Sermon Tone Analysis

We now aproach a difficult section in scripture.

It is difficult because it's hard to Paint the picture that Paul is trying to paint.

But once you see it you will see that it is clear what he is trying to communicate here.

I want you all to know that while although Paul has a specific thought in mind and a specific context that he is saying what he is saying, this does not mean we cannot apply it to our own times in our own culture.

Which is something I think we should do.

What I think we should be doing is sympathizing with Paul in this area and learning from him.

Now we discussed this a bit last week and the thing that we discussed last week was that Paul was not surprised by unbelief.

And I argued that we should not be surprised by the things we see.

Not from the secular world.

And what I had admitted to you all is that what the world is doing I am not surprised to buy but how the church is responding took me by surprise.

And I'm not talking about these left wing denominations that have departed long ago I am talking about ministers of the gospel who just a few years ago were very solid preachers with a very reliable ministry's.

We are starting to see that disappear.

And so that caught me off guard just a bit and I am not alone there are others who were taken by surprise at this as well.

So it wasn't the fact that this stuff happened it is the ones who are embracing all of the activity than his happening.

And so we would be wise to mimic Paul when we apply this to our own culture.

And in order for us to mimic Paul we can to have to think like Paul and we need a theology similar to paul's.

And honestly I think that is what the church has gotten away from.

It has gotten away from a theology like paul's.

Now it is kind of odd for me to say it like that and I will explain here shortly on why I think that.

But just so you all know there are pastors out there who separate what they are like in their theology.

So I have been told that that I am very Pauleen.

Meaning my theology is like Paul's.

Some go I am like Peter, some say I'm very Joanne which means John and others say they may be like James.

They kindness separate this and the reason why I find this so odd is because even though God used these men their lives and their circumstances alternately the author of scripture is the Holy Spirit himself.

So when I say we need to have a theology like Paul what I'm saying is is that we need to have a theology that is inspired by the Holy Spirit.

When we don't do that when we cut out half a what Paul has to say because we do not like it.

And this is the issue that I am seeing on the rise is this ignoring sound doctrine.

Some people may think that they're not ignoring it but they refused to emphasize certain areas well that refusal is now showing and the results of it have been destruction.

Last week in Sunday school we talked about the pride parade and the question was asked what we do to reverse this.

And immediately I fired back with we have to bring back the sovereignty of God.

We have allowed that to be buried in we have a loud left wing Christianity to manipulate the conversation to the point where most christians in America do not know how sovereign God is.

Even worse is that most christians in America can not explain the doctrines of grace without adding their own works even though Paul says verbatim that if you apply works to it than it no longer is grace.

So the doctrine of grace is not understood so when people sing amazing grace they don't know what they are singing.

So the sovereignty of God needs to come back out christians need to believe in the sovereignty of God it is in the pages of scripture.

And the section we are looking at it is very strong and very thick.

There is no getting around it unless you ignore it which is what has been happening.

I am upset about this you should be upset about this because you have been given half truths your whole entire life.

But I ask Why do so many christians fight against God being in control.

Some may go I don't have a problem with God being in control I just have a problem in God but control of my salvation.

They may not say it like that but that is the attitude.

But the sovereignty of God is so much more than that it is so much more then the doctrine of election the sovereignty of God is the view that there is not a single Adam outside of god's control.

But the reason why all of us are still alive is because God is sustaining actively the entire universe.

The moment he stops sustaining the whole entire universe everything we love and see and hold dear collapses.

You begin to develop the sovereign view of God and you realize that the reason why you have the spouse that you have it's because God allowed it the reason why you laugh at things is because God allowed you to laugh at things the reason why you get to look upon beauty.

And whatever that may be.

Whatever it is and nature that you find beautiful could be flowers could be mountains could be trees it could be the sky, whatever it is where you see this beauty this beauty was designed by God and it was no accident that your eyes looked upon something that you enjoyed.

In other words we do not believe in luck luck has nothing to do with anything in the Christian world view what we believe is grace.

When things are going good it is because of grace.

