The Lie of Sin: Why We Afflict Ourselves
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Psalm 107:17-22
The Subtle Deception That Destroys
In one of his most penetrating expositions of human nature, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones unveils the devastating paradox at the heart of sin: we pursue what promises happiness yet delivers misery, chase what offers life yet brings death, and embrace what seems freedom yet becomes slavery.
Preaching from Psalm 107:17-22, Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents the third of four vivid pictures the psalmist uses to describe humanity's predicament and God's gracious intervention. Where the first picture showed travelers lost in a wilderness and the second depicted prisoners bound in chains, this third portrait brings us into an ordinary bedroom to observe someone dying from a wasting disease.
A Picture of Spiritual Sickness
"Fools, because of their transgression and because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, and they draw nigh unto the gates of death."
With characteristic clarity, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains how the Bible consistently portrays sin as spiritual disease—a sickness that ravages the soul as surely as cancer consumes the body. The patient in this psalm has lost all appetite, grown emaciated and pale, and lacks even the energy to move. It is a picture of living death, of existence without vitality.
But the psalm's diagnosis goes deeper than mere description. The word "fools" indicates more than intellectual deficiency—it reveals the fundamental irrationality of sin. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains, "Nobody ever sets out deliberately to afflict himself. Nobody's ever done that. Nobody ever will do that. But you see, it's in our cleverness that we do it without realizing what we are doing."
The Architect of Our Own Misery
The profound insight Dr. Lloyd-Jones draws from this passage is that sin doesn't merely bring affliction from outside—we afflict ourselves. The better translation, he notes, reads: "Fools by their course or by their way of transgression and their iniquities afflict themselves."
This is the lie of sin: it comes as our best friend, promising fulfillment, excitement, and freedom, yet systematically robs us of everything that makes life worth living. Using the illustration of alcohol—which appears to stimulate but actually depresses, seems to warm but actually cools—Dr. Lloyd-Jones demonstrates how sin works through deception.
"Sin always robs us and always takes away from us," he declares. It strips us of innocence, purity, refinement, balance, judgment, inner peace, and joy. Most tragically, sin robs us of our taste for good things and eventually even for the bad things we pursued. The confirmed sinner becomes a burnt-out shell, exhausted and lifeless.
A Portrait of Emptiness
To illustrate this devastating progression, Dr. Lloyd-Jones quotes Lord Byron's haunting poem written on his 36th birthday:
"My days are in the yellow leaf,
The flowers and fruits of love are gone;
The worm, the canker, and the grief
Are mine alone."
Here was a man who had pursued pleasure with abandon, yet found himself spiritually bankrupt at 36—already describing his days as being "in the yellow leaf," his capacity for joy exhausted, nothing left but funeral ashes. It is the biblical picture made flesh: "Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat, and they draw nigh unto the gates of death."
The Word That Heals
But the psalm doesn't end with this desperate condition. "Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. He sent his word and healed them and delivered them from their destructions."
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the gospel doesn't merely offer symptomatic relief—it addresses the disease itself. Christ came to extract the poison of sin through His atoning death, reconciling us to God. But healing goes beyond forgiveness. The gospel offers regeneration, a complete rebirth, new life poured into spiritually dead souls.
"The Lord Jesus Christ doesn't merely tide you over the crisis and make you feel a little bit better on that sick bed," Dr. Lloyd-Jones declares. "He has dealt with the disease. He gives you new life... I have come, that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly."
A Message for Our Time
This sermon speaks powerfully to contemporary culture's endless pursuit of happiness through everything except God. We see Byron's spiritual exhaustion multiplied across society—people who have tried everything the world offers yet find themselves increasingly empty, anxious, and dissatisfied.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones' exposition reveals why secular solutions consistently fail: they cannot address the root disease. Political programs, psychological techniques, and philosophical systems may treat symptoms, but only Christ heals the soul.
Watch the Full Sermon
The written summary cannot capture the full force of Dr. Lloyd-Jones' preaching—the pastoral concern, theological precision, and evangelistic urgency that made him one of the 20th century's greatest expositors. His ability to diagnose the human condition with unflinching honesty while presenting Christ's remedy with compelling hope remains as relevant today as when first preached.
Watch "The Lie of Sin" on YouTube
In this 45-minute message, you'll hear Dr. Lloyd-Jones systematically unfold the psalmist's diagnosis, illustrate sin's devastating progression, and present the gospel's power to heal completely. Whether you're exploring Christianity, struggling with persistent spiritual dryness, or simply want to hear biblical exposition at its finest, this sermon offers profound insight into both our deepest problem and God's gracious solution.
This sermon is part of Dr. Lloyd-Jones' series on Psalm 107, available in the MLJ Trust Audio Library. All sermons are freely available for download, streaming, and sharing as we seek to make these timeless messages accessible to seekers, students, pastors, and Christians worldwide.
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