Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

What does the term gospel-centered actually mean?

Its popular vernacular amongst church life, but has it become so common that we say it without understanding what it actually is?

We want to have gospel-centered preaching.

Gospel-centered churches.

Gospel-centered worship, discipleship, small groups, you name it.

Listen, I’m not knocking the term.

We use it here at Metro.

I want us to be centered on the gospel in everything we do.

What I want to look at today is what it actually means to live a gospel-centered life.

I want to look at our lives, and practically explain to you how to actually live a life that is founded upon the gospel.

We could spend multiple sermons on what it means to be gospel-centered in our church towards one another remembering that we can love and serve one another sacrificially just like Jesus did for us when he came to die on the cross.

In studying 1 Peter, we have talked about how the gospel is to be foundational in how we interact with the world and the lost especially when they persecute us by looking to Jesus as our example and showing grace when persecuted just like God showed grace to us.

But as we close out 1 Peter today, I want to focus on what it means to live a gospel-centered life in our personal lives because as we each grow in Christ, we are able to encourage each other and disciple one another so that we are built into a spiritual house like Peter talked about in chapter 2 and by doing so, we bear a faithful witness to the gospel as we show the world that Jesus really does change lives in our church.

Foundational to reaching the lost with the gospel is first being transformed by the gospel to be more like Jesus Christ, and this is a summary of the entire book of 1 Peter.

12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God.

Stand firm in it.

13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.

14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

In verse 12, Peter summarizes the purpose of his entire book.

He says I wanted to do 2 things:

12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God.

Stand firm in it.

13 She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.

14 Greet one another with the kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

I wanted to exhort you

Urge strongly or encourage

Declare

Bear witness or to affirm the validity of something

So what Peter is saying is that I wrote this to urge you and bear witness to the true grace of God.

In other words, the gospel.

And here is what Peter says, because of I’ve done this, because I’ve reminded you about the gospel, I want you to stand firm in it.

To stand fast.

To be cemented in it.

To live your whole life in light of it.

In other words, to be gospel-centered.

So, if this was Peter’s purpose in writing this whole letter, how do you and I stand firm in the gospel?

The Gospel in our Justification

Commonly when we think about living a gospel centered life, we rightly start with our justification.

Justification means that we are declared to be righteous through the incarnation, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

You see, the Bible says all of us have sinned.

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Sin is a departure from God’s holy standard

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Commission/Omission

Effectively, in our sin, we don’t want to listen to God who made us to live for his worship and praise.

We say, no God.

My ultimate purpose is not loving you, knowing you, living for you.

I’m going to live life my way how I see fit.

When we separate ourselves from God who is the source of all life as the Creator of all things, the Bible says that we die.

When we separate ourselves from God who is the source of all life as the Creator of all things, the Bible says t

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When the Bible says that it is not just physical death.

Physical death is certainly a part of the curse that we have invited into creation because of our sin, but the Bible also has in view spiritual death.

Spiritual death is alienation from God.

Because God is perfectly Holy and abhors all sin and wickedness, in our sin we become abhorrent to him.

We are vile, disgusting, treasonous usurpers.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Because of sin, all people are spiritually dead and all who physically die while spiritually dead will spend eternity separated from God, suffering for their sins under his wrath.

This is what we call hell which is eternal conscious torment.

And we might say, that doesn’t sound like a very loving God.

Why in the world would I want to worship someone like that?

However, for us to throw that accusation at God is to so demean his holiness that he is really no God at all.

In truth, it is a wonder that God saves any of us.

That is how holy and pure God is.

He cannot stand the presence of sin and yet, goes on to say 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Instead of all people receiving the due penalty for their sin, God gave his own Son in order to save his enemies and give them life and relationship with him once again.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

Our God is holy, but he is also merciful.

Peter said that according to God’s great mercy he has caused us to be born again.

Through Jesus resurrection, we die with Christ on the cross, the full penalty of our sin is paid and God pour out his wrath against us on God the Son in our place so that we might be declared righteous in Christ.

Because of this grace, one day we will live with Christ in heaven.

That is why Peter said we have an inheritance kept for us.

We do not suffer the second death of eternal punishment, instead we are given eternal life to live with our holy God who has cleansed us from all sin!

Unfortunately, for many Christians this is as far as the gospel takes them in their salvation.

However, our Justification, being declared righteous because Jesus lived the life we could not live and dying the death each one of us deserved to die, is only one aspect of our salvation.

In truth, our salvation consists of 3 parts.

Justification

This is where we are born again.

Christ gives us a new heart, fills us with the Holy Spirit and we are adopted as sons and daughters of God.

From enemies to family.

What amazing grace our God has shown us.

Glorification

This is where we are given our new, resurrected bodies, sin is finally and fully put to death in our lives and we live for eternity with God in heaven worshiping and praising him.

Thes

This is usually where most Christians understanding of the gospel stops.

This is usually where most Christians understanding of the gospel stops.

We usually understand the gospel to be thing thing that makes us born again so that one day we get to go to heaven.

This is usually where most Christians understanding of the gospel stops.

But in between your new birth and your entrance into heaven there is your life here and now.

This is usually where most Christians understanding of the gospel stops.

This is what we call Sanctification

This is where you progressively, key word, put sin to death in your life to be conformed to the image of Christ who revealed in his incarnation what true humanity is in worshiping God perfectly.