A State of Unbelief
A Sermon on Luke 4:22
Scripture
22And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
Sermon Description
What does the rejection of Jesus by His own people teach about humanity? In this sermon on Luke 4:22 titled “A State of Unbelief,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones states that while one might be tempted to overlook the story of Jesus’s fellow Jews rejecting Him as ancient history, there is more than meets the eye. He says that the Jewish people’s rejection of Jesus is not borne out of rational arguments or reason, but it is a result of unbelief. They stumbled over Jesus’s message because sin had such a grip on their hearts that they were not able to understand the message of God’s grace. Pride and sin blind all from seeing the truth of the gospel until God in His grace breaks into their world. Sin is a state, not only an action. All are in this state of sin until God opens their eyes so that they can believe. At the heart of this story is the message that humanity is in sin and that God is a Savior. It is ultimately a message of hope for all who believe because it is the only means of being forgiven and made new in God. This sermon calls all to believe in Jesus
Sermon Breakdown
- The people were initially attracted to Jesus and his message. They were attracted by his person, words, and authority.
- However, their attraction and interest were not enough. Faith and commitment to Jesus were required, but lacking.
- The people ultimately rejected Jesus, demonstrating the tragedy of unbelief. Unbelief blinded them to Jesus and the blessings he offered.
- The nature of unbelief:
- It is a powerful condition that grips and controls people.
- It is based on prejudice, not reason or knowledge. People refuse to face facts and evidence.
- It involves pride. People care too much about what others think and their own reputations.
- The tragedy of unbelief is that it blinds people to Jesus, his glory, and the blessings he offers. It leads to hatred of Jesus and rejection of God's gracious offers.
- People must believe in Jesus, give themselves to him, and open their hearts to him to avoid the tragedy of unbelief.
Sermons on Unbelief
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.