There is no such thing as coincidence or luck in life of the Christian or in the Christian world view.

And I think most of us know this already, some and save man you were lucky and you will go no I am blessed.

We are aware That we are not in control like we want to think.

Now again at this has nothing to do with your will.

It's not an infringement upon your will.

And why is it such a bath thing forgot to conform your will to his will what in honor and blessing.

So there is so much more to the sovereignty of God Then just restricting it down to salvation.

It's everything.

Everything has meaning.

Even the sins that are committed.

While God is not behind those sins and those sins are not because God is the author of them but he allows them for a purpose.

They are not meaningless.

Because what some may intend for evil God will intend for good.

So there is meaning to the universe there is meaning to the things that we see even when we don't understand or know that there is meaning there is meaning for you.

You are not an accident you have a purpose to have meaning.

So again the sovereignty of God means so much more than just the area of salvation but the main reason why christians need to come back to this view is because when you understand at the sovereignty of God then you recognize and you realize that we serve a very act of God who is not done yet who is still working and he is still very much in control.

Which is why every major revival in the world was motivated by the sovereignty of God.

Because they knew God was working and so they were faithful with the message they were trusted with.

So we need to think like Paul and Paul has the highest view of the sovereignty of God.

I we need to apply what Paul is saying about his own culture to our culture a culture that is in rebellion just like the Jewish people were of paul's day.

So let's unpack The closing verses of chapter 10.

Before we do we must gets context here.

This section of scripture will be difficult to understand if we do not have proper context.

If you remember this discussion really began back in chapter 8.

Where we see the golden chain of salvation.

And it was strong bold language to remind believers that no matter what you were going through everything has a purpose.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

this led Paul to discuss something that was current, something that was presently happening in Paul's day.

The Jewish people were rejecting the gospel message.

So Paul if what you were saying is true then how come we are seeing this with the Jewish people?

And Paul have to remind the Jewish believers of something that they probably never considered and that is that not all Israel is of Israel.

So then we get chapter 10 and Paul communicates to us the necessity of preaching the gospel message that we have to go out and preach this message because how will they know if a preacher is not sent?

And now we are at a section or Paul is discussing unbelief.

And what we looked at last week was that Paul addressed it by going to the old testament by going to the scriptures and he was saying look we should not be surprised by this because Isaiah told us this would happen.

So now Paul is continuing with that thought and he brings up an objection and this is something we have seen with Paul in this letter already.

He likes to debate with an imaginary person because these are conversations he has already had these are positions he has already had to defend.

So he already knows what some people might say.

And so the first objector and somebody who sang I hear you Paul perhaps maybe they never heard do you think that it is possible that they never truly heard and Paul is saying yes they have.

And then Paul quotes their voice has gone out into all the Earth and their words to the end of the world.

It is not a perfect quote although Paul usually does not give perfect quotes he decides things from his memory and so he’s using paraphrasing but he is probably the most accurate person in history to paraphrase.

So he uses to prove his point and if you turn to solve 19 you will see that it is a song of creation telling the story of God it begins with the heavens are telling of the glory of God and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands.

Well that is essentially Paul’s point in chapter 1 and chapter 2 of this letter.

That God’s invisible attributes are clearly seen in creation yet people have decided to worship the creature rather than the Creator.

Paul then declares in chapter 2 that there is no man who has an excuse we are all without excuse because creation tells us that there is a Creator.

We call this general Revelation that God has revealed himself generally to the world.

General revelation is not enough to bring man to salvation general Revelation does not tell man that he is a sinner in need of a savior.

So general Revelation cannot communicate to us what we must do in order to be saved.

So we need special Revelation and that was first given to us through Moses and the prophets.

And then after that the ultimate Revelation Jesus himself.

And then after that Jesus gave the great commission told his disciples to go and proclaim this message to the ends of the Earth and that is what the disciples began to work on.

And at some point in their ministry they were inspired by the holy Spirit to write these words down so that we can have them for ourselves here now today.

And tells us about the general Revelation side.