May 1959

There is a prevalent modern myth that great minds don’t believe in Christianity. While intellectuals look back and patronize Christianity, scholars ridicule Christian teaching as passé. But how does one judge the knowledge of the Christian faith? Can knowledge about God be attained in the same manner as secular knowledge? Is knowledge about God a matter of intellect or ability? In this sermon on John 7:16 titled “Given by God,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers these kinds of question by showing how the vast majority of intellectuals today fall into the same position as the Pharisees. In other words, both judge the teaching about Christ from a mere human perspective. However, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows, Jesus Christ’s teaching is entirely different from every other teaching because it belongs to a different realm. His teaching is given by God. Christ claims to give revelation from above. In order to understand this revelation, the listener needs to discern things spiritually. Natural minds that are unaided by the Spirit cannot comprehend this type of knowledge.

What does it mean to be in the Spirit? In this sermon on Romans 7:6 titled “In the Spirit or in the Flesh?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shares that it means the Christian lives in a totally new way than before. He says that to be in the Spirit is to live in Christ and renewed daily in His power. He contrasts the new life with the old life of sin and bondage under the law. The law was good, but because of human sin and depravity, it brought only condemnation. Jesus is better than the law. Jesus died for His people and makes them new creatures in Christ if they believe in His gospel. Jesus brings commandments that are not burdensome, but rather they are freeing. The glory of this new life is in living in the Holy Spirit as children of God. Christians are no longer slaves to sin and immorality. The most important question then is how does one live this life? The answer is by believing in the gospel of Christ, and in His death, burial, and resurrection as the only means of salvation and peace with God. This message is the only way of true peace and joy with God.

Modern people like to think they are different from those of the past. Do technological and scientific advancements mean they can dispense with the past, especially the Christian past? Many in leading universities and intellectual centers around the world think Christianity is no longer relevant and say that science teaches differently now. The problem with this outlook, says Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, comes down to pride and prejudice, and this is nothing new. The Pharisees and scribes held this same kind of intellectual hubris against the Lord Jesus Christ. In this sermon on John 7:15 titled “Pride and Prejudice,” when Jesus began to teach, they quickly dismissed Him because He did not belong to their schools. Due to their pride, they were unwilling to face the “facts” of His message. What is the result of this intellectualism? How does the example of the scribes and Pharisees help modern people understand the human condition? How might they miss the vital questions of life because of spiritual blindness? Do the philosophers of today truly have the answers to life’s most important questions? Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones diagnoses the problem: pride and prejudice.

What makes Christians different from others is that they have been granted a new mind and new desires by the Holy Spirit. This new life in Christ puts believers in a new relationship to the law of Moses as now the law is written upon the heart of every believer. This creates a heart of worship that is not focused on the externals of religious acts, but on the orientation of the heart. True worship flows out of a heart renewed and freed from the curse of the law and the power of sin and flesh. In this sermon on Romans 7:6 titled “Life in the Spirit,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is emphatic that this new relationship to the law does not bring about antinomianism since all of God’s commands are good and just. It means that Christ fulfilled the law and gives believers a new heart that has new desires. The end of the law is not a license to live in sin but it comes with the joy and privilege of seeking to love God and neighbor out of the new person that Christ Jesus is fashioning all believers to be. Sanctification cannot be separated from salvation and glorification because Christ Jesus is the one who begins and completes salvation.

Trimming Christianity to mere ethical teachings or to matters of political agitation may interest certain people. Christians may even gain the respect of others through their good deeds or for their dedication to Sunday morning service. But in neither case, argues Dr. Martyn-Lloyd Jones, will people marvel at the Christian gospel. The one thing that true Christianity leads to is wonder and amazement. In this sermon on John 7:15 titled “And the Jews Marveled,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones says the essence of the gospel always leads people to marvel and true Christianity will have this effect. In the sermon, Dr. Lloyd-Jones traces this theme of amazement, astonishment, and marvel through the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. He asks whether or not the church is causing people to marvel, and if not, why? The listener will be challenged if they think Christianity is a set of rules to follow or a political program; that Jesus Christ came to help people live a better life; or that Jesus was simply a good man who left an example to follow. Listen to what the Bible says about the effect of the true gospel and hear the message of God’s grace, His salvation through Jesus Christ.

