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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The Way of Sanctification
The inconsistency of living after the flesh; the nature of sin and our new position; mortification; cause or means to an end? the way of sanctification defined; support from the rest of the New Testament.
Sin and the Christian
Wrong theories make these verses unnecessary; regenerate man not 'absolutely hopeless'; false analogies and the principle of growth; true encouragement; false argument from results; marching orders.
Sin and the Body
The work of mortification; sin and the body; false ideas of mortification; abstinence from sin; a positive ambition to glorify God.
Sons of The Living God
Do you ever long for Heaven? How often do you think of glorification? So many times, Christians discuss sanctification and not realize that it is only a part of the process for the end goal – glorification! We can understand glorification because of our assurance in Christ Jesus. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says the theme of Romans 8 is not sanctification, but rather the assurance of a Christian’s salvation. It is the absolute security of the final perseverance of all who have been justified by Jesus Christ. As Paul works through this chapter to the Romans, he has been outlining several reasons for this assurance. In Romans 8:14, we come to the assurance in terms of our sonship with God, which the Doctor argues is also the theme of the whole of scripture! Because glorification is the final goal for all Christians, God would never allow something to prohibit us from getting there. The Doctor discusses four points: not all are sons of God, we are sons of God, what this sonship means, and the consequences of this sonship. He leaves the listener with an encouraging message: because we are sons of God, we can look out into this world and never experience despair or panic, because we belong to the family of God.
The Fathers Children
Likeness to the Father; the Father's loving interest in His children; sonship and prayer; certainty of our sonship; the leading of the Spirit.
Leading and Guidance
Leading by persuasion; leading and guidance; special revelations and the Scriptures; the Spirit's action upon mind; heart and will.
The Spiritual Outlook
The jealousy of the Spirit; practical tests; a spiritual outlook; a desire to glorify and know God; an increasing concern about sin and temptation; the fruit of the Spirit; applying the tests.
The Spirit and The Law
Guidance too subjective as a test; 'spirit' or 'Spirit'? the Spirit's use of of the law to produce conviction of sin; a sense of guilt; depravity and inability.
The Spirit of Bondage
It is safe to say we all battle with seasons of fear and worry. Yet, as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows us, two things that Paul is confirming in Romans 8:15: all who are led to Christ are sons of God and those who are sons of God no longer have a spirit of bondage or fear. Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that this means the spirit of bondage and fear always precedes the spirit of adoption. How would a Christian be truly convicted of their sin and desperation if they first did not have a spirit which convicted them of their guilt? This guilt shows just how much we are in need of a Savior. The Doctor explains that Christians may experience this spirit of bondage to different degrees, but it does not mean that one person has sinned more than the other. The amount of sin in our lives does not matter, but it is the realization of that sin that is necessary to bring about true salvation. The Holy Spirit, which dwells in all Christians, is a spirit of truth and always produces a sense of sin and sense of conviction. The Holy Spirit cannot truly lead us to God without showing us how holy and just Christ is. All Christians have experienced this and we can praise our Creator who provided the Holy Spirit to us!
Freedom from Fear
The son's freedom from bondage and fear; godly fear and craven fear; depression owing to temperament or backsliding; satanic attacks and desertion.
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.