Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Most are familiar with the Amish way of living

The Amish Culture is driven by the Amish religion which teaches that they must be separate from worldly sin to receive salvation.

Rumspringa is German for “running around”

Everything Amish people do is pointed toward the goal of maintaining this separate way of life.

So they don’t own cars and still use a horse and buggy

Rumspringa is German for “running around”

They don’t have modern conveniences like electricity, telephones, etc.

They’re known for they’re craftsmanship, farming, barn raising, and baking

And every bit of they’re life is spent with this focus on abstaining from every worldly influence to guarantee their salvation

Believe it or not, while it is heavily encouraged, no one is forced to join the Amish community

In fact when each child is around 14-16 years old it becomes a time for the youth to “test the waters”

They call it “rumspringa”

Rumspringa is Pennsylvania Dutch for “running around”

It’s a time for Amish youth to experience what the world has to offer apart from their Amish prohibitions

So the majority of them will indulge in living like a normal teenager: using a cell phone, surfing the internet, driving cars, going to the movie theater, etc

And there are some who lose their minds: Sleeping around, drinking to excess, experimenting with drugs, etc.

But what is truly remarkable is this:

You would think that after being prohibited for so long that once they have tasted “true freedom” they would have no desire to return to the Amish way of life

But the reality is that nearly 90% of all teens who participate in rumspringa, return to be baptized into the Amish community

Now for those of us outside the Amish community - we experience a rumspringa of sorts ourselves.

Now for those of us outside the Amish community - we experience a rumspringa of sorts ourselves.

Some call it sowing your wild oats (circa 1592, to fritter away in stupid and idle pastimes)

But there is the hope and expectation that after “sowing your oats”, you’ll settle down and live as though you should

So whether you’re Amish or not, a life of self-denial and separation can't change the human heart.

You might cage the animal of your passions up for a little while, but your heart still wants rumspringa.

A life of self-denial and separation can't change the human heart.

Only the Gospel does that (Read ).

You might cage the animal of your passions up for a little while, but your heart still wants rumspringa.

You can live without cable, a cell phone, or indoor plumbing but that won't make you a Christian.

We don't believe in justification by indoor plumbing.

You might cage the animal of your passions up for a little while, but your heart still wants rumspringa.

You can live without cable, a cell phone, or indoor plumbing but that won't make you a Christian.

Only the Gospel can truly change our heart (Read ).

Being religious doesn’t change your heart (being irreligious doesn’t either)

But only a relationship with Jesus is what will change our heart

That’s the main reason why Paul sends young Timothy this letter

One of the major issues that Paul has to consistently combat and warn against in his NT letters is the danger of asceticism (abstinence, avoidance, teetotalism)

Asceticism - severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.

After all for thousands of years Jewish people held to this avoidance of certain foods and acts for religious purity

And by no means will you hear me say that avoiding particular vices and devices is wrong

There are things offered to us in this world that we should avoid - Scripture is plain about that

It matters that we have a Biblical worldview and live by it

So we avoid immorality on all levels and we are to pursue righteousness

We also know that forming good habits (bible reading, prayer, church participation, lifestyle evangelism) is a mark (fruit) of our salvation

But here is why asceticism is dangerous -

Asceticism is dangerous because we can begin to believe that these good and Godly habits are our means of salvation

Especially in the Bible belt - we have a tendency to believe that because we have: grown up in church, our granddaddy was a preacher, my grandma prayed for me, read the bible everyday, pray everyday, (insert righteous, pious deed ) etc. that we are eternally secure and are going to go to heaven

The only way that we will ever enter into heaven is through our faith, belief and response to Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for our sin

Our eternal security is based on what Christ has done not what we have done

And I want to make sure we understand that because it’s easy to become self-righteous while we pursue Christlikeness

And so our pursuit of Christlikeness

That’s been my theme for the past few weeks right?

To be more like Christ in 2018

And being Christlike means that we pursue holiness, get into the Word more (5x5x5), pray more, evangelize, etc

And as we begin doing these things, we need to constantly check ourselves before we wreck ourselves!

We need to check our motives behind why we’re doing what we’re doing

Are we doing it so we can be puffed up?

Or are we doing it out fo obedience and devotion to Christ who has redeemed us.

But being obedient doesn’t come overnight and it doesn’t come easily

It takes resolve but it also takes discipline

And discipline is something that we all struggle with isn’t it?

If discipline wasn’t difficult, everyone would keep there New Year’s Resolutions

We’d all eat the right foods, exercise as we should, floss daily, be generous, etc. - Utopian society

But we’re not disciplined and as Christians we need to be.

Maybe you’re thinking, “I’d like to be disciplined, but I try for a while and then fall back to my old ways.”

So, what’s the key to becoming disciplined?

The key to becoming disciplined is motivation.

Why do those Olympic athletes drive themselves relentlessly for years?

They’re motivated to win a gold medal.

Former Dallas Cowboys coach, Tom Landry, put it, “The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.”

Discipline requires us to do hard things, things that we may not like at first, things that may seem unnatural to us but ultimately they become the things that drive us!

So we need to become disciplined in order to be obedient to the life that God has for us.

We need discipline to be more Christlike

And we need to be disciplined because eternity is at stake

Not just ours but those we have an influence over as well

None of us live in a bubble where it’s all just about “me” (even though we live like it)

Our lives are not are own - they belong to Christ

So me must discipline ourselves to be more Christlike because eternity is the issue

Yes we are saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus but it’s an active faith that produces godliness

True belief is putting feet to your faith

So, Paul instructs Timothy here in this passage to be a good servant of Christ Jesus you need to be disciplined in two areas of your life:

1. Disciplined in Your Doctrine

2. Disciplined in Your Devotion

Disciplined in Good Doctrine ()

“Theology leads to biography “- Tony Merida

Your beliefs drive your behavior

And your beliefs come from what you know and have experienced

And so when Paul exhorts Timothy to put these things before the brothers he’s referring to vs. 1-5 which have to do with apostasy (false teaching)

False teachers were as rampant then as they are now - people will always try to distort God’s word

They’ll even do it with the “support” of Scripture

They’ll make it look good and religious - Asceticism

Paul challenges Timothy not to fall for it instead he encourages him to live out what he believes before the “brothers and sisters” (fellow believers in Christ)

And Paul says there are two things we need to pursue godliness: the right diet, and the right discipline.

the right diet, and the right discipline.

Paul says there are two things we need to pursue godliness: the right diet, and the right discipline.

In verse 6, “trained” (ESV) is better rendered “nourished”

“…being nourished in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine...”

– verse 6, “trained” (ESV) is better rendered “nourished”

What’s he talking about?