Sermon notes:

“He said WHAT? Hard sayings of Jesus”

Eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46)

I.     The nature of hell.

A.  _________________ from Christ’s presence (Matthew 25:41).

B.  _________________ (doomed, damned).  They doom themselves—cf. Matthew 25:34.

C.  Eternal fire/punishment (Matthew 25:41, 46). 

D.  Prepared, not for_______________, but for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).

II.    The necessity of hell.

A.  The nature of God: holy, righteous. 

1.  He cannot commit sin (James 1:13).

2.  He cannot ignore sin (Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18).

B.  The enormity of sin has been lost upon us.  We ________________ it.

1.  We sin against an _____________ Being.

2.  Sin is not just individual actions, but a _________________ irreversibly opposed to God (Genesis 8:21; Psalm 51:5).

C.  Retribution vs rehabilitation

1.  Rehabilitation seeks to _________________ the offender. 

2.  Retribution seeks to _______________ the offender of any gain from his offenses.  That is justice.   

D.  Ceaseless _______________ demands ceaseless punishment (Revelation 22:10-11, 15; 16:10-11).  

E.  For many today, hell creates a moral problem, but for the biblical writers, hell is God’s _______________ to a moral problem (God’s slowness to avenge wickedness) (Romans 3:23-26; Revelation 6:10).

f.  Hell was not a moral problem for ____________ (Matthew 5:22, 29; 10:28; 11:23; 18:9; 23:33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 16:23; John 15:6, et al.)

Sermon notes:

From darkness to Light, from blindness to sight  (John 9:1-41)

I.   God’s diagnosis of humanity:  darkness (Isaiah 9:2; Ephesians 5:8)

        A.  Darkness results in spiritual ______________________.

B.  Darkness = powers that oppose God:  sin and evil.

1.  Sin is _____________________ against God (v.24).

2.  Evil is _____________________ that seeks to thwart God’s will (John 8:44-45).

II.   God’s prescription for humanity:  Light (v.5; John 1:4).

A.  Darkness is Light’s ________________, but the Light holds the darkness at bay (John 1:5).

B.  The mere presence of the Light results in a judgment or division among men (v.39; cf. John 3:17):

1.  The man born blind acknowledges his _______________________ and      gradually “sees” and worships (vv. 12, 17, 25, 36, 38).

2.  Others claim to “see” _______________ Christ and remain in their sin (vv.27,  31-34, 40-41).

C.  The _______________ is passing away and will be no more (1 John 2:8; Revelation 21:23-25).

Sermon notes:

“He said WHAT? Hard sayings of Jesus”

Hate your family and your life     (Luke 14:25-33)

I.     Hate, in some contexts, is not an emotion but an ______________. 

A.  It denotes disowning, renouncing, separating oneself from previous attachments (Exodus 32:25-29).

B.  It may involve preferring one over another (Genesis 29:31-33; Malachi 1:2-3; Romans 9:13).

II.    Christ’s ______________ and ours. 

A.  Jesus is journeying to Jerusalem (Luke 14:25).  

B.  It involves the renunciation of ___________________ (Luke 14:26-27). 

C.  It is a _______________________ to our old way of life (Luke 14:26b; John 2:4; 12:25). 

D.  We are to place _______________________________ in subordination to discipleship (Luke 14:33).

III.   Hatred, in some contexts, is a ______________ (Deuteronomy 33:9; Proverbs 6:16-19; Luke 14:26).

A.  Love, in some contexts, is a ______________ (1 Samuel 2:29; Matthew 10:37).

B.  Love of family can be another form of _________________ (Matthew 5:46-47).

C.  Each of us needs not only to be loved but “_______________” in an appropriate way (John 2:4; Luke 18:28-30). 

Sermon notes:

“Ignoring boundaries” (John 4:5-42)

I.     Humanity is _____________________.  We divide ourselves based on race, gender, geography, religion, language, social status, political views, etc. (v.9).

