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“Perhaps the greatest danger of all is to interpret the Scriptures in the light of our own experiences, rather than the other way around,” preaches Dr. Lloyd-Jones. In this sermon on the Baptism of the Spirit from John 1:26–33, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones declares two main ways to go wrong in relating experiences to Scripture. First is claiming that things are beyond or contrary to Scripture. Second is being satisfied with something less than Scripture and reducing to the level of one’s own knowledge and experience. The Christian is called to listen and evaluate personal experiences on the basis of Scripture. The danger of the church today is the whole of Scripture’s teaching being reduced to what humanity is and thinks. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones engages with John’s gospel, he asserts that one can be a believer in Christ without the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This seeming contradiction is teased out from both the Old and New Testaments. Fundamentally, the Spirit must convict and give the ability to believe, for no one can be a Christian at all without the work of the Spirit. In the interest of an individual’s personal point of view, the devil gets people to bypass portions of Scripture and Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenges his listeners to forsake this way of reading the Bible.
There is a restlessness which surrounds the non-Christian. Listen to this sermon from Romans 8:5–8 titled “At Peace with God” where Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, alluding to holy Scripture, says the person whose sins have not been forgiven is like the troubled sea. Picking up on what perhaps might be an unusual placement of “peace” in this passage, he defends the apostle Paul’s emphasis on peace here and throughout the letter. Dr. Lloyd-Jones is able to connect the theme of peace to justification by faith and the righteousness of God in Romans. Furthermore, he elaborates that before God, a natural person’s position is enmity and not peace. The natural person, who is controlled by a life of sin, is living in dissatisfaction. While they are always trying to find peace and joy, they cannot. However, the result of being governed by the Spirit is life and peace. This person, argues Dr. Lloyd-Jones, understands the meaning of life in this world. They also have an inner harmony, as well as an external harmony with others. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages the listener to find true peace by being governed by the Spirit and able to stand blameless and faultless before a holy and righteous God.
Those who try to separate the call of the gospel from the call to be holy make a great error. In this sermon on Ephesians 4:20–21 titled “Hearing and Learning Christ,” Dr Lloyd-Jones argues that the Bible presents the life of faith as a pursuit of holiness and righteousness that comes out of the new person through the Holy Spirit. Christians ought not separate belief in the gospel from living out the call of God in their lives to be imitators of Christ and to obey all that He commands. Preachers who misunderstand the connection between holiness and belief in the gospel often confuse listeners that they seek to evangelize by presenting the Christian life as compartmentalized. However, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out, even the pursuit of holiness in the life of the Christian is ultimately a result of what God has done in and through His Son Jesus Christ. Christians can easily fall into legalism when they disconnect the sovereign act of salvation from everyday Christian life. Christians must avoid dualisms knowing that Christ made them a new people by His death and resurrection. Therefore they respond in love and obedience, not as a way to gain favor with God, but because Christ has already done so for them.
What is the place of spiritual gifts in the life of believers and the church? How should Christians approach the command to test the spirits? In this sermon on John 1:26–33 titled “Testing the Spirits (5),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones helps the church think through these questions and how to apply the answers to life. “The general purpose of our baptism with the Holy Spirit is evangelism,” he says. What are the main points of the Scriptural texts that address spiritual gifts, such as in 1 Corinthians? First, gifts should never be used as an end in and of themselves— all gifts are temporary and, as is written elsewhere in Scripture, are to be used for the benefit of others. One of the primary reasons for these texts was because a spirit of competition had entered in among the believers, and they were becoming so distracted that they were losing sight of the bigger picture. The main reasoning for these gifts is to glorify the Lord. The second point, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, is evangelism. The third is the edification of the body. Some Christians live in pursuit of these gifts, but Dr. Lloyd-Jones offers a helpful reminder— do not seek the gifts selfishly, but rather indirectly by pursuing the Lord and trusting that He will give what is needed to accomplish His purposes.
How great is the gospel? To see the transforming and saving power of the Gospel, there is no better place to look than the early church. In this sermon on Acts 5:29–32, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones looks to the great deeds of the Apostles as they stand against persecution and boldly proclaim the gospel. After the empowering work of the Holy Spirit, Peter, John, and the other disciples have no fear in the face of persecution. They are beaten and imprisoned, but what do they do? They continue to preach Christ and Him crucified. This shows the great power of God, that He can work to change fearful fishermen into bold heralds of the kingdom of God. What does this message have to offer modern Christians and the church of today? The message of God’s faithfulness and the good news of salvation is a timeless message that the church always needs to hear. God has promised that He will give His Holy Spirit to the church, and He will empower believers to take the good news of salvation to the ends of the earth. This is so that all people might know that Jesus is the Savior of the world who has died for sinners so that all who believe are saved and made children of God.
