Rejection and Unbelief

A Sermon on Acts 4:11-12

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Scripture

Acts 4:11-12 ESV

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (ESV)

Sermon Description

Is the world smarter than God? Is religion only for the feeble? Modern humanity likes to think that it is too enlightened to believe in things like the deity of Christ, bodily resurrection, divine judgment and the sinfulness of humanity. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out from Acts 4:11–12 in the sermon “Rejection and Unbelief,” they claim that no one can possibly believe in these things and claim to be rational, sane, or educated. They believe Christianity is nonsense. But, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, those who know and believe in the Scriptures should not be surprised when they hear these objections because the apostles heard the same objections two thousand years ago. The Jews rejected the idea of a crucified messiah, and the Greeks found the cross to be utter and complete foolishness. The objections to the gospel today are really no different from those of the ancients. The modern human is not nearly as progressive and innovative in their rejection of Christian truth as they would like to be. Both the ancient and modern person rejects the gospel for the same fundamental reason: unbelief. They are hardened and calloused in their sinful rebellion against God their creator. They scoff at the idea that they must be saved from the wrath of God that is coming on account of their sins, because they do not believe in sin. This is the heart of unbelief.

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.