Sermon Tone Analysis

BELIEVE AND LIVE

SERMON 11

(ESV)

1. WALK IN WISDOM.

a. – 15 LOOK CAREFULLY THEN HOW YOU WALK, NOT AS UNWISE BUT AS WISE, 16 MAKING THE BEST USE OF THE TIME, BECAUSE THE DAYS ARE EVIL.

17 THEREFORE DO NOT BE FOOLISH, BUT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WILL OF THE LORD IS.

i. MAKE THE BEST USE OF YOUR TIME.

1. BECAUSE THE DAYS ARE EVIL.

ii.

UNDERSTAND THE WILL OF THE LORD.

1. BECAUSE TO DO OTHERWISE IS FOOLISH.

2. WHAT IS THE WILL OF THE LORD?

a. – 36 “TEACHER, WHICH IS THE GREAT COMMANDMENT IN THE LAW?” 37 AND HE SAID TO HIM, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.

38 THIS IS THE GREAT AND FIRST COMMANDMENT.

39 AND A SECOND IS LIKE IT: YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.

40 ON THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS DEPEND ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS.”

b.

SO WE ARE COMMANDED TO WALK IN WISDOM, AND THEN WE ARE COMMANDED TO…

2. BE INFLUENCED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.

a. – 18 AND DO NOT GET DRUNK WITH WINE, FOR THAT IS DEBAUCHERY, BUT BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, 19 ADDRESSING ONE ANOTHER IN PSALMS AND HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS, SINGING AND MAKING MELODY TO THE LORD WITH YOUR HEART, 20 GIVING THANKS ALWAYS AND FOR EVERYTHING TO GOD THE FATHER IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, 21 SUBMITTING TO ONE ANOTHER OUT OF REVERENCE FOR CHRIST.

i.

A WORD ABOUT VERSE 18.

1. IN VERSE 18, THERE IS A WORD ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE VERSE THAT IS TRANSLATED A COUPLE DIFFERENT WAYS, DEPENDING ON WHICH TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE YOU CHOOSE TO READ.

2. HERE, IN THE ESV, IT’S THE WORD DEBAUCHERY.

3. IN THE KING JAMES VERSION, IT IS TRANSLATED “EXCESS.”

4. IN THE NASB, THE WORD USED IS “DISSIPATION.”

5. BUT NO MATTER HOW IT IS TRANLATED, THE ROOT WORD IS EXACTLY THE SAME IN EACH TRANSLATION.

6.

THE ROOT WORD IS “ASOTIA.”

7. WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT THE WORD “ASOTIA?”

a. WELL, IT IS A PRETTY BIG DEAL, BECAUSE IT IS A WORD THAT COMBINES THE NEGATIVE PARTICIPLE “A” AND THE WORD “SOZO” TO FORM “ASOTIA.”

b.

YOU MAY SAY I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT PASTOR, BUT YOU REALLY DO KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS, BECAUSE YOU’VE SEEN IT USED IN OTHER CONTEXTS…

c. IN WORDS LIKE…

i. ATHEIST

1. A-THEIST

ii.

AGNOSTIC

1. A-GNOSTIC

iii.

EVEN HERE IN VERSE 18, THE WORD UNWISE, IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE, IS THE WORD “ASOPHOS.”

1. A-SOPHOS – WITHOUT WISDOM.

ii.

SO PAUL’S USE OF THE WORD “ASOTIA,” WOULD LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT PAUL THOUGHT THAT THE BEHAVIORS CONNECTED TO BEING DRUNK WITH WINE ARE THE BEHAVIORS WHICH ARE AKIN TO AN UNSAVED CONDITION.

1. THEREFORE…THE CHRISTIAN SHOULD NEVER BE CHARACTERIZED AS ALLOWING ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES TO ALTER THEIR BEHAVIOR…

2. INSTEAD, CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE CHARACTERIZED BY THE BEHAVIORS THAT ARE INDICATIVE OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD…

iii.

WHICH, BY THE WAY, NEVER LEADS TO DEBAUCHERY, EXCESS, AND DISSIPATION…

iv.

SOME PEOPLE WHO CLAIM THE NAME OF THE LORD NEED TO READ AND REREAD THIS PASSAGE.

v. SOME PEOPLE WHO CLAIM TO PREACH JESUS NEED TO READ AND REREAD THIS PASSAGE.

b.