The Bible offers many commentaries about the spiritual, but how can we glorify God with our physical bodies? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones provides 3 key points to why and how we must Glorify God with our bodies in his sermon on Romans 12:1-2. First, that the whole person is to be saved, not just a man’s mind and spirit. Dr. Lloyd-Jones states that we must never leave out the body in our ideas of redemption because it is the “temple of the Holy Ghost” and should be treated as such. Although we will someday leave the body, it is not simply flesh that houses our soul. It is instead, a temple for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Secondly, we must glorify God with our bodies because the soul must have a body to express itself. We are not just souls floating around inside of bodies. No, we are intelligent beings that can think, see, and do physical acts. The body, soul, and mind are all intertwined and when combined, they make us who we are. Thirdly, we must not disregard the eternal importance of our physical body because it is one of the chief sources of temptation and sin. Dr. Lloyd-Jones states, “The greatest fight for every Christian is the fight against the temptation of the body.” Sin is lurking around every corner. We must always be on the lookout to protect ourselves from bodily temptation. To counteract our sinful tendencies, we must present our bodies as a “living sacrifice.” Like Paul states, we must sacrifice our own sinful desires for eternity. We want to preserve our bodies to be “holy and acceptable to God”. If we strive for this, then we will be ready when we must inevitably present them to God.
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 “Spiritual Gifts (2),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones speaks with clarity and boldness on the topic. In arguing for the continuation of all the gifts – including the unusual gifts – he answers specific objections posed by ‘cessationists’. One unique feature of this sermon is Dr. Lloyd-Jones’s reminder to all camps of the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit in both the dispensing of gifts and withholding of gifts. The Spirit alone determines the manifestation of all gifts but the Spirit can be quenched. This difficult balance is maintained in this message where he warns that quenching the Spirit results in not just a lack of unusual gifts, but also the hinderance of the “regular” gifts. Moreover, he helpfully answers one of the most practical questions in the Christian life: how does one know their particular gift? With practical application and in-depth teaching on prophesy, tongues and miraculous gifts, Dr. Lloyd-Jones expounds on the great doctrine of spiritual gifts.
What is the purpose of the conscience? How does it function? Can it be wrong? In this sermon on Romans 9:1–3 titled “Paul’s Great Sorrow,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones dissects the phrases that Paul uses to show how his conscience testifies to the truth of Scripture. This, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, must first be considered, both the statement and the terms in which he says them. Then the reader can go on to consider the lessons and conclusions. Paul is attesting that his own conscience is a witness that what he is saying is true. Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that a person’s conscience is independent of the person. The extent to which the conscience is saturated with Scripture determines the extent to which one can depend on their conscience. Additionally, Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns never to speak against it or condemn it on the basis of personal opinion. The conscience is enlightened by the Holy Spirit in the Christian and it is used by the Holy Spirit to convict. Paul then says how grieved he is over the Jews and their condition, wishing he himself could take their place. Dr. Lloyd-Jones begins to ask why Paul is making these types of statements and states that Paul is doing this because he is eager to clear the charges that were against him.
Despite Paul’s great power given by the Holy Spirit, the authority given by Christ to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and his extraordinary experiences, the apostle Paul never put himself up on a pedestal. He expected to pour into the church at Rome, but he also wanted to be encouraged by them as well. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains in the sermon “The Fellowship of Believers,” this is a glimpse of the doctrine and nature of the Christian church in Romans 1:7–15. Paul’s depiction of the communion of the saints is one which consists of fellowship in the Holy Spirit. Neither color of skin, nor social status, nor education matter. What matters to Paul and constituted his desire to fellowship with them was that they were fellow members of the body of Christ. Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenges the human desire to limit fellowship to certain types of Christians – perhaps those Christians found to be most interesting or stimulating. The encouragement from Dr. Lloyd-Jones is to enjoy the fellowship of all Christians. This, he says, is the New Testament understanding of fellowship. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains what the apostle Paul found so encouraging about these simple Christians in Rome, and the dangers of contemporary “movements” as they often replace the role of the church in the Christian life.
