The Riches of His Grace
A Sermon on Romans 10:11-13
Scripture
11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord …
Sermon Description
In this sermon on “The Riches of His Grace” from Romans 10:11–13 Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones continues unfolding the apostle Paul’s argument for the inclusion of Gentiles in salvation. Working from this passage, his second point in the series draws from the glorious fact that the same Lord Jesus Christ, who is Lord over all, is rich in grace to all who call upon Him. Since salvation depends entirely upon God and His power to forgive, there is hope for anyone. It’s the great central theme of the Scripture foretold by the prophets, brought about by Jesus in the gospel, and proclaimed by the apostles and the early church. What does this mean for today? It doesn't matter how much one has sinned or how profound their ignorance is, the riches of God’s grace are endless and He is sufficient to give to all. There is no work or effort one can add to their salvation because His riches in salvation are all-sufficient. All worldly distinctions and prejudices are foolish because God is rich to all, without distinction, and there is nothing one can ever need that cannot be found in this endlessly rich savior.
Sermon Breakdown
- The passage under consideration is Romans 11:12-13. The apostle Paul is proving that salvation is by faith alone.
- Paul quotes Isaiah 28:16 to show that believing is what matters and that whoever believes will never be put to shame.
- In verse 12, Paul comments on the Isaiah passage. He says there is no difference between Jew and Gentile.
- The same Lord is over all and is rich to all who call on him. This is the first argument - there is only one Lord over all.
- The second argument is that God has riches of grace to give to all, both Jews and Gentiles. Salvation depends on God's ability to give, not anything in us.
- The New Testament shows the riches of God's grace. Even Jesus' ministry was mainly to Jews, but he hinted at salvation for Gentiles too. The book of Acts shows the Gospel going to Gentiles. Paul's letters, especially Ephesians, show God's grace is for all.
- The terms used to describe salvation show its richness - superlatives and abundance. The prophets foretold a child who would be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah invited all to come freely. Jesus offered living water and bread of life in abundance.
- Hymns also express the richness of Christ - "Thou, O Christ, art all I want; more than all in Thee I find." "Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin." "Thou hidden source of calm repose, Thou all-sufficient love divine."
- We should not make distinctions between people. Christ's riches are enough for all. Nothing matters but the riches of His grace.
- We should open our eyes to Christ's riches, be filled with the Spirit, and overflow with praise. We should sit at Jesus' feet, find delight in hearing His voice, and thirst to prove the greatness of His redeeming love.
The Book of Romans
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.