No Longer Slaves
A Sermon on Acts 7:35-36
Scripture
35This Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush. 36He brought them out, after that he had shewed …
Sermon Description
The message of the gospel is as hard for people to believe today as it was in the days of the apostles. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on Acts 7:35–36 in this sermon titled “No Longer Slaves,” he shows that the gospel contradicts humanity’s notion of self-sufficiency and grandeur. The Jewish leaders rejected Christ as the only atonement for sin. Stephen boldly proclaimed this message and the reaction from society was so violent that it cost him his life. They saw his message as an offense to Moses, the law, the temple, and God himself. Stephen explained how their own history revealed Christ as the one who fulfilled the law that Moses received from God on Mount Sinai. It is Christ who fulfills all of redemptive history. He is above the temple, the law, and Moses. By opposing Christ, the Sanhedrin were the ones rejecting Moses and the law. Their rejection of the gospel is a turning from the only way to be delivered from the bondage and slavery of sin and the devil. This is the great tragedy of unbelief: when men and women reject Jesus Christ, they reject the only way of salvation that God has given to the world.
Sermon Breakdown
- Stephen is addressing the Sanhedrin, the Jewish court. He is on trial for being a Christian.
- Stephen gives a history of the Jewish people to show how the Sanhedrin's rejection of Jesus is consistent with how their ancestors rejected God's messengers.
- Stephen talks about Moses as an example. The Israelites rejected Moses at first but God still used him to deliver them from Egypt.
- Moses performed signs and wonders in Egypt through God's power. This showed God's miraculous salvation and defeat of Israel's enemies.
- The passover lamb's blood saved the Israelites from the angel of death. This foreshadowed Jesus as the Lamb of God.
- God parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to escape the Egyptians. He then drowned the Egyptians, defeating Israel's enemies.
- Though the Israelites rejected Moses, God still sent him to deliver them. Their rejection didn't stop God's plan.
- Similarly, though people reject Jesus, God still sent him to save us from sin and death. Our rejection doesn't stop God's plan.
- Jesus came to defeat the devil and undo his works, like disease, suffering, and death. Jesus performed miracles, signs and wonders.
- Jesus struggled against the world, the devil, and sin like Moses struggled against Pharaoh and Egypt.
- Jesus faced a crisis like Moses at the Red Sea. He was surrounded by enemies and faced death but overcame them through the cross and resurrection.
- Jesus offers freedom from sin, the world, the devil, the law, and death. He gives new life.
- To reject the gospel is to reject God, not just men. But our rejection doesn't stop God's plan.
- If we reject Jesus, we'll face destruction with his enemies when he returns to judge the world.
- We should stop trying to save ourselves. We should look to Jesus, who has already defeated our enemies. We should believe in him and follow him.
The Book of Acts
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.