II.    Jesus doesn’t celebrate ____________________.  He ignores it (vv.7, 10, 20-23).

A.  Jesus ignores ___________________________ (John 4:27; Acts 1:8). 

B.  So do His followers (Acts 8:5; 26ff.; 10:34ff.; ESL; IFC; Lego Club, VBS, etc.). 

III.   Jesus identifies ________________ as common to all people (vv.16-18; Proverbs 14:34; Romans 3:22b, 23).

IV.   Saving faith identifies ________________ as common to all people (v.42; 1:29; 20:31).

Sermon notes:

“He said WHAT? Hard sayings of Jesus”

I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6)

I.     Christ’s claim is _______________ (v.6).

A.  “Truth by definition is exclusive. If truth were all-inclusive, nothing would be false” (Walter Martin).

B.  Truth exists and has a name:  ___________ (v.6). 

C.  Christianity is the world’s most testable religion. 

II.    Christ’s invitation is ________________ (Matthew 11:28; John 3:14-15; 7:37).

A.  ___________________ has been forgiven (Romans 5:18; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 John 2:2).

B.  _____________ personally receives this forgiveness (John 3:16; Romans 3:22; 4:5; Ephesians 2:8-9).

III.   _________________:  a confident or forceful statement of fact or belief.             (In Christianity, our beliefs rest upon facts).

A.  ______________ delighted in them (John 3:3-16; 6:35; 8:12; 10:7, 11; 11:25; 14:6).   

B.  ____________________ should delight in them (Acts 4:12; Galatians 1:8-9; 1 Timothy 2:5). 

C.  “Take away assertions and you take away __________________” (Martin Luther). 

Sermon notes:

The world-wideness of God’s love  (John 3:1-17)

I.     “The Light shines in the darkness” (John 1:5).

A.  Darkness is the result of one man’s sin (v.6a; Genesis 3:6b; Romans 5:19a).

B.  In John’s Gospel, darkness/night is synonymous with ignorance and               opposition to God (v.2; John 9:4; 11:10; 13:30).

1.  Only when the Light arrives is the darkness exposed as darkness. 

2.  Evil is aware of its own shame. Therefore, it loves darkness and does not want to be exposed (Genesis 3:7-8; John 3:19-20).  

C.  Even the most spiritually privileged people on earth (i.e. Israel) are ___________ and __________________ (v.10; Matthew 10:6; John 8:40; 11:45-53).

D.  Even the world’s most privileged people need, not reform, but ______________ (vv.5-7)!

II.    “and the darkness is passing away” (1 John 2:8).

A.  God hated both sin and its result, darkness, but God loved the world, and so He resolved to deal with sin through the revelation of His love: “agape” (ah-GAH-pay; v.16).

B.  “Agape” is more than a feeling (v.16a).

1.  It is a ____________________ that expressed itself in action at the cross (v.16b).

2.  It is not passive, it is _________________ (vv.16c, 17).

3.  It did not depend on how ________________ the object of love is; it acted in the interest of its object (i.e. the world).

4.  All the world’s __________ could not deter it (Romans 5:8).

C.  Through ______________ the love of God reached the world of men.  It was released into the world by His death.

D.  It signals a new relationship of God to man, and of _________________ (Luke 7:47-48; Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Sermon notes:

“He said WHAT? Hard sayings of Jesus”

What God will not forgive  (Matthew 12:22-37)

I.     Words matter to God because God does everything by _______________ (Genesis 1:3; Matthew 9:2,6; John 11:43).

A.  His word is how God ___________________________________ us. 

B.  Our _____________ reveal who we are (vv.34b-35).

C.  Our “careless words” undermine the importance of all words, including ____________ (Romans 2:24; 2 Peter 2:2).

D.  If the devil can get us to diminish the importance of words generally, he can get us to diminish the importance of God’s word specifically.

II.    Threatening words:  what does Jesus mean (vv.31-32)?

A.  “Perhaps there is not in all holy Scripture a more important or more difficult question” [than what blasphemy against the Spirit is and who is—and who is not--guilty of this] (St. Augustine).

