a high view of Scriptures, is because the Scriptures have a high view of themselves.

In this passage, the Prophet Isaiah tells us that the Word of God is similar to the rain and snow that water the earth making it bud and flourish.

His Word produces exactly what God desires.

It is fruitful and will achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

!

I. GOD’S PEOPLE CAN HAVE CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S WORD vv.

10-11

* /“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”/

(Isaiah 55:10–11, NIV84)

#. these verses teach us why we should seek the Lord and abandon our wickedness

#.

God will accomplish everything His Word has spoken

#. when God pronounces judgment and wrath upon the lost, that word will not return to Him empty, but will be accomplished

#. when God pronounces grace and blessings upon the saved, that word also will not return to Him empty, but will be accomplished

#. the Prophet uses the example of nature to prove his point

#. that the rain and snow are effective is shown by the verbs, has watered, and has caused it to bear, and has caused it to shoot forth, and has given

#. the subject is the rain and snow

#. instead of returning to heaven without having accomplished their intended purposes, they fulfill the purpose for which God sends them

#. in the rain and snow, falling from heaven, we see the power of God bringing to completion His purposes in nature

#. the showers that fall from heaven turn into flowers, into wheat fields, into beautiful meadows and pastures, and into orchards that are fruitful as only God can make them

#.

Isaiah used rain’s renewal to illustrate God’s refreshing Word

!! A. THE WORD OF GOD WATERS OUR SOULS AND BRINGS BLESSING AND FRUITFULNESS TO US

#. the change that the Holy Scriptures bring to human life and human destiny is glorious beyond compare

#.

Scripture carries spiritual vitality—that’s why it doesn’t, return void

#.

God’s Word can change human life

* ILLUS.

John MacArthur tells the story of an event that took place in the Fiji Islands.

An islander was reading the Bible.

A Frenchman, watching him, finally came over and said, "So you are reading the Bible!"

The Frenchman then ridiculed the islander for doing so, contending that he had traded one superstitious religion for another.

The islander turned to the Frenchman and said, "Do you see that pot of boiling water over there?

Were it not for this Book, you would be in that pot!"

#. what a glorious change the Word of God makes in human life!

#. the Bible is to a thirsty soul what water is to a barren land

#. wherever it encounters an open heart, it brings refreshment, nourishment, and new life

#. the reason for turning to God is the absolute dependability of His Word

#. verse 11 indicates that just as the rain accomplishes its intended purpose as it falls upon the earth, so will the Word of God accomplish His purpose

#. but God’s Word doesn’t produce just any fruit

#.

His Word brings forth spiritual life

#. it produces the fruit He plans, accomplishing His purpose

#. there is tremendous life-giving power in the Word of God

* ILLUS Cockleburs are a painful nuisance.

In late summer their seedpods are covered with sharp spines that stick to everything.

Yet those pesky pods are amazing.

Each one contains several seeds, and they often germinate in different years.

If one seed fails to sprout one year because of a drought, another seed will be there waiting for the year after that, and still another seed the year after that.

Each waits for the right conditions for germination to arrive.

#. this delayed response is similar to the way the Word of God operates

#. we plant God’s Word in the lives of others, but people don’t always respond to God’s Word immediately

#. but the seed is planted, and when the time is ripe, it will bring a harvest

#. our main evangelistic task is simply to be seed-planters

!

II.

WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS TRUTH WITHOUT ANY MIXTURE OF ERROR

#. since Baptists first set foot on the shores of America, they have been know as the People of the Book—from laborer to learned scholar, we have always given special attention to the Bible

#. we consider it a book not just for the theologian or the pastor, but for the layperson as well

#. it is a document that we encourage all church members to have, to read, to study and to bring with them when they come to church

#. choose any other denomination in the community, and you will see more Bibles carried into the Baptist church than any other

!! A. THE BIBLE IS AUTHORED BY GOD AND REVEALS GOD TO MEN

* /"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."/

(Romans 15:4, ESV)

#.

Baptists have historically believed that the Bible has God for its author, salvation for its end and that it is truth without any mixture of error for its matter

#. we believe this because the Scriptures themselves maintain that they are inspired by God alone

* /"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,"/ (2 Timothy 3:16, ESV)

#. the word inspiration in this verse literally means God-breathed

#. through the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, the writers of the Bible wrote exactly what God wanted us to know

#. the Bible does not merely contain the truth of God, it is the truth of God

#. it is completely true from Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21

#. the Apostle Paul made it clear that the Scripture alone teach us what is profitable

#. that is what is useful, beneficial, and advantageous for Christian living

#. among those things that are profitable to us from the pages of Scripture are ...

#. teaching—specifically Christian doctrine and especially the doctrine of salvation

#. reproof—specifically conviction of sin and false teachings about Christ

#. correction—specifically setting us aright on how to b saved and make Christ Lord

#. instruction in righteousness—specifically that we learn how to love God and become wholly conformed to the image of His Son

#. the result of all this, Paul concludes, is that the believer will become a mature disciple, fully equipped for worship, holy living, and Christian service

#. because the Scripture is true, it is powerful

* /"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."/

(Isaiah 55:10-11, ESV)

* /"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."/