What is the next greatest power after God himself? In the sermon from Romans 7:5–6 titled “The Nature of Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argues that it is the power of sin. As he breaks down Paul’s message in Romans, Dr. Lloyd-Jones outlines several key terms and defines them in the context of the message. It is essential for the reader to understand the terms in order to understand the apostle’s argument and doctrines of the law, salvation, and sanctification. For instance, the term “flesh” can be defined many ways but Dr. Lloyd-Jones believes that Paul uses this term to refer to the opposite of what it means to have life in the Spirit. Those who are in the flesh are unregenerate and cannot please God. When Paul refers to the “motions of sin,” he is talking about passions, affections, and lusting. All natural appetites were created and given by God, but the law aggravates these appetites and sinners allow them control, which lead to sin and death. However, Christ is working for His people and they died with Christ and to the power of sin.

The Bible is a wonderful, coherent narrative spanning centuries of God’s revelation of Himself to humanity. Biblical typology helps interpreters of the Bible understand how the Old Testament, with its laws concerning feasts, celebrations, sacrifices, and institutions, is fulfilled in Christ Jesus. In this sermon on the feast of tabernacles from John 7:14, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds the Bible’s teaching on the Feast of Tabernacles. He connects for his listeners its significance for ancient Israel and the lessons it taught the people of God as they dwelled in tents, celebrating their deliverance from the bondage of Egyptian slavery. Yet the law of Moses is not an end unto itself. Following the teaching of the New Testament, Dr. Lloyd-Jones connects the Feast of Tabernacles to the great anti-type, the Son of God who “tabernacled” among His people. Listen as he models how to relate the Old Testament to the New Testament and, more importantly, about the love of God, the message of hope, and the final deliverance one has in the substance of all the typologies found in the Bible – Jesus Christ.

Why is the doctrine of union with Christ so important? Many people consider theology to be useless and irrelevant for their everyday life. They want what is practical. In this sermon on Romans 7:4 titled “Union­ ­– Its Privileges and Purpose,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds on the great theological doctrine of union with Christ and its everyday importance. He says the Christian has hope anew each and every day because they have died to themselves and now live in Christ. The doctrine of union with Christ teaches that they are no longer slaves to themselves, but are now slaves to Christ. They are inheritors of all the promises because they are one in Christ Jesus. This is the pure and unmatched hope of the gospel: God in Jesus Christ for His people. What of those that do not know Jesus? It is only in Christ that anyone can have true hope and all those that reject His gospel reject the only way of salvation. This is why the church must preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The church is not only the bride of Christ, but also the ambassador of Christ in the world. This sermon asks all if they have this hope. Are they now one with Christ?

In this sermon on John 7:8–13 titled “Son of God, Saviour,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones grapples with the nature and condition of unbelief in the world but first encourages looking closely at the Savior Himself. Dr. Lloyd-Jones focuses on Scripture’s teaching concerning Christ’s loneliness, isolation, humility, wisdom, and the purpose for His suffering. In so doing, it is all the more perplexing that the world rejects such a blessed person. How could it be that the world rejects such a Savior? How could it be that the religious authorities, experts, kings, and common people all rejected the Son of God? What does this say about the human condition? What is the answer to such spiritual blindness? Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explores this important topic of the world’s rejection of Son of God, savior of the world.

The truth that all Christians are united with Christ changes everything. It is no overstatement to say that the doctrine of Christians’ union with Christ is one the most important truths for anyone to understand. It is this glorious doctrine that Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds in this sermon on Romans 7:4 titled “Union With Christ: Its Nature.” Looking at the apostle Paul’s epistle to the Romans, he shows that those who believe in the gospel have been delivered from sin and darkness once and for all. While all are born in Adam, all who believe are born supernaturally into Christ Jesus. It means that the law of sin and death no longer reigns in the Christian, and that they are now part of God’s family and now forgiven from all sin. They are safe in salvation as Christ is loving and powerful. This doctrine is the ultimate hope against all depression, sorrow, and loneliness because it teaches that Christians have a great friend in Jesus. Listeners are encouraged to ask: “do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe that He has died for sinners? Do you have assurance that God loves?” There is great hope to all who have truly forsaken themselves and put their trust in Jesus.