A New Quality of Life
A Sermon on John 4:13-14
Scripture
13Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting …
Sermon Description
Does the saved person comprehend Christianity? Have they also been changed by it? While good doctrine is necessary, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains in his sermon on John 4:13–14 titled “A New Quality of Life” that the Christian doesn’t merely follow a teaching but instead the Christian’s life is changed by the Holy Spirit. It is not about what they do but what is done to them. He describes that the Holy Spirit changes people in a moment and over time. Every Christian is changed instantly when they are regenerated and given new life. Moreover, every Christian undergoes some degree of change through sanctification, which means being changed progressively over the course of an entire lifetime. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that one of the best ways to perceive these changes is to look at the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is evidence of a changed life; a life that is impacted by the Spirit and given new life. Dr. Lloyd-Jones goes on to detail these fruits and categorize them. The Christian asks themselves: “Do you find that you have been changed by the Holy Spirit? Do you have a new heart with good desires and joy?” All are encouraged to listen and hear how to gain clarity on the state of the soul.
Sermon Breakdown
- Jesus offers full satisfaction for the whole personality including the mind, heart, and emotions.
- The gospel provides complete satisfaction for the heart and emotions, not just the mind.
- Emotion and sentimentalism are different from the true joy and happiness offered in the gospel.
- The Holy Spirit produces joy and satisfaction in the heart in two ways: directly by filling our hearts and indirectly by producing the fruit of the Spirit.
- The first three fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, and peace which provide positive satisfaction.
- The next three fruits of longsuffering, gentleness, and goodness are negative in that they help restrain our sinful reactions to others that rob us of joy.
- The final three fruits of faithfulness, meekness, and temperance promote joy and help us maintain it.
- Faithfulness or reliability of character provides stability and steadiness which allows us to continue experiencing love, joy and peace.
- Meekness is essential to maintaining joy and is the opposite of an aggressive personality that demands one’s rights.
- Temperance or self-control provides discipline and balance without being repressive. It allows our joy to be expressed in the proper way.
- Occasional revival experiences are valuable but the Spirit’s continuous work of producing fruit in us leads to greater, lasting joy.
- It is possible to experience unspeakable joy now through the Spirit’s work, not just during revivals.
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.