When God Turns Away
A Sermon on Acts 7:42-43
Originally preached June 18, 1967
Scripture
42Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? 43Yea, ye …
Sermon Description
Just when one thinks the world couldn’t get worse, something terrible happens. There will always be those who blindly think trouble will evaporate and the world will become a better place. Through human thought and ethical reflection, they believe the world is slowly but surely becoming more and more civil and peaceful. This progressive view is founded upon faith in human nature and human goodness. But as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones proclaims from Acts 7:42–43, this is fatally flawed because it does not have an accurate and biblical view of human nature. While humanists see human nature as good or indifferent to evil, the Bible says all are sinners by nature and under the wrath of God. In fact, the whole world is under the righteous judgment of God. For God has warned that there is coming a great day of wrath when He will judge all for their sin and rebellion. God will finally and ultimately reject sinful people who do not submit to His law. He will turn away from those who do not believe. But He has also provided a means of salvation from this great judgment. He sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die upon the cross so that sinners would not have to suffer the eternal damnation of God. All who repent and believe will be saved and made children of God.
Sermon Breakdown
- Stephen is delivering his speech before the Sanhedrin, who have accused him of blasphemy.
- Stephen reviews the history of Israel to show how they have always misunderstood God and His purpose.
- God made the perfect world and perfect man, but man fell into sin by disobeying God.
- As punishment, God cursed the ground and allowed sin, evil, and suffering to enter the world.
- God instituted governments and laws to restrain evil, but still allows men free will.
- When men become exceptionally arrogant and vile, God punishes them by withdrawing restraint, abandoning them, and actively judging them.
- God withdraws from man to show man his wretched state, proclaim God's holiness, warn of judgment, and call man to repentance.
- The modern world's condition shows the result of man without God - the supposed "dignity of man" leads to depravity.
- God's judgment in history points to the final judgment, where unrepentant man will be cast from God's presence forever.
- God permits evil and judgment to show man his need for salvation, found only in Jesus Christ.
- On the cross, God turned from, gave up, and did not spare His own Son, who took our punishment, so we can be reconciled.
- God calls us through calamity to turn to Him, find Him turning to us, and receive forgiveness, renewal, and eternal glory.
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Understanding of God's Judgment in History
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain why the world is in its current state according to Acts 7:42-43?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones' sermon on Acts 7:42-43, the world is in its current state because men turn away from God and God's holy laws. He explains that when people reject God and thrust Him from them, God responds with a specific pattern of judgment. The core principle he outlines is that "what matters in this world ultimately is not what men does. It is what God does." Lloyd-Jones teaches that the troubles in the world are directly connected to man's rebellion against God and God's subsequent response to that rebellion.
What are the three ways God responds to humanity's rebellion according to the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies three specific ways God responds when humanity exhibits exceptional arrogance and rejection of Him:
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God turns away from man: "Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven." When people deliberately turn from God, God deliberately turns from them.
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God withdraws His restraints: "God gave them up" - He removes the controls and restraints He normally places on sin and evil in the world, allowing humans to experience the full consequences of their choices.
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God actively punishes: "I will carry you away beyond Babylon" - God allows enemies to conquer and control those who reject Him, bringing direct judgment upon them.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the periodic rise and fall of civilizations?
Lloyd-Jones explains that history shows a pattern of periodicity - times when things seem to be improving followed by periods of decline and retrogression. The world cannot understand this pattern because it believes in inevitable progress and evolution. However, Lloyd-Jones argues that this pattern exists because God controls evil and sin, sometimes restraining it (leading to periods of apparent progress) and sometimes withdrawing His restraints (leading to decline).
He points to the 19th century as a period of apparent ascension when everything seemed to be advancing, followed by the 20th century which has been "a century of calamity, a century of disaster, a century of horrors." This pattern reflects God's ongoing interaction with human rebellion throughout history.
What is God's ultimate purpose in allowing judgment according to the sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that God's ultimate purpose in judgment is redemptive. God allows these judgments for several reasons:
- To reveal to humans their true sinful state and condition
- To demonstrate God's holiness and hatred of sin
- To teach that God normally controls the world
- To warn of an ultimate final judgment to come
- To call humanity to repentance
Most importantly, Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that God's judgments are motivated by love - He allows humans to experience the consequences of their actions to awaken them to their need for salvation. The judgments point to Christ's sacrifice on the cross, where God turned away from His Son and "delivered him up" to bear the punishment for sin that humanity deserves.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones connect modern world events to biblical principles?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that modern world events, including the troubles of the 20th century with its wars, concentration camps, and moral decline, are direct manifestations of biblical principles at work. He states: "I say that if you want to understand the 20th century, there's the first key to it. This is a century in which God is turning away from man deliberately."
He connects these events to the pattern seen in Scripture where God allows people to experience the consequences of rejecting Him. Lloyd-Jones suggests that modern problems like "sexual perversions, drugs, drink, pilfering, dishonesty" are the result of God withdrawing His restraints, showing what happens "when God withdraws his restraints and his controls and his inhibitions." These events serve as both judgment and warning, designed to call people back to God before the final judgment.
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.