Assumption All Were Church Members

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines an 'assumption' as something taken for granted and then states Peter's underlying assumption in 1 Peter 5: that all true believers in Asia Minor were unmistakably…

Martin uses the example of assuming his audience understands English to illustrate what an 'assumption' is: something taken for granted without articulation or proof.

And the bulk of our time this morning is going to be taken up with simply identifying the underlying assumption of this passage and in a very real sense of the entire letter that Peter writes to these believers. Now it's important that I give a working definition of an assumption. An assumption is something taken for granted, something we don't stop to articulate, much less to prove. For example, when I stood up this morning to lead the service, there was an underlying assumption.

8:33 - 9:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines an 'assumption' as something taken for granted and then states Peter's underlying assumption in 1 Peter 5: that all true believers in Asia Minor were unmistakably…

He details the complex physiological and neurological processes involved in verbal communication, which he assumes are working, to further illustrate the depth of unspoken assumptions in daily life.

I am assuming that there is a basic proficiency in the English language. Furthermore, I am assuming that the whole complex of verbal communication is firmly in place. Think how much I assumed. I assumed that my thoughts, clothed in my words, can so register on my brain that impulses are sent to my larynx, to my lungs, to my diaphragm, to my lips, and to my tongue, that words will be framed and they will come out to you in the form of unseen vibrations.

9:55 - 10:30 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defines an 'assumption' as something taken for granted and then states Peter's underlying assumption in 1 Peter 5: that all true believers in Asia Minor were unmistakably…

Martin recounts programming his Honda's built-in garage door opener by transferring impulses from his wife's remote, using it as an analogy for how wonderful it would be to transfer thoughts directly, but noting God hasn't made us that way, reinforcing the necessity of verbal communication and its underlying assumptions.

And when those vibrations are picked up by your ears, they are transmitted through the ear into the inner ear and all of that complex mechanism and signals are sent by the auditory nerve to your brain in which there registers those vocables and voila, my thoughts have entered your head. Now all of that was assumed. I didn't come here with charts and diagrams to prove the working physiology of how sounds are formed and framed and transferred and thoughts become transferred in the process. I was reminded in a very vivid way of this wonderful phenomena of verbal communication the Church has provi...

10:30 - 11:55 Read in full sermon

The point: The day comes when you don't want the Bible simple, plain Bible preached and obeyed and lived out. And we'll go back to meeting in the school with a handful of people who do. You don't own me by your favor, your presence…

He references Jesus' teaching in John 6, where many disciples left Him, to illustrate that numerical decrease can sometimes be a 'badge of the blessing of God' and fidelity to truth.

There are some situations where numerical decrease is a badge of the blessing of God. From that time on, many of his disciples went back and walked with him. No more. It was a badge of his fidelity to his father.

65:42 - 65:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Take your Bible and go home and carefully read through the book of Acts and the epistles. And when you have found any such creature as a Christian who's not a member of a church, you come and show me the evidence.

Martin shares an anecdote about an irate visitor offended by the communion invitation, which restricted participation to church members, using it to highlight the prevalent 'Lone Ranger Christianity' mentality he seeks to counter.

And I want to inform your mind and persuade your judgment that I might responsibly expound the passage. That's reason number one. Reason number two, I want to raise a voice to counter the influence of the Lone Ranger Christianity mentality that obtains in our day. A few weeks ago, someone met me at the door,

68:24 - 68:44 Read in full sermon