BECAUSE THIS WHOLE IDEA OF DEBAUCHERY, EXCESS, AND DISSIPATION IS THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF WHAT THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS TO BE ABOUT.

i. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS NOT TO BE CENTERED ON ACQUIRING MORE THINGS…

ii.

IT IS TO BE CENTERED ON CHRIST ACQUIRING MORE OF YOU…

iii.

CHRISTIANS ARE NOT TO BE FOCUSED ON PERSONAL PLEASURE,

CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE FOCUSED ON PERSONAL HOLINESS.

c. SO PAUL WRITES HERE THAT WE SHOULD BE CAREFUL NOT TO LIVE LIVES OF DISSATISIFIED EXCESS, BUT TO LIVE LIVES THAT ARE FORMED AND INFORMED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.

d.

SO WE ARE TO BE INFLUENCED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.

i. BY AVOIDING EXCESS AND DEBAUCHERY.

ii.

ALSO BY WORSHIPPING THE LORD.

1. PAUL GIVES THREE CLASSIFICATIONS OF WORSHIP.

a. PSALMS – LIKELY THE OLD TESTAMENT PSALMS.

b.

HYMNS – SONGS THAT CELEBRATE WHO GOD IS.

c. SPIRITUAL SONGS – SONGS THAT RELATE THE THINGS GOD IS DOING OR HAS DONE.

2. MAKING MELODY IN YOUR HEART SPEAKS TO YOUR NEED TO ALLOW YOUR HEART TO BE MOVED IN WORSHIP.

a. IT DOES NOT MEAN TO WORSHIP WITHOUT INSTRUMENTS, BUT IT ALSO DOES NOT MEAN THAT INSTRUMENTS ARE REQUIRED.

b.

IT IS A REMINDER THAT WORSHIP IS A HEART ISSUE.

i. WORSHIP SHOULD FLOW FROM THE HEART, AND IT SHOULD AFFECT THE HEART.

3. SO TO BE SPIRIT DRIVEN, WE SHOULD WORSHIP THE LORD.

iii.

WE ALSO SHOW THAT WE ARE INFLUENCED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT BY BEING THANKFUL.

1. AND THANKFULNESS AND HUMILITY ARE TWIN CHARACTER QUALITIES.

a. THE ONE WHO IS THANKFUL IS TYPICALLY HUMBLE, AND THE ONE WHO IS HUMBLE IS TYPICALLY THANKFUL.

b.

PAUL CALLS BELIEVERS TO THANKFULNESS, AND THEN LEADS INTO HUMILITY, BY REMINDING US THAT HUMILITY IS BEST DISPLAYED WHEN WE SUBMIT TO ONE ANOTHER.

iv.

WE ARE INFLUENCED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN WE SUBMIT TO ONE ANOTHER.

1. IT IS A SIGN OF OUR REVERENCE FOR CHRIST.

2. WE RECOGNIZE THE STRUCTURE AND ORDER OF THINGS, BOTH IN THE CHURCH AND OUTSIDE THE CHURCH, AND WE SUBMIT OURSELVES TO THAT STRUCTURE AND ORDER.

3. WE MUTUALLY SUBMIT TO EACH OTHER, AS PAUL POINTS OUT IN THE NEXT SEVERAL VERSES, IN OUR MARRIAGES RELATIONSHIPS, IN OUR FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, AND IN OUR WORK RELATIONSHIPS.

CONCLUSION:

SO AS I LOOK AT THIS PASSAGE, ESPECIALLY VERSES 15 THROUGH 18, I AM REMINDED OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ASSOCIATION TO THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER.

AND I KNOW THE ARGUMENT…PASTOR, I’M TRYING TO BE A WITNESS FOR JESUS TO THOSE PEOPLE…

AND TO THAT I WOULD SAY, MOST OF THE TIME, NO YOU’RE NOT.

USUALLY, WHEN A PERSON SAYS THAT TO ME, IT IS TO TRY TO JUSTIFY LIFESTYLE CHOICES THAT THEY KNOW ARE INCONSISTENT WITH THE TEACHINGS OF SCRIPTURE.

AND IF WE ARE CALLED TO BE ANYTHING, WE ARE CALLED TO BE PEOPLE OF THIS BOOK.

AND TO BE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, WE HAVE TO LIVE BY THE BOOK.