It’s a fact of the Christian life that Christians will always fight sin and temptation. In this sermon on Ephesians 4:22–24 titled “When Not to Pray But to Act,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones highlights this spiritual battle as Christians put off the old self and all its ways. Christ commands fleeing sin and the devil and to pursue a life that is consistent with being children of God, benefactors of Christ and His work. This putting off of the old self and pursuit of Christ is not something that Christians do passively but are commanded to do actively. Simply praying about sanctification, but never acting in pursuit of holiness is not enough and does not take account of the many commands that God’s word gives. Nor do they see that Christians are able to flee temptation and sin. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones continues, all Christians are called and able to obey God, growing in sanctification. For in the power of the Spirit all Christians are to fight against the old self. They are to wage war against all ungodliness and worldliness that still dwells in them. This is done by consistently seeking to put off the flesh and put on the spirit of righteousness. God who has called His people to salvation also calls them to pursue holiness and sanctification.
What is the greatest problem in the world? In this sermon on 1 Peter 2:9 titled “Who Is This God?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches that it is not how to stop war, or end famine, but it is how a holy God can forgive sinners. This is the great enigma of human existence, for all are born in sin and in a fallen state wholly opposed to God and His righteous law. God must punish sin because he is holy and just. How can this be resolved? Dr. Lloyd-Jones brings forth the great hope because God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die a sinner’s death so that the law might be fulfilled. Sinners can be saved because of what God has done in Christ Jesus by repenting of their sins and believing in Christ. All who believe are given a new nature that seeks God and desires holiness. Christ is the head of a new humanity that is being perfected and brought to completion as the Holy Spirit enlightens their minds and grants them eyes of faith to see God’s truth. This is the result of God pouring out His love and grace on undeserving sinners, making them new creatures in Christ Jesus.
Is there convincing proof that Jesus was the Messiah? In part three of his series on John 5:31–35 in a sermon titled “The Meaning of Salvation,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers this question with a firm yes. The proof comes in the form of testimony from John the Baptist. As he testifies of Jesus as the Messiah, the Lamb of God, he offers one final prophetic affirmation that Jesus is indeed the consolation of Israel. Speaking of Jesus, John declares that He is the one who will come and baptize with the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament speaks of the coming outpouring of the Spirit, and John, as the last prophet, proclaims that Jesus will initiate and send that very outpouring. This fact alone demonstrates that Jesus is the Messiah. John the Baptist called the people to repent of their sins, be baptized in water as a sign of that repentance, and directed them to produce the fruit of repentance in their lives. In this message, Dr. Lloyd-Jones considers if John’s baptism was sufficient and how it compared to the baptism of the Spirit, and how they relate to the gospel and salvation.
What is the believer’s relationship to sin? In this sermon on sanctification, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses this topic, saying “It is impossible for a Christian to remain in continual sin due to sanctification.” This is a freeing truth. From the moment of conversion, the Spirit of Life dwells in the believer, and they cannot be subject to the carnal. Moreover, this is a promise for all Christians, not just a blessing that some receive and others don’t. And yet, the struggle against sin is still a daily battle for followers of Christ. To help the listener better understand, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that from the moment of salvation, Christians are dead to sin since they have been united with Christ and His life. The Christian spirit is alive to Christ, yet their bodies are still under the bondage and dominion of sin. For those who are discouraged that they will not be able to fight sin, Dr. Lloyd-Jones offers some encouraging wisdom, imploring the believer to go to Scripture and remember the Lord’s promise to be with those who seek Him. Christians are called to fight sin, and with the help of the Holy Spirit living in each believer, they can overcome it.
What is real knowledge of God? As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones follows the apostle Paul’s teaching on the adoption as sons of God, he gives special attention to the Christian’s true emotional and effective knowledge of the truth. The Holy Spirit leads the Christian from a spirit of bondage and fear to this Spirit of adoption, which is marked by the deep cry, “Abba, Father.” In this sermon on Romans 8:15 titled “Sons of God,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones further explores this teaching as it relates to assurance. Similar to someone in love, one may not be able to express it intellectually, but they are certainly aware that it is true. Likewise the child of God knows he or she is a child of God. This, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, is the proof of adoption. Practically, then, God is not off in the distance nor is He difficult to approach. The Christian may approach Him in a familiar way, even a spontaneous manner. Listen carefully to this sermon on Romans 8:15 as Dr. Lloyd-Jones talks about the delight, joy, peace, and rest of genuinely knowing God — that is, knowing God as Abba, Father.
