Facing the Facts
A Sermon on Acts 8:4-5
Originally preached Oct. 22, 1967
Scripture
4Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. 5Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Sermon Description
Christianity is not about a life of truth seeking nor is it about a religious experience, but it is a proclamation of who God is and what He has done in the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the sermon “Facing the Facts” from Acts 8:4–5, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones confronts those who erroneously claim that Christianity is not about facts, but rather that it is a matter of personal taste. The Christianity of the Bible is one of truth and proclamation. It is a religion that has something to say to the world amidst its pain and suffering. It brings the message of Jesus Christ as King and Savior who died upon the cross at Calvary and rose from the grave so that all who believe will not perish, but have eternal life. This not a message of personal improvement or social transformation first and foremost, but it is about redemption from sins and salvation from God’s wrath that rightly befalls all sinners. If the church wants to be relevant and meaningful, it must proclaim the only message with which it has been entrusted. It must proclaim the gospel to a world that is broken and filled with sin and suffering. It must imitate the early church of the apostles in their boldness and clarity in the way they proclaimed the message of the risen Savior.
Sermon Breakdown
- The passage describes how Christianity spread from Jerusalem to Samaria.
- Persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem, scattering the believers.
- The scattered believers preached the gospel wherever they went.
- Philip, a deacon, preached the gospel in Samaria. Many believed and were baptized.
- Simon the sorcerer had amazed the people of Samaria with magic. But they turned from him to believe Philip's preaching about the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ.
- The passage shows how the gospel spread and the church grew through the preaching of the word.
- The preachers were ordinary Christians, showing the message is simple enough for anyone to understand and share.
- The message was not about the preachers' experiences but about the facts of Jesus Christ.
- The message was definite and particular, not vague or uncertain. The preachers proclaimed the word, the specific message about Jesus.
- The message was simple enough for ordinary people to understand but also profound enough to study for a lifetime.
- The message was not about seeking truth but proclaiming the truth that the preachers had found in Jesus Christ.
- The message was about the kingdom of God, God's rule and reign over people's lives through Jesus Christ.
- The message was about God rescuing people from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light through Jesus Christ.
- People enter God's kingdom by acknowledging their need, confessing their sin, believing the message about Jesus, and surrendering to Him.
- The message brought great joy to those who believed it.
Sermon Q&A
How Did Christianity Spread in the Early Church According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the method by which Christianity initially spread?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Christianity spread through ordinary Christians "preaching the word." He points specifically to Acts 8:4-5, where those who were scattered by persecution went everywhere preaching. He emphasizes that these weren't apostles but ordinary church members who spread the message. Lloyd-Jones suggests that the word "preaching" in verse 4 could be better translated as "gossiping the word" - ordinary Christians in everyday conversation telling others about the good news they had received.
What does Lloyd-Jones say is the difference between Christianity and other religious cults?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones makes a clear distinction between Christianity and cults by saying that cults are primarily focused on personal experiences and what the religion has done for individuals. He states: "In the cults they are always talking about themselves and their experiences. That's how the cult spread." In contrast, Christianity is based on objective historical facts and truths - not merely subjective experiences. Christians speak about "the word" - the historical events concerning Jesus Christ and what He has done, rather than primarily about their own emotional experiences.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe "the word" that early Christians preached?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes "the word" as: 1. Definite and particular - not vague or nebulous 2. Based on historical facts about Jesus Christ 3. Essentially simple enough for ordinary people to understand and communicate 4. Yet profound enough that "the mightiest intellect in the universe and all the intellects of all the ages can't encompass it" 5. Good news or "glad tidings" of salvation 6. A message about "the kingdom of God" - God's spiritual rule and reign
What does Lloyd-Jones say about the kingdom of God in his sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the kingdom of God is central to the Christian message. He emphasizes that it is: 1. Not about reforming or improving the world 2. A spiritual kingdom ("my kingdom is not of this world") 3. In opposition to "the kingdoms of this world" which are characterized by "darkness, evil, slavery, shame, sin, failure, helplessness" 4. God's way of "delivering us out of the kingdom of darkness and of Satan" 5. A kingdom that will one day be external and visible when Christ returns 6. Something individuals can enter now through faith in Christ
According to Lloyd-Jones, what is the primary reason people are not Christians today?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones states that people are not Christians primarily because of ignorance and misunderstanding about what Christianity actually is. He says: "People are not Christian because they don't know what Christianity is. They're not interested in the church because they don't know what the church is. It is ignorance, misunderstanding." He argues that many people criticize Christianity without understanding what they're rejecting, and that if people truly understood the message of Christianity - that God in Christ can deliver them from sin and evil - they would respond to 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.