Book of Romans
Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s sermons on the book of Romans were preached to the congregation at Westminster Chapel in the heart of central London on Friday evenings between October 1955 to March 1968. These sermons were preached from the beginning of October until the end of May each year, with breaks being taken for Christmas and Easter. Dr Lloyd-Jones began his ministry at Westminster Chapel in 1938, and his ministry there lasted for thirty years until his retirement in 1968. As such, his Romans series came at the end of his preaching career. Spanning 366 sermons over twelve years, his series on the book of Romans is the longest expositional series Dr Lloyd-Jones ever did.
Dr Lloyd-Jones regarded the book of Romans as the ‘first in importance’ among the New Testament epistles. Indeed, it is likely that Dr Lloyd-Jones saw his exposition of the book of Romans as his most important work, as evidenced by the fact that he chose his Romans sermons as the first of his many sermons to be published following his retirement. His official biographer Iain Murray writes;
Many hundreds of unrevised manuscript copies of sermons thus existed by 1968, of which, for reasons already noted, comparatively few had appeared in print. He did not hesitate in choosing to put his Romans sermons first for publication in book form, to be followed by those on Ephesians.
Dr Lloyd-Jones’s hope for these sermons on the book of Romans was that they will ‘not only help Christian people to understand more clearly the great doctrines of our Faith, but that they will also fill them with a joy “unspeakable and full of glory” and bring them into a condition in which they will be “Lost in wonder, love, and praise”’.
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Introduction
A new section in the Epistle; the application of the doctrine; why this is important; analysis of the closing chapters of the Epistle.
The Christian Life
The opening verses; Paul's manner of speech; motivations for Christian living; the main features of Biblical sanctification.
A Living Sacrifice
The appeal to mind and heart; sanctification a new kind of service; presenting our bodies; what is involved.
Present Your Bodies
Five reasons for offering our bodies to God; body and soul; sacrifices which are living; holy and acceptable.
Spiritual Worship
Reasonable service - what is it? The spiritual over against the external; the legalistic and the ascetic; using our bodies to the glory of God.
The World (1)
When the church becomes like the world, the gospel message is eclipsed. Today, it seems the church is often bending to the desires and the thoughts of the world. Who determines morality? What is right? Some church leaders argue that we must change our message, or else become irrelevant. In this sermon, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argues that this very thinking is conforming to the world. The world, according to the Bible, thinks of, organizes, and lives life apart from God. Fallen man is corrupt in his very thinking. They do not know God. They do not understand the depth of the human problem and their proposed solutions lack the answer. Lloyd-Jones argues that Christians are not, therefore, to conform to the world. The means, our understanding of morality comes from the Word of God and nothing else. Christians are a distinct people who have a new mind. We’ve become enlightened to the will of God. The great tragedy today is not that the devil is controlling the world. The great tragedy today is that Christians are looking to the world for answers. Our theology is conforming to the ideas and expectations of sinful man. Listen, as the Dr. explains that this admonition is as much needed today as it ever was: be not conformed to the world.
The World (2)
Avoiding the world is not an option for Christians. But some still try it anyway. Rules and regulations are set up. Fear of conforming to the world drives one’s choices. A great distance is then placed between the Christian and the world. History has shown us the various extremes which men and women will go. And all of it is contrary to the Gospel. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is concerned that Christians who seek to live a life of holiness may fall into this sort of trap. Legalism. Pharisaism. All of it governed by fear. Yet this is not what the Apostle Paul has in mind. Listen in as Lloyd-Jones addresses this grave misstep. The Christian is not to be so focused on the world that their pursuit of holiness becomes driven by it. What God has given us is his Word. We must not be concerned about the additional regulations that some say the Christian should follow. On the contrary, what we must be concerned about is simply the expression of our new character in Christ. And this is what drives the believer: the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Renewal of the Mind (1)
Conformed' and 'transformed'; realising and being what we are; the renewing of the mind.
Renewal of the Mind (2)
The renewing of the mind in practice; understanding and applying the truth; a new humanity; remembering what we are; pilgrims on the way to eternity.
Renewal of the Mind (3)
The goal of Christian conduct; conforming to the will of God; knowing and approving His will; what is meant by 'good; acceptable and perfect'.
About 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.