Martyn Lloyd-Jones Favorite Verse
“For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” (1 Cor 2:2)
That this verse had special significance to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is without question. It was the verse on which he chose to preach during his inaugural visit to the first church he pastored in Aberavon, Wales, in November 1926. Again, he chose this verse when he returned to the same pulpit in February 1977 to commemorate fifty years in the ministry. Furthermore, it is none other than 1 Corinthians 2:2 that is inscribed upon Dr. Lloyd-Jones’s gravestone in a cemetery on the outskirts of Newcastle Emlyn – his wife’s hometown in West Wales, not far from the village of his upbringing. 1
The sermon is a timeless reminder of the priority that the preaching of the cross must have in the life of the church.
Listen: “Jesus Christ, Crucified”
Sermon Description
What is the mission of the church? Believers and unbelievers ask this question with some saying that the mission of the church is to lobby governments. Others claim that the church is to be a means of social change. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 2:2 titled “Jesus Christ, Crucified,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones considers what the Bible says is the mission of the church. Paul the apostle is preaching Christ and Him crucified. He is not merely advocating for external social change, nor is he looking to the greatest philosophers of the day for answers. Paul’s answer to the question of the church’s mission is simple: proclaim Christ and Him crucified. This is the only message that saves people, not only from their sins, but from eternal damnation as the just punishment for rebellion. All human wisdom and culture stand under the judgment of God in Jesus Christ. All are responsible for their actions before God almighty. All stand condemned before the holy God. This is why the church must proclaim Jesus Christ crucified. There is no other way of salvation. This sermon confronts all with the simple question: “do I believe in Jesus as my savior?”
1 Used with permission of the website, Wales’s Christian Heritage