A Right View of Life
A Sermon on Judges 18:7
Scripture
7¶ Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people that were therein, how they dwelt careless, after the manner of the Zidonians, quiet and secure; and there was no magistrate in the land, that might put them to shame in any thing; and they …
Sermon Description
The Bible is a book one can turn to for truth. It comes with warnings, and challenges one’s thinking. In it are found the teachings of what is right and wrong, how to live during one’s time on earth, and the history of humans. In this sermon on Judges 18:7 and 28 titled “A Right View of Life,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out that even though the Bible gives directions on how to live, humans too often decide to make their own way of life and come up with their own solutions to the world’s problems, all apart from the Bible. Dr. Lloyd-Jones goes through the history of the Bible and points out specific examples of how humans have done this. This kind of view on life is a selfish one: it only focuses on the self rather than on God and others. Not only that, but this kind of view also leads to lawlessness and carelessness. Humans are sinners and not fit to decide how they should live. Rather, Christians need to spend time growing their relationship with God and reading His word. They need to listen to His commands on how they should live and love Him well.
Sermon Breakdown
- Life is not simple. It is profoundly difficult and complex. Any view that claims otherwise is naive and oversimplified.
- The view of life presented in the passage is unworthy and selfish. It focuses solely on ease, pleasure, and happiness rather than responsibility, meaning, or purpose.
- The people in the passage had no law or order. They believed each person should do whatever they want without consequence. This leads to chaos and disorder.
- The people failed to consider future consequences or possibilities. They assumed all would be well and made no preparations or defenses.
- Their way of life ended in disaster. When crisis came, they had cut themselves off from any help or deliverance. They were overwhelmed and destroyed.
- We must face the facts of life, human nature, sin, death, and judgment. We are not competent to decide how to live on our own.
- There is only one deliverer: Jesus Christ. We must get into contact with him and stay in contact with him through prayer, Bible reading, and church attendance.
- The message of the Bible is profoundly practical. It helps us face difficulties and gives us a deliverer and a hope beyond them.
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.