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Sermon #2070

Follow Me

A Sermon on Acts 7:1-8

Originally preached Nov. 27, 1966

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Scripture

Acts 7:1-8 ESV KJV
And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and …

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Sermon Description

The Christian life is one of constant movement away from sin and toward holiness. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains in his sermon from Acts 7:1–8 titled “Follow Me,” the Christian life is fundamentally God-centered. It requires the abandonment all other things for the sake of the gospel and Christ. Abraham exemplified this God-centered life when he left kindred and country to go to a foreign land to serve and worship God. In this way Abraham is the great example that is given in the New Testament, and he is appealed to by the writers of the New Testament to show that service to God is not something that comes with the advent of Christ. Abraham and all those that believed in the Old Testament were trusting in the promises of Christ. It is by trusting in Christ that they were counted righteous before God. Furthermore, many of them were persecuted and suffered for their faith as martyrs, as did many suffer in the New Testament and even in modern times. This should serve as an encouragement to Christians in all times because they stand in a long line of faithful and Godly believers who were willing to forsake this world and to suffer as Christians for Christ. Christians should see and rejoice in the God who calls and loves His people, and who has sent His Son to die in their place so that they may live.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. Stephen is delivering a speech before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council. He begins by recounting the story of Abraham.
  2. Abraham was called by God to leave Mesopotamia and go to the land God would show him. Abraham obeyed God's call.
  3. God called Abraham and promised to give him the land, even though at the time Abraham had no children and did not even own any land. Abraham trusted God's promise.
  4. Abraham's life serves as an epitome of the gospel message. God took the initiative to call Abraham, just as God took the initiative to provide salvation through Jesus Christ.
  5. Abraham's life shows that belief in God's promise is the only requirement for salvation. Abraham was justified by faith alone, just as we are justified by faith in Christ.
  6. However, belief is just the beginning. Abraham went on to live a life devoted to following God. Likewise, Christians are called not just to believe in Christ but to follow him.
  7. Abraham's life was centered on God. He submitted his thinking and desires to God's will. Christians are called to be God-centered rather than self-centered.
  8. Abraham separated himself from the world and sin. Though living in the world, Christians are called to be separate from worldliness and set apart for God.
  9. Abraham followed God even when he had nothing tangible to show for it. Christians walk by faith, not by sight, trusting in God's promises.
  10. Abraham endured trials and setbacks but kept following God. The Christian life is not easy and without hardship. Christians must be willing to take up their cross to follow Christ.
  11. Abraham looked forward to the eternal city of God. Christians are to live as strangers and pilgrims in this world, looking ahead to the world to come.
  12. We must follow Christ because of the worthlessness of worldly life, the glory of walking with Christ, and Christ himself, the Son of God who gave his life for us.

Sermon Q&A

What Aspects of Abraham's Life Does Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Highlight in His Sermon?

According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Acts 7:1-8, Abraham's life exemplifies key characteristics of the Christian life. The preacher highlights several important aspects:

  1. God took the initiative in Abraham's life. "It wasn't Abraham who sought God. It was God who sought Abraham." Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that salvation begins with God's intervention, not human effort.

  2. Abraham lived a God-centered life rather than a self-centered one. "What makes a Christian a Christian is that he becomes God-centered. He lifts up his eyes."

  3. Abraham was willing to separate from the world. "Come out from them," quotes Lloyd-Jones, noting that Abraham left his country and kindred, symbolizing the Christian's need for separation from worldly values.

  4. Abraham walked by faith without immediate visible rewards. "And he gave him none inheritance in it... yet he promised that he would give it to him." This demonstrates the Christian's need to trust God's promises even when fulfillment isn't immediately visible.

  5. Abraham kept his focus on eternity. "His secret was this: He always kept his eye on the beyond. He was looking for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

How Does Dr. Lloyd-Jones Define the Gospel in His Sermon?

In his sermon, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones defines the gospel with several key elements:

  1. God's initiative: "The God of glory appeared unto our father, Abraham." Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that salvation begins with God seeking us, not us seeking God.

  2. The necessity of Christ's death: "There is no salvation for anybody except in Jesus Christ and him crucified." He stresses that "even God cannot save any one of us without putting our sins on his own son and punishing them in him."

  3. Justification by faith alone: "We are justified by faith alone." Lloyd-Jones explains that salvation comes "simply to believe that Jesus is the son of God and that he died for your sins."

  4. Transformation of life: "Forgiveness is just the entry into the Christian life. It's the introduction." The gospel includes not just forgiveness but a complete change in how we live.

  5. Eternal purpose: The gospel aims not just to save us from hell but to bring us into relationship with God both now and eternally. "We are saved from something, but thank God, we are saved for something."

What Does Dr. Lloyd-Jones Teach About Faith and Works in the Christian Life?

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses the relationship between faith and works in his sermon with the following points:

  1. Faith comes first: "There is only one way to become a Christian, and that is to see your utter absolute hopelessness and helplessness and to trust yourself just as you are...to Jesus of Nazareth."

  2. Works follow genuine faith: "We are not only to be dead, indeed unto sin, but alive unto God. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't stop at saying, 'come unto me.' He went on and said, 'follow me.'"

  3. Neither should be separated: "You mustn't divide these things, you mustn't separate them. Both are absolutely essential."

  4. Two common errors: "There are those who put their all emphasis upon the fact that we are saved from hell, that our sins are forgiven...But they stop at that." Conversely, "there are others who seem to think that you can live the life before you've entered it."

  5. Purpose of Christ's sacrifice: "He gave himself for us, says Paul, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. That's why he did it."

Lloyd-Jones teaches that salvation is by faith alone, but genuine faith inevitably produces a transformed life characterized by good works and separation from worldly values.

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.