July 1958

Those who will not believe in Jesus are awaiting condemnation. In this sermon on John 5:45–47 titled “The Message of the Bible,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones picks up his exposition on the passage and confronts the Jews with the authority of the Bible. Jesus is keeping the pressure on the Jews that their belief in God the Father is empty and void. The Jewish claim to believe in God was inaccurate and was not going to lead to salvation but instead condemnation. Beginning in verse 45, Jesus pulls the rug out from under the Jews when He confronts them concerning the words of Moses. In the end, Jesus would not condemn them, but in fact it was the words of Moses that accused them in the present and would again in the final judgment. If the Jews truly believed the words of Moses, then they would believe in Jesus as Moses had written of Him. Ultimately, the Jews were rejecting the supreme authority of the Bible. True belief that saves is found only by accepting the Bible as the authority, in being right and clear about its message, and by acting upon that message. By exposing the Jews’ faulty belief, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones illuminates that true belief begins with the authority of the Bible.

What does it mean to “grieve the Holy Spirit?” In this sermon on grieving the Holy Spirit from Ephesians 4:30, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones speaks of Paul’s statement that encompasses all the particulars that he had been talking about in the preceding verses. Importantly, it also serves to differentiate Christian ethics from any other ethical tradition. If a Christian’s morality is not rooted in this purpose and understanding of sinning against God, then it is not Christian at all. Paul’s point is this: any wrong living grieves the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is the seal of the Christian’s inheritance and indwells those who are saved. All sin runs counter to the character of God and grieves Him greatly. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that when one becomes a Christian, their relationship to God becomes one of love instead of one as a lawbreaker. Thus, when one sins, they must not be grieved because they have broken His law, but rather because they have sinned against His great love for them. Understanding this, it is easy to see why it is such a serious thing to sin and grieve the Holy Spirit. How can this be countered? Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that the Christian must constantly be aware of the Lord’s presence. As people are reverent around royalty, Christians must remember that God is constantly with them and act accordingly. This will drive them to a desire to honor and please Him with their lives.

Why do people refuse to believe in Jesus? What stops someone from looking to Him for hope? In this sermon on John 5:44 titled “The Condition of Man,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones takes a third look at John 5:44 and unfolds the root cause of unbelief. Considering this verse and the whole of Scripture, the answer is sin. Like a festering cancer in the body, sin renders one spiritually dead and unable to believe. In the flow of John 5, the Jews become a perfect illustration of this destructive reality. Jesus has framed the condition of humanity in the context of the seeking of honor. No one can believe because they seek their own honor, not the honor that comes from God. The heart is blinded by sin. While affirming this truth, Scripture also declares that sin renders all as fools. They are fools in that they proclaim that there is no God. Sin corrupts the ability to reason, encourages longing for the hedonist experience, and causes the worship of self. In seeking their own honor, the Jews are made fools blinded by sin and unable to believe. Thus, sin is the disease that blinds and paralyzes against belief. In this sermon, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains and unlocks the remedy to the disease of sin.