Sermon Tone Analysis

*Testimony*

 

My name is Andrew Self.

I was born on November 6th, 1980 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

My parents, Ronald & Christine Self, have served God faithfully in Argentina for more than 25 years.

I was blessed to have grown up in a family that always kept God in first place.

I was saved when I was six years old through the ministry of a missionary couple in Argentina.

I had heard the gospel message several times.

I knew that I was a sinner, and that the only way to have eternal life and a relationship with God was to accept Jesus as my personal Savior.

I was later baptized at the age of twelve.

A few months later, during a Mission conference, a national Argentine speaker came to share of the need there was for the gospel to be preached in Argentina.

That night the Lord planted a desire~/burden in my heart and called me to serve Him in full time ministry.

This call was an inward call.

I believe that through His Spirit, God speaks to those persons He has called to serve in His Church.

I believe that there are four things involved in the call of God.

First, God places a Desire (1Timothy 3:1).

Second, the Person called must be Godly (1 Timothy 3:2-7).

Third, the Person called must be gifted (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Fourth, the Church must clearly notice the call of God in that persons’ life (Acts 13:1-3).

God continued to make that desire grow through several opportunities of ministry.

When I was twelve I was given the opportunity to help my junior church leaders and learn from their leadership.

When I was a teenager I had several opportunities of preaching before the congregation and also was given some leadership among the youth group.

During my college days I was blessed with being able to return to Argentina during summer breaks and being involved in Pastoral Internships.

Through these various ministries my desire to serve God increased and it was during this time that the Lord made it clear he wanted me to serve Him as a missionary back in Argentina.

The Lord has burdened us with returning to Argentina to reach the upper class of Argentina.

It is our desire to reach the lost, to disciple believers, and to train Christian leaders in Argentina.

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12).

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Recognize we have all sinned.

(Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10)  2.

Penalty for Sin is an eternal death; separation from God for eternity (Romans 6:23a - The wages of sin is death)  3.

God’s Gift is salvation, eternal life, through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23b, Romans 5:8).

4.

Become part of the family of God (Romans 10:9; 10:13).

5.

No longer any condemnation (Romans 5:1, Romans 8:1).

*I.

**Scripture*

 

The Bible, which is made up of the Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God which He has revealed to us.

Christ himself uses the Old Testament Scriptures and emphasizes that it is the Word of God (Luke 24:44).

The Apostles also viewed the Scriptures as being of divine origin.

*A.

**Inspiration*

I believe that both the Old Testament and the New Testament are the complete, inspired and inerrant Word of God.

Inspiration means “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Corinthians 2:12-13)  and refers to God administrating the human authors of the Scriptures to use their own personality and style to compose and to record God’s revelation towards man,  without any error in the original autographs (2 Peter 1:20-21).

*B.

**Finality*

The sixty-six books of the Bible are usually referred to as the Canon.

Canonization refers to the collection and recognition of the sixty-six inspired books, which make up our Bible.

It is forbidden in Scripture itself to add or subtract anything from it (Revelation 22:18-19) 

 

*Apostle*: authorization, by the transmission of definite powers.

*Witness*: The apostles were witnesses of the salvation revealed in Christ.

*Tradition*: It means 'what has been handed down with authority.'

In apostolic times equal significance is given to oral and written proclamation.

*C.

**Authority*

God’s Word is our only source for doctrine, practical living, and spiritual maturity (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Jesus used the Word of God as an ultimate standard of authority when he came into conflict with other people (Matthew 22:23-33).

Scripture also gives the believer all knowledge of life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

*D.

**Eternality*

Scripture is eternal and everlasting (Matthew 24:35).

* *

*E.     **Illumination  *

*Illumination is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, in which He helps the believer understand the truth of the written revelation in the Bible.

(John 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:9-3:2).

*

* *

*F.      **Innerancy*

*Inerrancy is the view that when the Bible in its original autographs and correctly interpreted is entirely true and never false in all it affirms, whether that relates to doctrine or ethics or to the social, physical, or life sciences.*

*G.

**Infallibility*

*Infallible means that the Bible is fully trustworthy.

It refers to the Bible as the only true source of faith and doctrine.*

*Literal Hermeneutic *is based on the actual words in their ordinary meaning; not figurative or symbolic ~/the literal meaning of a passage.

I take the Bible at face value.

We generally take everyday things in life as literal or at face value.

This is a common sense approach.

Even symbols and allegories in the Bible are based on the literal meaning of the scripture; thus the literal meaning is foundational to any symbolic or allegorical meaning.

*Accuracy of Scripture:  *

None of the original writings, or autographa, still exist.

Nevertheless, textual criticism has confirmed that the transmission of these writings have been very accurate.

The accuracy of the Old Testament documents are attested to by the Dead Sea Scrolls which gives us copies of parts of the Old Testament almost a thousand years closer to the original texts than previously available.

The dependability of the New Testament is confirmed by the availability of a remarkable volume of manuscripts which were written very near the time of the original events.

*II.

**Godhead*

 

*A.

The Trinity*

 

There is only one God (Isaiah 45:5-6; Ephesians 4:3-6; James 2:19) and He has revealed himself in the Scriptures as three different persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19).

These three persons are distinct, but possess one and the same divine nature.

This doctrine is not based on human reason but on what the scripture has revealed to us.

*B.

**God the Father*

 

God has always existed (Ex.

3:14).

The Bible assumes the existence of God.

All of the writers in the Bible assume that God exists (Genesis 1:1).

God’s existence is argued in four different ways.

Those are the Anthropological, Teleological, Ontological, and Cosmological arguments.

1.

The Anthropological view comes from the fact that the conscience and morality which we have clearly indicate that there must be a moral lawgiver (Romans 2:15).

2.

The Teleological view argues that design and order in creation imply that there must be an intelligent designer and that designer is God.

(Psalm 19:1)

 

3.

The Ontological view is that God is that which nothing greater can be thought.

Since existence is a necessary property of the most perfect being, he must actually exist.

(Romans 1:18-20)

 

4.

The Cosmological view is that the universe is an effect which requires an adequate cause.

The only adequate cause is God.

God is the first-cause (Genesis 1:1).