Renewal of the Mind
A Sermon on John 1:12-13
Scripture
12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, 13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God.
12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Sermon Description
Christ died not only to forgive the Christian’s sin but also make them into children of God. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones continues discussing the tests of faith for the Christian in John 1:12–13 and gives the positive test that the Christian not only puts off sin but puts on righteousness. He specifically hones in on the renewing of the mind that every Christian experiences. The Christian is to be mortifying sin but the work is not complete there; they are also to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. Dr. Lloyd-Jones illustrates and explains how the Christian’s mind is set on heavenly things while the unbeliever’s mind is set on the desires of the flesh. Dr. Lloyd-Jones not only admonishes Christians to be renewed in their minds but also encourages that they are born of God because they are being renewed and led by the Spirit to put to death the misdeeds of the body. Furthermore, Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds and encourages the Christian that the world is still living with minds conformed to the pattern of this world, but the Christian’s mind is set free to be set on the glories of Christ.
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.