Sermon Tone Analysis

*THE BRIDE OF CHRIST*

*Selected Scriptures*

*David Riley*

*Liberty Baptist Church*

*September 19, 1999*

* *

*I.

OUR PURPOSE*

 

Why does the church, the bride of Christ, exist?

Now there's a question!

Like all why questions, which are so often probing and uncomfortable, it can yield life-changing answers.

Because asking why gets to the heart of an issue and helps forge our values, purpose, and direction.

* *

*So why does the church exist-what is its primary purpose?*

Why do we buy land, rent or construct buildings, sing hymns, and preach sermons?

You can probably list a host of reasons without even thinking about it:

 

                •   to present the gospel to the lost

                •   to bring hope to the hurting

                •   to provide a place for worship and instruction

                •   to equip the saints for the work of the ministry

                •   to support wholesome values

                •   to prepare children for life

                •   to provide for the needy

                •   to stimulate action on crucial issues

                •   to give people an opportunity to serve

                •   to teach the Scriptures

                •   to be a model of righteousness

 

Would you believe it's not any of these?

Though each of these

goals is valuable and necessary, not one captures the central reason for the church's existence.

* *

*            A.

The Primary Issue*

 

In I Corinthians 10:31, the apostle Paul lets us in on the answer.

/ /

/1 Cor 10:31/

/31           Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God./

/(NAS)/

 

That's it!

*Our purpose is to glorify the Lord our God.*

Whether we're eating or drinking, hurting or helping, serving or struggling- God's glory is the goal.

Whatever we are - male or female, black or white, young or old, CEO or car repairman, Canadian or Cuban - we are to /“do all to the glory of God”/

/ /

/1 Cor 6:19-20/

/19           Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?/

/20           For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body./

/(NAS)/

/ /

/Col 3:17/

/17           And whatever you do in word or deed, {do} all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father./

/(NAS)/

 

The Corinthian church wasn’t the only one assigned to radiate God’s glory.

Keep wandering through the pages of Scripture to the book of Romans and you'll find similar instructions more generally directed.

/ /

/Rom 15:5-6/

/5              Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus;/

/6              that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ./

/(NAS)/

/ /

The book of Ephesians also shines the spotlight on God's glory:

/ /

/Eph 1:10b-12/

/10b         In Him/

/11           also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,/

/12           to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory./

/(NAS)/

/ /

*“Church, glorify God!”*

You can't miss it.

It rings through the Scriptures like wedding bells.

However, in this day of inflated egos and Madison Avenue religion, we’re tempted to muffle God's glory under the fanfare of our own pursuits.

“Let's get bigger,” some say.

“Let's make a huge splash, a good impression.

How about a radio ministry?

We need dynamic preaching, excellent music.”

Such things can all be part of a wonderful church experience.

However, if God's glory is not the primary focus, they ring hollow.

Let's get very practical about the glory of God.

It must be the underlying motive for all we do.

That brings us back to those why questions.

“Why are we gathering to worship?

Is it to glorify God?

Why do I teach or sing?

Why do I help in the nursery?

Why do I preach?

Why have I budgeted my finances in this way?”

If we're driven by anything let it be a passion for His glory.

Can you imagine fueling every action, every word, and every church program with the glory of God?

What would happen?

Second Thessalonians reveals an interesting side effect.

/ /

/II Th 1:11-12/

/11           To this end also we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power;/

/12           in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ./

/(NAS)/

/ /

Amazing, isn't it?

As we glorify God, we are glorified in Him.

Glory leads to more glory.

That's what Jesus meant when He said,

/ /

/Matt 5:16/

/16           "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven./

/(NAS)/

/ /

/1 Pet 2:11-12/

/11           Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul./

/12           Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe {them,} glorify God in the day of visitation./

/(NAS)/

/ /

All it takes is one person with a burning desire to glorify God.

Then that flame touches off brushfires of glory that blaze across the spiritual landscape.

Do you feel as though you've unearthed this gem of insight for the first time?

It may seem like a newfangled formula for successful ministry, but it’s as ancient as the Scriptures.

You’ll even find it in the annals of church history.