Scripture

Sermon Description

Many people go to church but have no idea what church actually is. In this sermon from Acts 2:41–42, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones brings forward “the great, most important question we must face at this time — What is the church?” To answer this, he explores what it means to be a Christian, fellowship with believers, and delves into refuting theological liberalism which seeks to redefine the Christian faith and the Christian church. His chief concern is that the church itself is undermining Christian doctrine, yet rails against increasing societal immorality. In his estimation, within the church there are those who decry moral decay but do not recognize that their rejection of apostolic doctrine is the key contributing factor to the mounting immorality of society. He shares that the Christian church has been the institution which has most contributed to declining moral standards in recent generations through theological and academic exploits in so-called “higher criticism.” He draws examples from the Old Testament and secular history to underscore his point that Biblical, apostolic doctrine is necessary for practical morality. He affirms that the church must reject the modern suggestion that it doesn’t need the apostles’ doctrine, but instead only needs ethical teaching. Such a premise, in his understanding, is built on a false and unrealistic concept of human nature.