Revealed Will for Christian Servants #1

The point: Cultivate that discipline of having a Bible in your lap and say, wait a minute, I'm not going to take any courage from the preacher. I want fastballs down the middle of the plate. No curveballs.

Martin humorously illustrates how one can misuse biblical snippets to 'prove' anything, even hanging oneself, by combining 'Judas went out and hanged himself' with 'go down and do likewise,' to warn against decontextualized biblical interpretation.

I can prove you ought to hang yourself this morning. On the proof from the Bible,

11:43 - 11:47 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin highlights the structural dominance of incentives (verses 19-25) over the directive (verse 18), using a pyramid analogy to show that Peter provides extensive motivations…

He uses the analogy of a pyramid, with the directive (verse 18) at the apex and the incentives (verses 19-25) forming the broad base, to illustrate the structural emphasis of the passage on motivations for obedience.

I don't have a blackboard. If you can imagine in front of me a large pyramid. Okay? Here's the base of the pyramid, the two angles coming up, and the apex or the top.

13:25 - 13:34 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The richest teaching on the death of Jesus in Peter's, Peter's letter is not found in his densely doctrinal sections. It's found in his practical sections when he's giving motives to Christians to obey gospel commands.

Martin shares a personal anecdote of being so excited by the text's implications that he 'sneaked out a few times and preached it to my wife for fear I was going to blow a fuse,' conveying his deep conviction and passion for the sermon's message.

Now, does that tell you something? Now, if you don't get excited, you forgive me if I jump out of this pulpit because I've had all I can do to contain myself in my study. I sneaked out a few times and preached it to my wife for fear I was going to blow a fuse.

19:31 - 19:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He identifies the two dominant themes in the incentives: a God-centered perspective ('acceptable with God') and the example of Christ's suffering, arguing that these gospel truths…

He quotes an 'old preacher' who said, 'I study till my head's full, I praise till my heart's hot, and I get in the pulpit and I explode,' to explain his own earnestness and the process of preparing a sermon with theological depth and spiritual fervor.

And I trust if God lets us go through the passage in due course you will be able to see that Jesus you will be convinced with a depth of conviction you've never had before as I am that at the end of the day my brothers and sisters if we're to live as we ought it is not a matter of discovering some grave deep esoteric truth it's coming back to the basic issues of the gospel until they percolate through every cell of our being and influence every relationship that all of us in all times and in all circumstances. If that's not so then Peter lists it in the counsel that he gives by the guidance of...

21:57 - 23:27 Read in full sermon

The point: Ask God to give you a mental box into which you stop every question that arises before we've expounded the passage and pray that God will help you to put a heaven lid and an unbreakable padlock on those questions until w…

Martin uses the hypothetical scenario of counseling a 13-year-old rape victim considering abortion to illustrate the principle of establishing foundational biblical truths (e.g., life begins at conception, definition of murder) before addressing specific, delicate ethical questions.

well what about and what if and how you see let me use a parallel that may help you this is a vital principle of thinking as a Christian suppose this week I were to get a call from someone saying Mr. Martin I don't come to your church but I've heard that you believe the Bible and you try to guide people in what the Bible teaches I'm wondering if I may come and speak with you I have a 13 year old daughter and she was recently raped and we've discovered that she's pregnant and I and my husband are wrestling with whether we should encourage an abortion and I make an appointment for her to come wh...

24:56 - 26:25 Read in full sermon