Sermon Tone Analysis

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Text: ;

Theme: The early Church was gospel-centered.

Theme: The early Church was doctrinally careful.

Date: 08/13/17 File name: Romans50.wpd

ID Number:

Date: 08/13/17 File name: Romans50.wpd

ID Number:

The redemptive work of God in Christ was seen by the authors of the New Testament as euaggelion — meaning “good news” or “good tidings”.

The word occurs 93 times in the Bible, exclusively in the New Testament.

The word, however, implies much more than merely good tidings or news.

That applies to lots of different events.

The redemptive work of God in Christ was seen by the authors of the New Testament as euaggelion — meaning “good news” or “good tidings”.

The word occurs 93 times in the Bible, exclusively in the New Testament.

The word, however, implies much more than merely good tidings or news.

That applies to lots of different events.

The best translation of euaggelion is the most common — that of gospel.

When the translators of the English New Testament were looking for an English word to interpret the Greek word euaggelion, they chose the Old Saxon word godspell which meant the story concerning God.

In time they dropped the “d” and it simply became “gospel.”

This is the idea the New Testament writers were trying to convey in the use of euaggelion.

In its narrow Evangelical use, the Gospel is the good news concerning Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

But in its fullest sense, the Gospel is the story of God’s redemptive work in this world that the whole of Scripture is a witness to.

Thus, to be a Gospel-centered church is to be a congregation that, not only preaches and teaches and witnesses the story of our Christ, but is a congregation that preaches and teaches and witnesses the redemptive work of God that begins in Genesis and concludes in Revelation.

The whole bible is our Gospel — it is God’s story that culminates in His Christ.

As we finish out the 16th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome we discover four characteristics of the early New Testament Church

• The Early Church Was Deeply Relational

• The Early Church Was Ministry-minded

• The Early Church Was Doctrinally Careful.

These are the three we’ve already looked at.

The next is ...

• The Early Church Was Gospel-centered

I. THE EARLY CHURCH WAS 1st DEEPLY RELATIONAL

1. we learn from this chapter that the Church is family

a. we are part of a family of faith

1) to be a sister or a brother is not just an honorary title for a fellow believer

2) it is descriptive of the believer’s relationship with fellow Christians

2. one of the characteristics of a healthy congregation is that they live in relationship with each other — there’s a unity and a harmony born out of genuine love for each other

with each other — there’s a unity and a harmony born out of genuine love for each other

II.

THE EARLY CHURCH WAS 2nd MINISTRY-MINDED

1. the second characteristic of a healthy congregation is that they are deeply concerned about ministry — extending a loving hand to those in need in the name of the Savior

about ministry — extending a loving hand to those in need in the name of the Savior

2. the ministry of the church is spelled out in what we call the Great Commandment and the Great Commission

the Great Commission

a. 1st, the ministry of the Church can be defined by the Great Commandment — “Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind ... 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

(, , NIV)

“Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind ... 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

(, , NIV)

1) it is loving God and loving people who we understand to be created in the imago dei — the image of God

dei — the image of God

b. 2nd, the ministry of the Church can be defined by the Great Commission —

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””

(, NIV)