Sermon Outline for Sunday, November 12, 2006
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
At the end of Star Trek II: 'The Wrath of Khan' the character totally logical Mr. Spock realizes the ship and its crew is doomed to destruction unless he goes into the radioactive engine room to make repairs. He chooses himself because he recognizes that he was one of only a few capable of doing the job and that he could not ask anyone else because the laying down of ones life for another is a choice that one must be willing to make for ourselves.
With the job complete, the ship safely away, and Mr. Spock dieing from radiation poisoning, the stunned Captain Kirk bids an emotional farewell to his dearest friend Mr. Spock. You need not mourn, says Spock, for his sacrifice was logical. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one" he says as he dies.
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/MOV/002/synopsis/82.html
But all is not lost. In the sequel, Captain Kirk discovers that Spock is alive and risks his reputation, career, ship and crew to rescue Mr. Spock, who questions why the captain and crew risked their lives and careers to rescue him. Then his friend Captain Kirk reminds him, sometimes the "needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many."
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/MOV/003/synopsis/83.html
I. Logic and popular thinking does not always bring us to the right answers in matters of the value of life and death.
A. Often we think of the heroic solider who gives up his life to save his platoon. Is this action right? Is his action logical?
B. We are all inspired by movies like “Saving Private Ryan” where an entire platoon is called upon to save one man whose mother has lost all her other sons in battle. Is this action right? Is this action logical?
C. Both can be right, but both cannot be logical because they are fundamentally the opposites of each other.
D. So in the matter of the value of life and death, we cannot depend on logic and popular thinking to lead us to the right answer.
II. We are willing to die for only that which we value and we value only that which we love.
III. The “love of Christ” is worth dieing for many times over.
A. The phrase “love of Christ” has a possible double meaning.
1. The love that Christ has for the world.
2. The love that the church has for Christ.
3. One love convinces us and the other love controls us.
B. The love that Christ has for the world conveniences us.
RO 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (NASB)
1. The love that Christ had for us compelled Him to die for our sins so that we might live.
2. Christ’s death demonstrates to us His love for us.
3. By Christ’s sacrificial death we are convinced:
a. We are convinced of His love because we know that only love is worth dieing for.
b. We are convinced of our need. Christ would not have died for all if all were not in need.
c. We are convinced to accept the free gift of Christ’s love.
d. We are convinced to live for Christ.
C. The love that we have for Christ controls us.
RO 6:5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
RO 6:6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
RO 6:7 for he who has died is freed from sin. (NASB)
1. To live for Christ is to die to our old nature.
2. As Christ died because of His love for us, we die to self because of our love for Him.