Seek Honour from God
A Sermon on John 5:44
Originally preached June 29, 1958
Scripture
44How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?
Sermon Description
Salvation comes only through belief activated by seeking honor that comes from God. In this first sermon on John 5:44, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that true saving belief is impossible when humankind seeks its own honor. Though they professed to know God, the Jews were far from Him because they sought their own honor from people. The honor of people is ultimately the seeking of the same supreme position Satan offered Eve in the garden. Now, in this second installment titled “Seek Honour From God,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the belief that saves comes from seeking honor from God. The honor that comes from God is an honor that begins by giving Him the supreme position in the heart, mind, and life. This honor, in reality, is the essence of belief that humbles oneself to a lowly position and God to the supreme position. Possessing this saving belief means that one knows that God exists, accepts that God is holy, receives God’s word as the truth, and is convicted of his or her own sin and need for forgiveness. Belief that seeks honor from God includes these actions and leads one to accept their utter hopeless estate without Him as a desperate sinner before God. When belief is marked by these qualities, it leads one to God and to receive honor from Him. The listener is encouraged to consider this message from Dr. Lloyd-Jones and ensure that the honor sought is honor from Him, an honor that leads to salvation and His glory.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon text is John 5:44 - "How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?"
- The sermon begins by revisiting the context of John 5 where Jesus confronts unbelieving Jews after healing a man. Jesus aims to bring them to faith and salvation.
- Jesus diagnoses their unbelief as seeking honor from each other rather than God. This makes faith in Jesus impossible.
- Seeking honor from others is the greatest barrier to faith in the world. Salvation is not determined by intellect or brain power, but by one's heart orientation.
- The purpose of salvation is to bring us to know God. Many cults and religions offer benefits like happiness or prosperity, but Christianity is about God.
- To seek God's honor means believing He exists and is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). We must believe in the God revealed in Scripture.
- God is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, holy, just, and the Creator. The Bible reveals our relationship to Him - either blessed or cursed.
- Seeking God's honor means desiring to know and be blessed by Him above all else. It is the opposite of seeking human honor and approval.
- Seeking God reveals our inability to reach Him and earn His blessing. We realize we are sinners deserving condemnation. This drives us to Christ, the only way to be reconciled to God.
- If the Jews had truly sought God's honor, they would have seen their sin and need for a Savior. They would have believed in Jesus, the promised Messiah and sacrifice for sins.
- We must see ourselves as sinners before a holy God to believe in Christ. Then we flee to Him as our only hope, like the hymns "Just As I Am" and "Rock of Ages".
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Belief and Seeking God's Honor
What does Jesus identify as the main obstacle to belief in John 5:44?
According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon on John 5:44, Jesus identifies "seeking honor from one another" as the main obstacle to belief. This is not merely one obstacle among many, but the fundamental hindrance that makes belief impossible. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that Jesus is saying: "there is one thing that makes belief in him an utter impossibility, and that is that we are the kind of people who live to receive honor one of another." In other words, when our primary concern is what others think of us rather than what God thinks, we cannot truly believe in Christ.
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say that intellectual obstacles are not the real reason for unbelief?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that intellectual obstacles are not the real reason for unbelief because salvation is not dependent on intellectual capacity. He states: "Thank God that what determines whether a man believes or not is not his brain. If brain power and intellect and understanding was the determining factor, well, then it would be a very unfair way of salvation." He points out that if intellectual ability determined salvation, those with greater intelligence would have an unfair advantage. Instead, the gospel is equally accessible to the educated and uneducated alike, making it a truly universal message.
What does it mean to "seek the honor that comes from God only"?
To "seek the honor that comes from God only" means making God the central focus of one's life rather than people's opinions. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains this involves:
- Believing that God exists ("He that cometh to God must believe that he is")
- Taking God's revelation in Scripture seriously
- Understanding God's attributes (eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, holy)
- Recognizing your relationship to God (under blessing or curse)
- Making knowing God your supreme desire above all else
- Seeking to please God rather than people
Lloyd-Jones says it means "desiring to know God, desiring to plead, desiring to be blessed by God."
How does seeking God's honor lead to belief in Christ?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that genuinely seeking God's honor leads to belief in Christ through a process:
- When we truly seek God, we discover our inability to reach Him through our own efforts
- We realize our sinfulness in light of God's holiness
- We become aware of our hopeless and condemned state before God
- We understand our need for a mediator and savior
- Christ then appears as the answer to our desperate need
As Lloyd-Jones puts it: "The moment a man has seen himself as a sinner, the moment a man has seen himself in the sight of God and what awaits him in eternity, there's no need to persuade him to believe in Christ. He flies to the fountain."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say is the ultimate purpose of salvation?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones states that the ultimate purpose of salvation is to bring us to know God. He criticizes contemporary approaches that present Christ primarily as a solution to earthly problems (loneliness, unhappiness, physical illness), saying: "Is that the way to come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Is that the way that men eventually end by believing on him? Do you start with any one of these problems which they have? You know, that isn't what he says himself here and that isn't what the Bible says anywhere." Instead, he emphasizes that salvation is fundamentally about being reconciled to God and having a right relationship with Him "for time and for eternity."
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.