Sermon Tone Analysis

What length?

Paul is willing to go to any length to win people to Christ, but also to protect the truth of the gospel.

And he also is willing to appeal to keep the gospel going forth too.

(How far are you willing to go picture)

What length are you willing to go for your grandchildren?

How about your children or your spouse?

Maybe parents, best friend, etc. how far?

Many will say “any distance, any length” but do we mean it?

Paul was willing to go to any length (1Cor9:19-23)

In 1Cor9:19-23 you can read Paul was willing to be a slave though he is free, to be a Jew through freed from Judism and the law.

To become weak for the weak.

Paul was willing to suffer all things; as were all the apostles (2Cor6:3-10)

In affliction, hardships, distresses, as well as beatings, imprisonments, tumults and labors as well as sleeplessness and hunger.

Still in purity, knowledge, patience, filled with the Spirit and in genuine lov

By the word of Truth, power of God, weapons of righteousness

By glory and dishonor; by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true

As dying but yet live, punished but not put to death, sorrowful yet rejoicing

Are we willing to go, willing to suffer, willing to sacrifice for the name of Jesus?

Tonight we are looking at the following:

A heartfelt lament (Gal4:8-11)

A heartfelt appeal (Gal4:12-15)

A heartfelt observation (Gal4:16-20)

A Heartfelt Lament

Can a plea be a lament?

I think in this case it is a plea in the form of a lament.

So, what is a lament it is: A passionate expression of grief or sorrow.

Paul turns from the Christians who were previously Jews to the Christians who were formally Gentiles and lays out his heart to them too.

What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?

How can you know that he was writing to Gentile Christians (v.8-9)

What is the lament about (v.10)?

What is the worry (v.11)?

These are people who were previously worshipping gods that were not God.

And do we see that today?

Is this lament applicable today?

People who run to horoscopes; Psychic’s or even run to idol of self-worth, accomplishment.

Idol of possession or position, idol of ability or talent, Idol of family or finances.

when we surrender and obey the Lord you gained liberth in God through Christ.

You were delivered from things that are not of God and are not god’s in the first place.

Now the Galatians were abandoning, or being bewitched (Gal3:1) from their liberty, their freedom to go back to a form of bondage that could not save them in the first place.

I want to give another version, just to see the wording of it

You are known by God when you come to know God through the Word of God who shows you the Son of God so that by obedience you may become children of God.

So why turn back to weak and beggarly rudiments.

They are giving up the power of the gospel for the weakness of the Law.

The wealth of the gospel for the poverty of the Law.

May we remember the reason for the law was to lead us to Jesus.

So in his heartfelt lament Paul is telling them don’t give up and be entrapped again, don’t abandon your liberty.

(The Lords Day picture)

How were they doing that beyond being swayed about circumcision?

look at (v.10) they were keeping days, months, seasons and years.

In Jewish culture the you use days is Sabbath days, months means new moons that identify months; seasons are the annual feasts such as Pentecost, Day of Atonement, Feast of booths.

And the years are the sabbatical years, 7th year is a year of rest, 50th year is a year of jubilee.

We know that today we can elevate one day more than another and judge one another by days they celebrate or don’t celebrate.

Doing either is a form of legalism and that brings you back into bondage that Christ set you free from when you were saved by grace through faith.

Jesus did not say “I came to give them religion” He says in Jn10:10 “I come that they may have life and life full.”

For the Christian everyday is God’s day, a day of opportunity a day that is a gift from God, so what we do with it is our gift back to Him, so don’t get caught up in legalism, it has to do.

Don’t trade the grace of God for a religion that cannot sae you that is weak and beggerly.

Weak: this is powerless to save the soul or to justify the sinner (Col2:20-23)

You died to the elementary principles of this world, so don’t live like the world.

Don’t let things that have appearance of wisdom keep you when there is no value in those things.

Beggarly: Things that are unable to impart true spiritual riches (Eph1:3)

All spiritual riches are in Him and we are in Him and with Him so anything less than Him is beggarly

Elements: This is the rudimentary elements that Christ came to replace (Col2:16-17; Heb9:9-10) (also used Jn4:20-24)

Religious days were replaced by the spiritual form of worship that Jesus said would come in (Jn4:20-24) where we are called to worship in spirit and in truth.

Now in (v.11) Paul fears for them; Paul balances rebuke with love.

His love for them and their love for him.

I’m sure you can feel Paul’s heart here.

He fears they are falling short, they are failing, they are giving up on the freedom that have in Christ.

His love, his care, his concern for the gospel and for them is apparent.

It is personal, it is transcending, it is tough but it is tender.

That leads to the appeal now.

A Heartfelt Appeal

What is the best way to try to communicate with someone something that is of vital importance?

It is from your heart to theirs right?

Paul now offers up his heartfelt appeal.

What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?

(Heartfelt picture)

Heartfelt plea (Gal4:12)

be like him, become like him

For he was like them too

Heartfelt remembrance (Gal4:13-14)

He came in illness and preached the gospel

They accepted him, as if an angel of God and did not despise him.

Heartfelt question (Gal4:15a)

What happened to the blessing we had?

I in you and you in me, are you abandoning that?

Heartfelt affirmation (Gal4:15b)

You would have plucked out your eyes for me

Paul urges, begs, implores them to be like him, but reminds them he is like them too.

His plea is not with arrogance but with humility.

In his humanity they accepted him as he was.

We too can learn from this plea and affirmation.

This heartfelt appeal is a sentimental argument that goes hand in hand with his previous arguments, personal, scriptural, practical and still yet to come another allegorical argument defending the gospel of justification by faith in Christ Jesus vs. the Law of Moses.

(The gospel-4 picture)

The gospel is personal, Paul had a personal experience with the Gospel and with God and God’s Word.

It was personal to Paul and should be personal to us.

The Gospel is personal one seeker sharing with another seeker.

It impacts all areas of our lives

in what we think, in what we feel

In what we hate and what we love

If standing firm or in compromise