Sermon Tone Analysis

Overall tone of the sermon

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Tones

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SLIDE 2:

Intro:

There are battles of comprehension.. that occur.. in our minds..

There are things which exist in the abstract..

Things of art.. things of imagination.. things of Spirit..

And then.. on the other side..

There are things of reason.. logic.. clarity.. and total comprehension..

For some people.. the abstract areas are easy to operate in..

For some people.. the areas of reason.. are restricting, dull and w/o life…

And for most.. the comprehension from one, unto another.. is very difficult.

Some people will listen to a song.. and they’ll consider the words and the message..

and they’ll say:

“I don’t get it.

That song is stupid.”

And then, at the same time.. another individual will listen to that song..

And they will be blown away..

For in the words.. in the tones.. in the transitions..

They will detect.. a message..

Not only that..

But they will detect.. an atmosphere.. a theme.. a heart.. and a spirit..

In the Christian faith..

We do find.. satisfaction for both mindsets..

We do find.. to great extents.. those abstract ideals of spirit..

Things of mystery.. beyond the math.. outside of the structures and limitations of our reason..

And at the same time.. as we see these mysteries being revealed..

And we see the amazing plans of prophecy.. atonement.. restoration and instruction..

As we begin to look.. deeper.... into these Biblical principles..

We do see.. the reason..

We see the absolute logic that runs as a thread through God’s whole plan..

And yes.. sometimes… there is even math.. in a very prophetic and detailed manner..

In a very prophetic and detailed manner..

And though, we came into it.. mysteriously.. by faith..

Though, through the Spirit of God.. we entered into the abstract.. and even, with steps of faith… we defied our own personal logic..

Over time.. through revelation.. through growth and learning..

Very soon.. our logic, our reason began to find.. satisfaction..

Why?

Because God thought this whole thing out.. in advance..

He planned every step..

And it all works out.. step by step.. piece by piece.. minute by minute..

According to His purpose..

There is a delicate balance.. between faith.. and logic..

They do work together.. this is their intention..

However.. sometimes.. we humans have a hard time..

.. finding that balance..

We have a hard time.. defying our logic.. God’s grace often forces us to defy our personal sense of justice.. and this too is hard.

Therefore.. concerning spiritual things..

….. we humans, who remain in the imperfect form.. always have, and always will.. experience… conflict..

It is this conflict.. that Paul is continually battling against, not only in his own life… in the lives that he has been called to bring encouragement and instruction to..

As we come into chapter 3.. Paul has to face it again..

The arguments.. the reasons.. the ideals..

…of those who recognize the work and presence of the Messiah..

Yet still.. don’t recognize nor comprehend the abstract principles of: grace, forgiveness and redemption..

for some of them.. it doesn’t make sense..

It is still, for them.... about the religious practices.. the rites… the outward payments.. the adherences.. and the rituals..

These are things.. that can be see..

That we can put our hands on..

That we can recognize them… these acts of religiosity.. as if they were some form of spiritual currency..

And so.. w/Paul.. as he bring a message of grace… the message of a New Covenant… to a people who find comfort in laws, rites and religion… there is naturally… conflict.

Paul teaches grace.. hope.. and forgiveness..

Paul tells the church.. that they don’t have to be circumcised..

That the rituals.. the ceremonies.. the many physical practices..

Have been abolished in Christ..

That now.. the letter has been written on their hearts..

Now, it is by grace.. that we are compelled.. through thanksgiving..

To live those righteous and honorable lives unto God..

Not by the outward adherence of our works..

But rather.. by the inward.. transformation of our surrender

This is what some folks in Corinth were disputing..

There were still some there… who were discrediting Paul..

Saying of themselves.. that they know it all..

.. and Paul.. he is leading them into a dangerous and ignorant faith..

Paul.. is too abstract in his teachings.. the spiritual principles that he is attempting to teach..

.. well.. they are not reasonable.. they are not logical.. they don’t appear to: “add up”.

So Paul responds in these first three verses…

(read)

Do I, Paul the Apostle, and those who serve with me… guys like Titus… do we need to commend ourselves to you again? - The word commend means… ‘to present as worthy of confidence...’

Do we have to go through the process of qualification with you again?

Do we have to reaffirm our calling, our position with Christ, our testimony, our record?

Do we need to get letters of recommendation again… like Paul did back in … from the Apostles in Jerusalem, so he would be regarded credible?

I have already worked with you, and though a few might dispute my calling, my message and my authority… MANY OF YOU… have received it and have grown because of it.

The fruit of the Gospel in your life… is all the letter of commendation that I need.

In vs. 2, there is a small dispute over a pronoun.

Notice where it says, ‘written on our hearts’.

Your Bible might say, “written on your hearts”.

If not, it might have a footnote stating that some manuscripts have the word ‘Your’.

Both work… but in the context of Paul’s message… and for the sake of grammatical consistency in this sentence, many reliable scholars believe that the right word is ‘your’.

If it is ‘written on your hearts’… then it fits really well in this message.

Paul is telling them to look at the impact that the Gospel has had on their lives… their experience of grace… the fruit of grace in their lives… - that IS HIS LETTER OF COMMENDATION.

Paul tells them, that they are a letter from X… delivered by us.

- This is one of those examples of the abstract.

But if you would allow yourself to think on it for a moment… it’s a beautiful example.

A letter is a message, which is written from one person to another… and in between, there is a messenger who carries that letter.

What we see here, is that the Christian, who is growing the Gospel of grace… who is maturing in the leading of the HS… - THEIR LIFE… THEIR TESTIMONY… THEIR EXPERIENCE… - is a message written by Jesus.

Who is it written to?

The end of vs. 2 tells us.

- It’s to be read’ by all’.

Suddenly, this abstract idea… becomes logical.

Jesus has intended for the transformation in our lives… to be displayed… as a message to the world around us.

It’s believed… that at some point.. other “teachers” have come to Corinth..

and apparently.. they’ve displayed their degrees.. their diplomas and their letters of recommendation..

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