
Book of Romans
Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s sermon series on the book of Romans was 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
The apostle Paul is a master at connecting doctrine and practical matters. He seamlessly weaves both together in his apostolic writings. While there is a change in emphasis in Romans 12 – from doctrine to practice – Paul never leaves doctrine behind. As a pas…
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The Christian Life
What do doctrine and practice have to do with each other? Some Christians doubt the relevance of doctrine to the Christian life at all. For them it’s simply a matter of being ethical and moral and there is no need to understand biblical doctrine for good work…
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A Living Sacrifice
In matters of Christian conduct, does one appeal to the mind or to the heart? These are often pitted against one another, but Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones does not believe the Christian should approach the Christian life by making an appeal to merely the intellect …
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Present Your Bodies
Why must the Christian present their bodies to God? Why is the body important at all? In this sermon on Romans 12:1–2 titled “Present Your Bodies,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explores the Scripture, teaching how and why physical frames are important to the lives …
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Spiritual Worship
What is “reasonable” service? How are service and worship connected in the Scriptures? What might it practically look like for Christians to present their bodies as living sacrifices? In this sermon on Romans 12:1–2 titled “Spiritual Worship,” Dr. Martyn Lloy…
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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 the message must change or …
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The World (2)
Avoiding the world is not an option for Christians. Some still try it anyway by setting up rules and regulations because fear of conforming to the world drives their choices. A great distance is then placed between the Christian and the world. History has sho…
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Renewal of the Mind (1)
Tackling individual sin in the Christian life is typically how evangelicals think of growth or sanctification. They often believe that by approaching sin in piecemeal manner that they will have overall victory in their lives. The trouble, of course, is once t…
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Renewal of the Mind (2)
The purpose of the incarnation, the cross, and the resurrection is not to merely have individuals escape hell. The Christian will miss the glory of the person and work of Christ if they reduce salvation to fire insurance. In this sermon on Romans 12:1–2 title…
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Renewal of the Mind (3)
The Christian will certainly fail to understand Christianity if they reduce it to morality, escape from hell, or even simply the forgiveness of sins. In this sermon on Romans 12:1–2 titled “Renewal of the Mind (3),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds that Christi…
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All By Grace
In this sermon on Roman 12:3 titled “All By Grace,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches that grace is God’s undeserved favor. The distinctiveness of Christianity is that it is grace that begins the Christian life and it is grace that carries the Christian through …
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Gifts in the Church
Spiritual gifts have been a matter of controversy in the church since the beginning of Christianity. How quickly the body of Christ forgets the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit in the distribution of the gifts. From this error arises all manner of sin and abuse…
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The Body of Christ
In this sermon on Romans 12:3–5 titled “The Body of Christ,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches the principle that everything is of grace. This principle ought to cause one to think soberly, not more highly. Consider the nature and parts of the human body and see…
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One Body
The modern ecumenical movement has made a profound impact on the contemporary Christian understanding of unity. But what overlap, if any, does this movement have with biblical unity? In this sermon on Romans 12:4–5 titled “One Body,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds t…
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Character of Unity
What guides and keeps a church unified? How can the church encourage unity among its members? In this sermon on Romans 12:5-6 titled “Character of Unity,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains there are two elements to preserving the unity of a church. There is a s…
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Spiritual Gifts (1)
In this sermon on Romans 12:6 titled “Spiritual Gifts (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones encourages a look at the nature of spiritual gifts. God decides which gift to provide to each Christian but they all work in and through the very same Spirit. He reminds that t…
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Spiritual Gifts (2)
Perhaps no topic in evangelical circles stirs more controversy than the nature and function of spiritual gifts. There can sometimes be a great divide between ‘cessationists’ and ‘continuationists’ on the “unusual” gifts. In this sermon on Romans 12:6 titled “…
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Spiritual Gifts (3)
The gift of prophesy is one of the most unusual spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit. It has been dismissed, over-emphasized, and abused throughout church history. In a sermon on Romans 12:6 titled “Spiritual Gifts (3),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones illustrates…
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Spiritual Gifts (4)
How does God ensure that the church is equipped for its mission? In this passage of Scripture, the apostle Paul tells that it is by the Holy Spirit giving gifts to those in the church. Some are given the gift of teaching and others the gift of giving. In this…
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Lessons From the Early Church
Why does God give different spiritual gifts to each Christian? In this sermon on Romans 12:6–8 titled “Lessons From the Early Church,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells that God equips His church in order to strengthen and build it up to accomplish the task of pre…
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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.