There are many who say that people are born good, or at least indifferent to evil. They believe people come into the world innocent and able to freely do good. However, as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argues in this sermon on Ephesians 4:22–24 titled “Corruption, Lusts, Deceits,” according to God’s word, this is incorrect. The Bible presents people as born guilty and wholly corrupted by sin and all its deceit. Humanity is born into a world that is under the rule of the evil one who is the great deceiver and father of lies. They are born into this miserable state and unable to do anything to save themselves. This life of the unbeliever is one given up to sin, but the life of the redeemed is another story. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains, those who have been saved out of this world by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit and adopted into God’s family are declared righteous before His eyes. The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit gives all believers the ability to resist the deceit of sin and the devil. Yet it is because of Christ’s work on the cross in humanity’s place that they are declared righteous. This is the great division between people—there are those that know God and trust in his Son, and there are those that are outside the family of God and under the dominion of sin.
“How can we have unity without uniformity?” In this sermon on evangelism from Ephesians 2:20–22 , Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones seeks to answer this question. Titled “Personal Evangelism,” His desire is to look at the application of the passage, namely the work of the Holy Spirit in building the church. First, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Christians must not let others dictate their callings. As he states, there is a danger to just doing “the thing to do.” Each Christian has a responsibility before God to obey Him and Him only. Even the thing that seems like a reasonable call for a person may not be their call at all. By way of illustration, he uses his own call. After leaving his profession as a doctor for ministry, he was pressured by an executive in a missionary organization to become a medical missionary instead of a pastor. Dr. Lloyd-Jones found this to be a biblically ignorant action because the calling of God is between God and the person being called. Dr. Lloyd-Jones also discusses evangelism and several ways that Christians can be faithful. First, he notes that evangelism should an overflow of the Holy Spirit’s presence, not an endeavor to simply know all the answers. Second, faithfulness can be seen in being a good listener, faithful church attendance, and other such “small” tasks.
What has been the greatest quest of humanity? The search for wisdom. In this sermon on John 1:16 titled “The Quest of Man,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes the search for wisdom over the centuries. Humanity has sought happiness, understanding of death, and knowledge of God; all of these are subjects of wisdom and the world seeks these things through various philosophies. This kind of worldly wisdom has only led to false religion. Dr. Lloyd-Jones elaborates on the failure of philosophy, and shows the listener that the world has come short of true knowledge of God for thousands of years. Yet, Christ has made God known. Though no one has seen God, Christ is the Son of God incarnate. Therefore, the Christian has access to knowledge of God and true wisdom. The believer knows God through His Word and Spirit because of the incarnated work of Christ. Humanity may, even now, know God. Jesus describes Himself as One who is greater than Solomon. The least in the Kingdom of Heaven has more wisdom on life and godliness than the greatest heathen philosopher, because true wisdom is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Holy Scriptures. The believer should look no further than to the very written words of God in order to find wisdom.
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.
What is the real cause of all failure and unhappiness in life? How can a person live in this world when the world, the flesh, and the devil are against them? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers clearly: “when one is defeated in life, it is always ultimately due from the fact that he has the spirit of fear.” In this sermon on fear, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explores what the causes, consequences, and cure of this fear are? Is it actually possible to walk without fear, confident that all is truly well with one’s soul? Dr. Lloyd-Jones boldly answers, “Yes!” In this faith-building sermon from 2 Timothy 1, he explains that it is the gift of the Holy Spirit – what He does to the Christian, in the Christian, and what He enables the Christian to do---that makes it possible. God has given to every Christian the Spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind, empowering them to no longer fear. God’s children can walk confidently, knowing whom they have believed until that final day. The one who is not afraid of the final day never needs to be afraid of the things that can happen in this world.
There is no question that the church tends to be divided over many different issues— some are important, but many are centered more around preferences than essential doctrines. In this sermon on divisions in the church from Ephesians 4:4, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches about divisions in the church and how a right perspective on human nature and on the Holy Spirit brings unity to believers and the church. The Holy Spirit not only prepares people to become Christians, but He makes them Christians as well and puts the seal of God on those who believe in Him. Realizing this hope of the Christian calling provides something for believers to unite around. Another type of division that is common within the church regards the natures of people’s conversions and the depth of sin from which they were saved. Many believers feel that the depth of their relationship with the Lord is related to the intensity of their salvation experience. However, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains why this is not only unbiblical, but also a hindrance to community within the church. He says, “We must not dwell on what we’ve been called from, but we must dwell on what we’ve been called to.” By focusing on the equally sinful condition before the Lord, the complete dependency on Him, and on the hope of the calling as Christians, Christians can avoid these dissensions that so easily tear the Christian body apart.
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