B.  “__________________ speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be                    forgiven” (v.32).

C.  Let the words of Jesus do their work.  Let them make you ____________________ (Psalm 119:67; 141:5) 

D.  You cannot appreciate __________________ until yours is threatened.

E.  The threat of ___________________ reveals how completely vulnerable we are before God (Isaiah 66:2b).

III.   God’s _________________________ is our only refuge.

A.  “Set a watch before my mouth O Lord and guard the door of my lips”       (Psalm 141:3).

B.  “__________________ comes to Me I will never cast out” (John 6:37).

Sermon notes:

Death in Adam, Life in Christ  (Romans 5:12-21)

I.     God relates to humanity through ___________________ whom He has chosen.

A.  Adam.

B.  Christ.

II.    Adam and the reign of death (vv.12-14).

A.  Death __________________ follows sin.

B.  “death spread to all men because _________ sinned” (in Adam, vv.12,18-19; Job 14:4; Psalm 51:5; John 3:6; Ephesians 2:1,5).

C.  Adam is the negative _________________ of Christ (v.14).

III.   Christ’s reign of grace and life (vv.15-19).

A.  Death automatically follows sin.  ______________ is never automatic.  It is gift.   

B.  Adam destroyed _______________________, Christ died only for others.  Condemnation is deserved, grace is not.

C.  One trespass automatically brought condemnation; yet God’s free gift brought ____________________ in spite of many trespasses (v.16; Isaiah 53:11).

D.  “Where sin increased, _______________ abounded all the more” (v.20).

E.  God’s ______________ in Christ for all sinners far exceeds His wrath (1 John 4:8,16).

Sermon notes:

Who is your audience?    (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)

I.    Theatrical righteousness 

A.  theathenai (“theater”) = “to be seen” (v.1).

B.  audience:  _________________. 

C.  glorifies you, rather than God, and robs God of His _______________.

D.  hypocritai (“hypocrites”) = “performers” (v.2).

E.  Your reward is _______________________.

II.    Anonymous righteousness

A.  en krypto (“crypt,” “cryptography”) = “in secret” (vv.4,6,18).

B.  audience:  ________________. 

C.  glorifies God alone because ______________________________!

D.  The Father’s rewards are based on ___________, not merit.

1.  The reward is promised to those already saved (Matthew 5:13-14)

2.  The reward far exceeds what we could merit (Matthew 5:12; 19:29; 20:1-16; Hebrews 10:35).

3.  The promise of reward consoles us in our affliction (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

E.  There is no contradiction between Matthew 5:16 and 6:1.

III.   Jesus assigns little or no value to the opinion of others.  Only such a Man could ______________________.

A.  The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ description of ______________.

B.  “I always do those things that are pleasing to Him” (John 8:29; 4:34; Matthew 3:15).

C.  Christ is our _________________ (Jeremiah 23:6; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 5:21). 

Sermon notes:

God unclothed and God fully-clothed (Matthew 17:1-9)

Peter seems to _________________ the three men (v.4).

God’s prophets are God’s messengers.  God’s Son is ___________________ (John 1:1; Romans 9:5; Hebrews 1:8).

The Father hands over all things ________________ (John 3:35; 5:22; Hebrews 3:5-6; et al.).

The Father dwells in _________________________ (1 Timothy 6:16; Exodus 33:20).

The voice from the cloud is _______________________ (vv.5-6).

Luther:  this is the “nude” God (Deus nudus), the _______________ voice from heaven (Exodus 20:18-19).

The Father will reveal Himself ­________________________ (v.5; John 1:18; 14:9; Colossians 1:15). 

The voice of Jesus is ________________________ (v.7).

Luther:  Jesus is God “fully-clothed” (Deus revelatus).  It is the voice _______________.

Application:

Beware the Deus nudus!

This distinction (Deus nudus vs Deus revelatus) explains Christ’s odd behavior. 

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Jesus is glorifed/majestic He is humiliated/rejected

His garments are glistening His garments are taken from Him

He stands on a high mountain He is lifted up on a cross

He is flanked by two heroes   He is flanked by two criminals

All is light All is darkness