Practical Christianity (1)
A Sermon on Romans 12:14-15
Scripture
14Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Romans 12:14–15 titled “Practical Christianity (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones looks at the application for the doctrine Paul has been laying down and how theory moves into practical daily living: “The glory of God in His great salvation is involved in this [daily living].” Learn that the best form of evangelism is Christian people manifesting the Christian life, not only the proclamation by word of mouth. Dr. Lloyd-Jones shares that “a mere theoretical Christianity is useless” and a contradiction. The Scriptures are intensely practical and Christians are called to have patience with unbelievers. Moreover, Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that one’s attitude towards persecution must be positive as the endurance of persecution in its various forms tests the reality of their Christianity in a thorough manner. Only a Christian can bless (and not curse) those who persecute them. Christians are called to remember what they were and how God reacted to them, showing them total grace. The sinner must be separated from the sin, asking the question, “Why does a person behave the way they does?” Christians are encouraged to have compassion on the sinner’s helpless state and pray for the salvation of unbelievers to “be like our blessed Lord.”
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is addressing practical Christian living in Romans 12.
- Verses 1-2 provide the foundational principles for the rest of the chapter.
- Verses 3-8 discuss exercising spiritual gifts in the church.
- Verses 9-13 focus on relationships within the church.
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Verses 14-21 deal with reacting to persecution and difficult people.
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Christians should expect persecution because the world persecuted Christ.
- Our reaction to persecution must be positive, not just non-retaliatory. We must desire the good of persecutors.
- We can only have this reaction by understanding our own sinfulness and God’s grace in saving us.
- We must see persecutors as spiritually blind and pray for their salvation.
- Examples of this positive reaction include Christ on the cross, Stephen’s martyrdom, and the parable of the unforgiving servant.
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.