The Wiles of the Devil
A Sermon on Ephesians 4:14
Scripture
14As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Sermon Description
The writers of the New Testament often warn the early church of the threat of false teachers and prophets. In this sermon on Ephesians 4:14 titled “The Wiles of the Devil,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains how these people use lies and false teachings to benefit themselves and gain control over others in the church. These false teachers have been present throughout the history of the church, and are very much active and prominent in modern days. They are crafty in their deceit and, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns, they often target younger believers in the faith to try to convince them of their errors and to join their movement. Because of how deceitful false teachers are, Paul often warns the church to flee from their deceit and to be built up in the true faith of Christ Jesus. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that to truly counter false teaching, the church must emphasize both the truth of God’s word as well as the various false teachings that corrupt and twist the Bible. Preachers and ministers should not be afraid to follow the examples of the apostles to attack false teaching and expose the danger that it is to the church.
The Book of Ephesians
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.