Abraham Believed God
A Sermon on Acts 7:1-4
Originally preached Nov. 20, 1966
Scripture
1Then said the high priest, Are these things so? 2And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, 3And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and …
Sermon Description
The Christian life is one of faith and action. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones proclaims in the sermon “Abraham Believed God,” this is clearly seen in the life of Abraham. Perhaps there is no better example of this than the life of Abraham, the father of all the faithful. The apostle Paul uses him as an example of what it looks like to believe and trust in the promises of God. James, the brother of Jesus, also uses Abraham as the example of what a life of good works looks like. In Abraham is seen what it looks like to believe in the promises of God and to have faith in them. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones expounds, Abraham is also an example of putting faith into action. What some may try to use as a contradiction is actually a great complement as a heart of genuine faith will always demonstrate itself in a life of biblical action. Works flow from a transformed heart as daily practice moves ever closer to a heavenly position.
Sermon Breakdown
- Stephen is on trial for preaching Jesus as the Son of God and savior. He begins his defense by going back to the call of Abraham.
- God called Abraham out of Mesopotamia and told him to go to the land He would show him. Abraham obeyed and went out by faith.
- Abraham believed God's word even though everything seemed contrary to it. He considered his own body and Sarah's womb as dead, but still believed.
- Abraham believed God could do what He promised. He gave glory to God and was fully persuaded God would fulfill His word. His faith was counted as righteousness.
- Abraham is an example of justification by faith alone, not works. His story shows God's way of salvation, which is the same in both the Old and New Testaments.
- The Jews believed they were justified through Abraham as their father, but misunderstood his story. Stephen shows Abraham was justified by faith, not works.
- The real issue the Jews had was with Jesus as the way of salvation. But Abraham's story shows Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise of salvation.
- God called Abraham out of a sinful world under judgment, just as He calls us out through faith in Christ. We must leave our own worldliness and works behind.
- Abraham simply believed God's word and acted on it. He had nothing else to go on but God's bare word, yet he obeyed in faith. This is how we are saved—by believing God's word about Christ.
- True faith results in action and obedience. If we believe God's word, we will act on it, just as Abraham did. Mere intellectual belief is not enough. Faith without works is dead.
- We are saved by grace through faith, not of works. But true faith will produce works. Paul and James do not contradict each other. They address two different issues.
- Abraham is an example for us. His story shows how we can be justified and saved. We must believe God's word about Christ and His work, leave behind trust in self, and obey in faith.
- The message of the gospel seems foolish to human wisdom. But we must believe God's word about Christ, even when all else seems contrary. We have nothing else to stand on but God's word.
- The world sees Jesus as merely a good man and moral teacher. But God's word says He is the Son of God, born of a virgin, who died for our sins and was raised to life. We must believe this by faith.
- We can add nothing to Christ's work. We come just as we are, and are clothed in His righteousness by faith. All we can bring is faith in His word.
Sermon Q&A
What Was the Cause of the Protestant Reformation According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Acts 7:1-4, the Protestant Reformation was fundamentally caused by the rediscovery of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. In his words:
"This point that is made here was the thing that produced the Protestant Reformation. Are you interested in the Protestant Reformation? Do you think it made any difference at all? Was there any point or any purpose in it?"
What Was Martin Luther's Struggle Before the Reformation?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Martin Luther was deeply troubled about his soul and the forgiveness of his sins. Despite his efforts to be righteous through religious practices, he remained troubled:
"Martin Luther, a godly, pious, religious young man, was troubled about his soul. The forgiveness of his sins. How could he find it? He decided that by living in the world, he couldn't do it... So he decides he'll give all that up and become a monk. He'll go out of the world, and he'll try to put himself right with God. He'll give himself to study and to fasting and sweating and praying."
How Did Luther Eventually Find Peace?
The breakthrough for Luther came when he understood the biblical doctrine of justification by faith:
"Suddenly, the whole thing became clear to him. The just shall live by faith. The righteousness of God is not something that a man attains unto. It is a gift of God to men. Through Jesus Christ, great peace came to his soul and rejoicing. Hence the Protestant Reformation."
How Does Abraham's Story Relate to Salvation by Faith?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Abraham's story in Acts 7 is the first great example of salvation by faith alone:
"Abraham is the first great example of the life of faith, the way of salvation by faith and by faith only. Abraham is the first great illustration of the truth that a man is justified by faith alone and not by any works of his own corresponding to the law."
What Is the Key Element That Makes Faith Genuine?
According to Lloyd-Jones, genuine faith is demonstrated by action. Referring to Abraham's response to God's call:
"Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Caren... Abraham proved that he had true faith by his works, by his actions. He got up and he went out. He doesn't really say, all right, I believe this, and stay in Mesopotamia. No, no, he leaves Mesopotamia."
How Does Dr. Lloyd-Jones Define Justification by Faith Alone?
Lloyd-Jones explains justification by faith alone as completely setting aside one's own efforts and fully trusting in Christ's work:
"It is justification by faith only. It is naked faith. It is without anything saved. That it is the word of God... I am telling you that you can do nothing about your salvation. Nothing at all. It is all in Christ. He is the savior and his is alone. The salvation. It is the free gift of God."
What Is the Central Argument of Stephen's Speech According to Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Stephen's central argument was to show that faith has always been God's way of salvation:
"What Stephen is rarely doing is this, is to show them that they'd completely misunderstood the story of Abraham. They are putting Abraham and the story concerning him and the whole of the Old Testament up against the preaching concerning Jesus of Nazareth... And what Stephen is doing here is to show that the story of Abraham is, after all, but one of the first great statements of God's way of salvation in Jesus Christ his son."
How Does Lloyd-Jones Address the Apparent Contradiction Between Paul and James?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones resolves the apparent contradiction between Paul's emphasis on faith and James' emphasis on works:
"James is dealing with what you may call an intellectual belief... You can have an intellectual belief and it is of no value. Faith without works is dead. In other words, a very essential part of faith is that you practice what you believe, that you cast yourself upon what you say you believe, that your whole life is governed and controlled by it."
The Book of Acts
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.