Hearing and Perceiving
A Sermon on John 5:24-26
Originally preached Feb. 9, 1958
Scripture
24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when …
Sermon Description
In this sermon on John 5:24–26 titled “Hearing and Perceiving,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones proclaims that how one listens to the word of God determines their eternal destiny. In this passage of Scripture, John records Jesus’s promise that those who hear His word and believe have eternal life. As he expounds this text, Dr. Lloyd-Jones focuses on the word and even more on the necessity of how one listens to the word. One’s eternal destiny hinges on whether they truly listen to the truth of God’s word. They must not be a mere spectator who is impressed with the formality of worship and preaching and even the consideration of a philosophy or teaching. Rather, to truly receive and possess eternal life, one must listen with the intent to meditate and understand the significance and implications of the word. This type of listening not only sees the truth but perceives its implications for the soul. The question then becomes, “What must we see and perceive to gain this eternal life?” In his gospel-saturated message, Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that all must hear the word that exposes their spiritual condition as dead in trespasses and sins that is under the condemnation of God, awaiting His judgment. However, the beauty of Jesus’s promise is that He was sent to pay the debt of sin, and that in hearing and believing in Him, they pass out of death and into life.
Sermon Breakdown
- Listening to the gospel is the most important thing we do in life. How we listen determines our eternal destiny.
- Hearing the word is not just listening to a sermon or enjoying a sermon. It means understanding, surrendering to, and being controlled by the word.
- We should listen carefully to Jesus' words because of who he is - the Son of God, and because God sent him to save us.
- The word tells us two things about ourselves: we are spiritually dead and under condemnation.
- Jesus came to save us from condemnation and give us new life.
- Those who believe in Jesus have their sins forgiven, are declared righteous, and given new life. They have no condemnation and eternal life.
- To have this salvation, we must hear Jesus' words and believe in the one who sent him. We can have it now by faith alone.
- If we cannot silence the accuser by pointing to Jesus' death for us, we have not truly heard the word. If we cannot say we stand righteous before God in Christ, we have not heard.
Sermon Q&A
What Did Jesus Mean in John 5:24-26 about Passing from Death to Life?
What does Jesus mean when He says "passed from death to life" in John 5:24?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, when Jesus says someone has "passed from death to life," He is describing a profound spiritual transformation. The passage refers to our natural spiritual condition as "death" - not physical death, but spiritual death. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains: "By nature every one of us is spiritually dead. You remember how the Apostle Paul puts it: 'Dead in trespasses and sins wherein he walked according to the course of this world.'" This spiritual death manifests as having no awareness of one's immortal soul, no interest in God, and being completely unresponsive to spiritual realities. When someone truly hears Christ's word and believes, they pass immediately from this state of spiritual death into spiritual life.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain what it means to "hear" Jesus' word in John 5:24?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones clarifies that "hearing" Jesus' word is far more than just physically listening to a sermon. True hearing involves:
- Attending to the word with full concentration like Lydia in Acts 16, whose "heart the Lord opened that she attended unto the things spoken"
- Understanding the true significance and implications of the message
- Surrendering to the word completely
- Being controlled and governed by it
- Having one's entire life built upon this foundation
He states: "Is this word controlling and dominating our thought and our life? Is your life built on this foundation? We've all got a scheme, a philosophy of life... I'm simply asking a simple question... Is your whole outlook based upon this or isn't it?"
What is meant by "shall not come into condemnation" in John 5:24-26?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that this refers to justification - being declared righteous by God. He states: "What justification means is this: that God takes his righteousness, his perfect life, and puts it to our account, puts it to us, reckons it to us, imputes it to us." This means:
- All sins are "blotted out and forgiven and pardoned"
- God puts Christ's righteousness upon believers
- God looks at believers "as if you'd never sinned at all"
- There is "no condemnation" for those in Christ
- Believers have "nothing to fear" - not death, the grave, or judgment
He emphasizes this point by quoting Paul: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus."
When can someone receive the salvation offered in John 5:24-26?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that this salvation is available immediately, not as a future program or gradual process. He states: "You can have it now perfectly and completely and entirely." He explains this is because:
- It is "entirely the grace of God"
- It is "a free gift entirely given by Him"
- It is not dependent on anything we do or can do
- It is based entirely on Christ's finished work
- It does not require any improvement in the recipient
He quotes the hymn: "Let not conscience make you linger or of fitness fondly dream. All the fitness he requireth is to see your need of Him." He concludes: "If you don't see that you can have everlasting life here and now, you rarely haven't heard his word and believed on Him."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the two truths this passage reveals about our natural condition?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies two fundamental truths this passage reveals about our natural human condition:
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We are spiritually dead - "This word tells us two things about ourselves... The first is that we are dead." He describes this as being unaware of our immortal soul, having no interest in God, and being unresponsive to spiritual realities.
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We are under condemnation - "It tells us not only that we are dead, but that partly because we are dead, we're also under condemnation." This means we are guilty before God's law and subject to His judgment. Dr. Lloyd-Jones quotes Paul saying we are "by nature, the children of wrath, even as others."
He emphasizes that understanding these truths about ourselves is essential before we can truly appreciate the salvation Christ offers: "I can't hope to show you what the love of God is unless I can show you first that you're a condemned sinner. It's only the condemned sinner who knows what the love of God is."
The Book of John
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.