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Sermon #5454

Man and his Pride

A Sermon on Pride from John 7:18

Originally preached June 14, 1959

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Scripture

John 7:18 ESV KJV
The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. (ESV)

Sermon Description

Perhaps the greatest contrast in all of the Bible is the humility of Christ and the pride of humankind. In this sermon on pride from John 7:18 titled “Man and His Pride,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones continues teaching and preaching on the characteristics of unbelief and reaches the ultimate reason people do not believe the gospel: pride. In teaching on the fallen nature of humanity, the Lord Jesus Christ is not interested in an academic or psychological analysis of pride. Instead, His love for sinners drives His words. With the final fate of persisting unbelief being hell, Dr. Lloyd-Jones asks the listener to confront their own unbelief. Considering modern scientific hubris, one must consider if they will gamble their eternal destiny on the theories of people or will become like little children at the feet of Christ? Will they lean on intellect, learning, and the world’s philosophies or gladly receive the Word of God? Does the sin of pride, selfishness, and self-centeredness consume one’s life or do they live for the glory and worship of the true God? In this important message, Dr. Lloyd-Jones asks and answers these many pressing questions. Listen as he challenges prideful self-glorification and encourages finding rescue in the good news of Jesus Christ.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. There are only two teachings confronting mankind: God's revelation or human opinion.
  2. Jesus claims that he seeks God's glory alone. His behavior, teaching, obedience, and sacrifice substantiate this claim.
  3. The ultimate cause of unbelief and sin is pride - seeking one's own glory rather than God's. This is taught throughout the Bible.
  4. Pride makes people dishonest in their thinking, unwilling to admit wrong or change their minds. They defend themselves rather than seek truth.
  5. The teaching of Christ is hateful to the proud because it exposes their sin and need for salvation. It wounds their pride.
  6. The gospel is intolerable to the proud because it says that they are lost, hopeless, and need to become like children to be saved.
  7. The proud man's rejection of Christ is tragic folly. He knows little yet glories in himself. He rejects truth and eternal life for pride.
  8. To be saved one must "stoop down" in humility, repent of pride, and believe the gospel. The alternative is eternal death.

Sermon Q&A

Why Does Unbelief Exist? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Pride as the Root Cause

What does John 7:18 reveal about the nature of unbelief according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, John 7:18 reveals that pride is the ultimate cause of unbelief. In this verse, Jesus says, "He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory. But he that seeketh his glory that sent him the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him." Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that people reject Christ primarily because of their self-glorification and pride, not because of intellectual issues. He states, "Unbelief is in the last analysis, says our Lord here, purely a question of pride." This pride makes people unwilling to humble themselves and accept God's revelation through Christ.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrast Christ's humility with human pride?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrasts Christ's humility with human pride by highlighting how Jesus never sought His own glory but always pointed to God the Father. He notes that Christ was "never ostentatious," often avoided crowds, didn't advertise Himself, and consistently affirmed that His teaching came from God, not Himself. Lloyd-Jones describes Jesus as "meek and lowly," one who attracted common people, sinners, and children. In contrast, he portrays human pride as self-glorification that makes people dishonest in their thinking, defensive of their positions, and unwilling to admit they are wrong. This pride leads people to reject Christ because they cannot bear the idea that they need salvation and must become "as little children."

What are the two types of teaching that confront mankind according to the sermon?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, there are only two types of teaching that confront mankind:

  1. The teaching that comes from God - This is the revelation of God found in the Bible and the teaching of Jesus Christ. This teaching is true, seeks God's glory, and contains no unrighteousness.

  2. Human teaching - This encompasses everything else, described as "men speaking from themselves, giving expression to their own thoughts, their own ideas, their own imaginations." This teaching ultimately seeks human glory rather than God's glory.

Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that there is no middle ground: "We either submit to this revelation from God which we've got in this book, or else we are pinning our faith and basing our life and the practice of life entirely upon some human teaching."

Why does pride make it impossible to accept the gospel according to Lloyd-Jones?

According to Lloyd-Jones, pride makes it impossible to accept the gospel for several key reasons:

  1. Pride makes a person dishonest in their thinking - They become more concerned about defending themselves than discovering truth.

  2. Pride makes Christ's teaching hateful - The humility and purity of Christ condemns human pride and exposes hypocrisy.

  3. Pride is wounded by the gospel message - The gospel declares that humans are lost, need salvation, can't save themselves, and must be born again. Lloyd-Jones explains: "He says that we are so hopeless that even he cannot save us without dying for us... You must be born again... You need a new nature, a new heart, a new beginning."

He concludes: "A man who glories in himself... cannot believe the gospel, for it knocks him down at every point. And he hates it."

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by "the tragic folly of men in this pride and self-glorification"?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the "tragic folly" of human pride because people reject salvation for essentially nothing of value. He points out several aspects of this folly:

  1. Humans have nothing to be proud of - Our knowledge is limited, especially about the most important matters like life, death, and God.

  2. Human achievements are debased - "Look at the world and what he's made of it. Is that something to be proud of?"

  3. Personal moral failure - No one is truly righteous, holy, or pure when honest with themselves.

  4. Rejecting truth - Pride causes people to reject Christ's teaching, which is true and offers salvation.

  5. Eternal consequences - The greatest folly is risking "everlasting torment in hell" because of "stinking pride, idiotic pride, with nothing to be proud of."

Lloyd-Jones concludes that to receive salvation, one must "stoop down" in humility: "You can't drink of a well while you're standing erect in your pride and in your self glory."

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.