Eternal Life
A Sermon on John 3:16
Scripture
16¶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on John 3:16 titled “Eternal Life,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones breaks down the verse in its context within John, while also calling attention to its profound meaning. The verse itself is spoken by Christ in reply to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Him at night. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says the verse places an incredible focus on God’s love for humanity. God did not abandon His creation to suffer within their own sin but instead gave His Son as payment for those sins. Now, Dr. Lloyd-Jones expands upon the new life found within those who believe. This new life is different than those who do not believe. Unbelievers place too much stock within their body and forget about the soul. Without Christ, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, it becomes easy to live for worldly pleasures. However, the Christian’s assurance is a source of great joy. In closing, Dr. Lloyd-Jones extends the prospect of eternal life to those who have not believed, reminding that God does not care about past wrongdoings, but instead offers the same salvation to every soul.
Sermon Breakdown
- God manifests his love by what he gives to us. He gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- Eternal life is the opposite of perishing. Perishing means being dead in sins, living only for this world and bounded by human capacities. Eternal life is sharing in the life of God.
- Eternal life has two aspects: quality and quantity. Quality means being spiritually alive and thinking about God and spiritual things. Quantity means this life lasts forever even after death.
- God gives eternal life as a gift received through faith alone, not by good works. We can't earn it or make ourselves Christians. We must believe in Christ - accept the truth about his person and work, trust in him, and rest our souls on him.
- Belief means attending to the Word, accepting its truth, trusting it, and acting on it immediately. There's no need to wait or become better qualified. Come as you are.
- "Whosoever" shows God's love is for all people of any nation who believe. No sin is too great to be forgiven. However long you've turned from God, you can come to him and be made clean through Christ's blood.
The Book of John
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.