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Sermon #5732

Opponents: Objections and Judgment

A Sermon on Acts 4:1-12

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Scripture

Acts 4:1-12 ESV KJV
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the …

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Sermon Description

Christians should be encouraged that some of the trials and persecution they are facing in life might be as a result of being a follower of Jesus. Christians are not facing a new situation, and in this sermon on Acts 4:1–12 titled “Opponents: Objections and Judgment,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches on the gospel and people’s rejection of it. Christians must not forget that hostility towards the gospel is not a novelty— from the beginning, Christianity was rejected, and opposition to it has not changed at all. While people reject the gospel because of prejudices they bring against it that blind them to the truth, one of the main barriers to belief is pride. Christianity does not fit into the way that people want to think about the world and themselves. What are unbelievers rejecting? Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that at the root, people reject Jesus Christ as Savior and as the only Savior. Yet, as he points out, these are two extremely vital doctrines that must be dealt with by all. Why is Jesus the only Savior? From Scripture, Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows that everyone is dead in their sins by their nature. Jesus is the only Savior because He is the only Savior sufficient enough to rescue humanity since He lived sinlessly and conquered death. Through Him, and Him alone, people can have the victory.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The situation we face today is not new or unique. The early church faced opposition and persecution from the beginning.
  2. The gospel has always faced opposition from a strange assortment of groups that rarely agree, but unite against the gospel.
  3. The opposition is not due to intellect or understanding, but prejudice, feelings and desires.
  4. The opposition is often due to pride and a threat to authority and position.
  5. The opposition objects to Jesus as the Savior, his sacrificial death and his physical resurrection.
  6. Jesus is the only Savior. There is no other name by which we must be saved.
  7. Jesus does not need any assistance in saving us, not from his mother, the saints, priests or the Pope. He has done it all.
  8. We must proclaim Jesus as the only Savior against all objections. We are not narrow or intolerant, we are right.
  9. Jesus is the only Savior because God is God. He is holy, righteous and just and must punish sin.
  10. Man is sinful, guilty and helpless to save himself. He needs a Savior.
  11. Jesus is the only one who can be the Savior. He is fully God and fully man. He obeyed the law, died for our sins and was raised for our justification.
  12. Jesus has defeated every enemy - sin, death, the devil and the world. He has done everything and there is nothing left to do.
  13. We must challenge the modern "builders" who claim they can build a better world, but have produced nothing. They reject the only cornerstone.
  14. The rejectors of the gospel are under the judgment of God. They cannot thwart God's plans and power.

Sermon Q&A

What Are the Characteristics of Opposition to the Gospel According to Martyn Lloyd-Jones?

Based on Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Acts 4:1-12, here are the key characteristics of opposition to the gospel:

What does Lloyd-Jones teach about the historical consistency of opposition to the gospel?

According to Lloyd-Jones, opposition to the gospel is not new or unique to our modern era. He states: "This is not the first time that the gospel has been fighting for its life. The simple fact is that the gospel of our Lord has had to fight for its existence from the very beginning." He points out that Jesus himself was crucified, the apostles were persecuted, and throughout church history believers have faced opposition - including "protestant martyrs, the Puritans, the Covenanters in Scotland" and many others who suffered for their faith.

What strange pattern does Lloyd-Jones identify in those who oppose the gospel?

Lloyd-Jones observes that opponents of the gospel often form unusual alliances despite fundamental disagreements on other issues. He notes how in Acts 4, the Sanhedrin included "priests, the captain of the temple, the Sadducees... elders and the scribes" - groups who normally disagreed with each other but united against the apostles. He describes this as "the most astounding thing, that men and women who disagree almost about everything find a strange agreement when they face our Lord and his gospel and his message."

What are the primary motivations behind opposition to the gospel according to Lloyd-Jones?

Lloyd-Jones identifies several key motivations:

  1. Prejudice and feelings rather than intellectual objections: "People who reject the gospel do so not because of their great intellects or because of their knowledge. It is still because of their prejudice."

  2. Wounded pride: Opposition is often because "it touched and it hurt their pride" when their authority is threatened.

  3. Contempt for ordinary preachers: "Who are these men? They're just ordinary fishermen. And what right are they to be preaching at all?"

  4. Belief in their own abilities as "builders": They believe they can build a better system than what God has provided.

What specific aspects of the gospel message do opponents most strongly reject?

Lloyd-Jones identifies three primary objections:

  1. Jesus as the exclusive Savior: "Neither is there salvation in any other." While many will accept Jesus as a great teacher or moral example, they reject His exclusive claim to be the only way to salvation.

  2. The sufficiency of Christ alone: "He is a perfect savior, that he is a complete savior, that he has left nothing undone."

  3. The doctrine of human sinfulness: "The modern church, unfortunately doesn't recognize sin. It thinks it can explain it away psychologically."

Lloyd-Jones concludes that the church must boldly proclaim these truths despite opposition, asserting that "we must denounce this error. We must proclaim this positive truth. It is the only message of salvation."

Itinerant Preaching

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.