Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Review:

To develop what love is in the Bible is vital to the local church.

Remember:

Love Is The Greatest Commandment.

Love is the Essence of the Nature of God.

Love is the Foundation of the Church.

Love is the Foundation of Evangelism.

Remember Peter taught that Satan is prowling about as a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

I said that the way that looks is that he seeks those he can chew up and spit out.

He wants men and women in Christ to be useless, powerless, and fruitless.

He knows that he can’t kill them or take their soul with him to Hell.

However, he CAN and DOES tempt them away from truth, Christ, and ministry.

However, another way in which Satan devours believers is:

Satan devours a local assembly by means of hypocrites who do not love one another.

The tools of Satan to destroy a congregation of God’s people begins with “lovers of self.”

The result is that they hold to a form of godliness, but they are not walking in its’ power; i.e. they are unregenerate.

They love to enter households and tempt women who are weakened by heavy hearts and lure them away from the truth.

In our day, it is important to understand the ways in which love operates inside of the church, particularly in its’ meeting.

Why does Scripture make such an emphasis upon love?

We are saved in love.

Those who know Him are characterized by love.

And, if this is the case, what does this love look like?

Jesus is our pattern of this love.

In Christ, we understand that divine love serves those it loves.

In Christ, we understand that divine love cleanses those it loves.

The effect of and the true nature of love is that it seeks the holiness and cleanliness of those it loves.

Therefore, today I would like to get specific.

The goal is this:

I strongly desire that we, at Grace Bible Fellowship, gain a reputation with the Lord for loving one another, having been taught of God directly.

We will see next week that this kind of love is the basis for evangelism.

However, we can also understand that this kind of love gains a reward from God as well.

When we are faithful.

When we are imitators of Christ.

But, how do we get there?

For the answer to this we need to turn to the book of Hebrews.

We have a High Priest ministering before God Himself, in heaven, and before His throne.

The basis of this greater ministry is the “better” covenant of the New Covenant.

The greater covenant is one in which God Himself reveals truth and teaches the saints.

This “ministry” of Jesus Christ is in a better and more perfect tabernacle-heaven.

The ”Holy Place“ in this instance is heaven, the throne of God.

The result of this perfect sacrifice is not the ordering of the flesh in conformity of an external standard.

Rather, the result is the cleansing of the conscience.

Therefore, a true Christian is one in whom his conscience has been cleansed from guilt of their sins by means of faith through the effective work of the sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

This sacrifice and this cleansing of the conscience, which leads to the cleansing of the behavior, is called sanctification.

The ongoing ministry of Jesus Christ is that of forgiving sins, writing His Law of love on the heart, and cleansing their minds.

THEREFORE!

We can have confidence to approach God personally!

The effect of all this work of God in Christ is that the “sanctified” can now access the presence of the living God for worship.

Before, we were as distant from God as light is distant from darkness.

THEREFORE, since all of this is true…

We have confidence to enter the holy place of God.

We have a great priest over the house of God.

These two truths are unbreakable.

The holy place of God and the house of God are simultaneously effected by the past, present, and future work of Jesus Christ.

The house of God = the sanctified.

The holy place of God = His throne.

Jesus ministers in both!

Is there anything that we can/should do?

Personal holiness-v.22

Personal faith-v.23

Personal ministry-v.24

“Let us…” (vv.22, 23, 24).

“Let us (not)” = (v.25)

forsake assembling.

The assembly of the house of God is the focal point of the ministry of the Son of God.

Therefore, it is to be the focal point of life and ministry of the saints of God.

Therefore, it is also the focal point of the destruction of Satan.

“forsake” = ἐγκαταλείπω impf.

ἐγκατέλειπον; fut.

ἐγκαταλείψω; 1 aor. 3 pl.

ἐγκατέλειψαν (TestJob 43:10); 2 aor.

ἐγκατέλιπον, subj.

ἐγκαταλίπω; perf.

ἐγκαταλέλοιπα LXX.

Pass.: 1 fut.

ἐγκαταλειφθήσομαι; 1 aor.

ἐγκατελείφθην; perf.

3 sg.

ἐγκαταλέλειπται Ps 9:35, ptc.

ἐγκαταλελειμμένος LXX, inf.

ἐγκαταλελεῖφθαι (s.

prec.

entry; Hes., Hdt.+)

① to cause someth.

to remain or to exist after a point in time, leave of posterity Ro 9:29 (Is 1:9.—Cp.

Lucian, Dial.

Deor.

25, 1 εἰ μὴ ἐγὼ … , οὐδὲ λείψανον ἀνθρώπων ἐπέμεινεν ἄν).

② to separate connection with someone or someth., forsake, abandon, desert (Socrat., Ep. 14, 10 [Malherbe p. 258] of soul and body; SIG 364, 88; 97; 495, 135 [III b.c.]; UPZ 71, 8 [152 b.c.]; POxy 281, 21; PTebt 27, 16; LXX; TestJos 2:4) τινά someone (X., Cyr. 8, 8, 4; Polyb.

3, 40, 7; Diod S 11, 68, 3; 18, 7, 6; Appian, Mithrid.

105 §493 desert one who is in danger; Jos, Vi. 205) 2 Ti 4:10, 16.

Of feeling or being forsaken by God (TestJos 2:4) Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34 (both Ps 21:2; cp.

Billerb.

II 574–80; Dalman, Jesus [tr.

204–7]; WHasenzahl, D. Gottverlassenh.

des Christus … u. d. christolog.

Verständnis des griech.

Psalters ’37; FDanker, ZNW 61, ’70, 48–69 [lit.]); 2 Cor 4:9; Hb 13:5 (Josh 1:5; Dt 31:6, 8; 1 Ch 28:20); B 4:14; Hm 9:2 (as Dt 31:6, 8); Hs 2:9; 1 Cl 11:1; abandon the fountain of life B 11:2 (Jer 2:13); God’s commandments D 4:13; B 19:2; ἐ. τὴν ἀγάπην forsake love 1 Cl 33:1 (Dio Chrys.

57 [74], 8 τ. φιλίαν; Jos., Ant. 2, 40 τ.

ἀρετήν).—Cease