Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction: Review previous messages

It’s All About Our Values

The Gospel and the Church

Now, as in everyone’s Christian life, there comes a point when we must turn to the Bible in order to shape the way we think about sin.

Jaquelle opens up her discussion on sin by giving examples of teens she knows who struggle with sin.

Jake is seventeen and loves Jesus more than anything.

Last year he started a Bible study at his school, but lately he’s started to have doubts.

When he was saved, he was assured that the gospel would transform him.

But Jake still sees sin invading his life and has started to believe that real Christians don’t struggle as much as he does.

Maybe, he wonders, I’m not even saved.

Alyssa has the night all planned out.

She and her best friend will borrow her parents’ car (with their permission, of course), go for pizza, and then attend the movie they’ve wanted to see forever.

But today at church her mom informs her of different plans.

A missionary couple is spending one night with them, and she wants Alyssa at home to help serve.

Stung with a rush of frustration, Alyssa lashes out at her mother before spinning on her heels and storming off.

Crowe, Jaquelle.

This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years (p.

63).

Crossway.

Kindle Edition.

Bianca’s dad is a pastor, and she loves God.

Two months ago, a friend from school showed her some inappropriate pictures on her phone.

Bianca liked what she saw, but she tried to suppress the feeling and never told her parents.

Pornography is only a sin for guys, right?

She still didn’t tell her parents when she started looking up the pictures herself.

Now she’s paralyzed by shame but is convinced her parents would never understand.

How many of us here tonight would say that you have been frustrated by sin in your life?

Paul writes this in .

Crowe, Jaquelle.

This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years (p.

63).

Crossway.

Kindle Edition.

Crowe, Jaquelle.

This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years (pp.

63-64).

Crossway.

Kindle Edition.

Crowe, Jaquelle.

This Changes Everything: How the Gospel Transforms the Teen Years (p.

64).

Crossway.

Kindle Edition.

As Christians, everything in our lives changed in that moment of salvation, and this includes the way we view sin.

We no longer love sin; instead we hate it and fight against it.

It is often easy to hate sin when we see it’s violent effects on the news.

However, we also have a responsibility to hate what we think of as the “smaller sins.”

Jerry Bridges refers to them as “respectable sins” in his book Respectable Sins.

Sins that we have come expect from ourselves and others.

Sins such as being ashamed to share the gospel, gossiping with friends, exaggerating the truth to make ourselves look good, being insecure, being ungrateful, or worry.

Although the respectable sins are often viewed as ordinary, they are in fact threatening to the life of the Christian.

If allowed to grow unchecked in our hearts, sin, no matter what sin it is, will have poisonous effects on the life of any Christian.

So, since we all struggle with remaining sin how do we think about sin and how do we go about destroying it in our lives.

How Should I Think About Sin?

Thankfully, when thinking about sin, there is first some good news.

Justification

Because of Christ, Christians have been justified.

This is what theologians refer to as the great exchange.

When we chose to identify ourselves with Christ, because of the victory of Christ over sin on the cross, God exchanged our sin for Christ’s righteousness, and we were purchased from the tyranny of sin to redemption in Christ Jesus.

There are then two results of justification.

There is Now No Condemnation

Before salvation you were condemned, destined to die and sentenced to hell.

This is what our sin deserved and the wages we earned.

Now, because of Christ, our condemnation has been removed.

There is No More Guilt

I do not know about you guys, but I am on of those people who hold on to guilt longer than I should.

Guilt is actually a gift that should cause us to humble ourselves and drive us to repentance.

However, once repentance has taken place, guilt no longer serves a purpose.

Guilt, if we hold on to it after repentance, can then be used as a tool to debilitate us.

When we hold on to guilt we minimize the value of Christ on the cross and we preach to ourselves the false gospel that we need to Christ + guilt in order to receive justification.

The reality is, Christ, who knew no sin, was to made to be sin for us so that we could have righteousness and be free from the debilitating guilt that sin brings.

This does not mean that we shouldn’t feel shame for our sin.

Since our sin has been dealt with, once we confess and forsake our sin, we are forgiven.

Lasting guilt and the shame sin produces is no longer the state of a Christian’s life.

How Do I Go About Destroying Sin?

Although we are justified, we still wrestle with sin, and that is why the promise of sanctification is so encouraging.

Sanctification

Sanctification refers to the process of Christians becoming more and more like Jesus as the Spirit and Word of God works in their hearts.

Sanctification is different from justification in that while you had nothing to do with your justification it is your privilege as a Christian to contribute towards your sanctification.

Now, God is the one who works on our hearts to transform us in to the image of Christ,

but it is also our responsibility to pursue holiness.

So, how do I go about doing my part in being transformed into the image of Christ?

Intentional Exposure to the Word of God

We cannot have an accurate understanding of what sin is unless we intentionally expose ourselves to the way God thinks.

Example:

A Hatred for Sin

While we find it easy to hate sin in others, we often seek to minimize our own sin.

It is easy for us to see the disgusting nature of other’s sin, while we are blind to the root of our own.

Sin of any kind is rebellion against God.

We shrug our shoulders at our parents because we do not trust God’s design.

We gossip because we do not believe others deserve the love of God.

We are proud because we reject the glory (weight/value) of God.

Not only is our sin rebellion against God, but it also has disastrous consequences for us and others.

Our relationships suffer.

We worry more.

We pray and read God’s Word less.

We find church boring.

God becomes distant.

Sin ruins us, and so we should hate it.

Regular Repentance

The first step in repentance is identifying our sin.

Example: My lack of willingness to lead in high school.

The next step in repentance is the pursuit of right living.

James 1: