Uncircumcised in Heart
A Sermon on Acts 7:54-60
Originally preached July 2, 1967
Scripture
54¶ When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. 55But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, …
Sermon Description
Sin contaminates everything. Although God created the first two humans to be sinless, pure, and upright, they quickly fell into sin. What started with their act of sin continues in everyone today. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches the sermon “Uncircumcised in Heart” from Acts 7:54–60 and proclaims that sin blinds and makes humanity unable to hear the things of God. Even when the gospel first enters the ears, it sounds foolish and incomprehensible. This is the case of many who saw Jesus perform great miracles yet because of their unbelief did not understand what they saw. Just as a blind person cannot heal themselves, neither can a sinner save themselves. This why God in his grace provided a way of salvation. This is the gospel of grace. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts people and enables them to believe. While sinful people can and do resist the Holy Spirit as the Pharisees did, the Holy Spirit can ultimately overcome the most deep-seated unbelief. God is able to overcome the most irrational aspects of unbelief. When God’s Holy Spirit works to make sinners born again and give circumcised hearts, they receive the new life in Christ and the Spirit indwells them, making them new creatures.
Sermon Breakdown
- Stephen addresses the Sanhedrin as "uncircumcised in heart and ears". This means they are spiritually deaf and blind. They cannot understand spiritual truth.
- The natural man cannot receive spiritual truth. He lacks the spiritual faculty to understand it. Spiritual truth is foolishness to him.
- Unbelief involves a person's entire relationship to God and truth, not just actions. It is a profound state of being.
- The Sanhedrin persecuted the prophets and rejected the Messiah the prophets foretold. They were blind to the truth before them.
- The Sanhedrin resisted the Holy Spirit. They felt His power but rejected it. Unbelief is an active rejection of truth, not passive.
- The Sanhedrin twisted God's law to suit themselves. They were hypocrites who did not actually keep the law.
- The reaction of the Sanhedrin shows the irrationality of unbelief. They responded with violence and emotion, not reason.
- Saul of Tarsus, before his conversion, also showed the irrationality of unbelief. He violently persecuted Christians.
- Unbelief enslaves the mind, will, and heart. Only God can free us from unbelief by giving us new life in Christ.
Sermon Q&A
What Does Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Say About the Nature of Unbelief?
What is the main difference between a believer and an unbeliever according to Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the difference between a believer and an unbeliever is not merely superficial or a matter of personal choice. He states: "There is no greater or more profound distinction than that between a Christian and a nonchristian." Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that this difference involves "a man's entire relationship to God and to truth." He explains that becoming a Christian requires regeneration or new birth—"To become a Christian means that you're a new being"—making it something radical and profound, not something a person can do superficially.
How does Lloyd-Jones explain why people reject the Gospel?
Lloyd-Jones explains that people reject the Gospel because they are spiritually incapable of receiving it in their natural state. He quotes Stephen's words to the Sanhedrin, calling them "uncircumcised in heart and ears," meaning they lack the spiritual faculty to comprehend spiritual truth. Lloyd-Jones elaborates: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God. Why not? Well, they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them." He compares this to someone who is tone-deaf trying to appreciate music—they lack the corresponding faculty to appreciate it.
What does Lloyd-Jones teach about the will of an unbeliever?
Lloyd-Jones teaches that an unbeliever's will is not neutral but actively resistant to God. He describes unbelievers as "stiff-necked" and explains: "Man is never neutral. Man is never open minded. Man is always by nature antagonistic to the truth." He quotes Paul saying "the carnal mind is enmity against God, not neutral." Lloyd-Jones adds that people "deliberately resist the Holy Ghost" even when they feel its power, citing Felix who trembled at Paul's preaching but sent him away rather than responding to the conviction.
How does sin affect the heart according to Lloyd-Jones?
According to Lloyd-Jones, sin affects the heart by making it irrational and emotional in its rejection of truth. He points to the Sanhedrin's response to Stephen: "They were cut to the heart. And they gnashed on him with their teeth. Then they cried with a loud voice. And stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord." Lloyd-Jones argues that unbelief, "which likes to pride itself on its rationality and its intellectuality, is nothing but sheer irrationality. It is madness. It is sheer emotionalism." He notes how rejection of truth progresses from irritation to annoyance to hatred to violence.
What solution does Lloyd-Jones offer for the condition of unbelief?
Lloyd-Jones offers regeneration (new birth) as the only solution for unbelief. He states: "There is only one hope for you if you're in this position, and that is that you be born again." He explains that unbelievers cannot believe in their natural state, so they must "cry out to God to have mercy" and ask Him "to change your nature, to give you a new mind, a new heart, a new will." Only then will they be able to see and embrace the truth. He concludes: "God alone can deliver you out of it and from it. And that is precisely what the Lord Jesus Christ has come into this world to do."
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.