The Law; our Schoolmaster
A Sermon on John 1:17
Scripture
17For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
17For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Sermon Description
Why did God give the law? Even in the time of the apostles, there were those who believed that the law was the means of salvation. They thought that by keeping the law, God would save them. But in this sermon on John 1:17 titled “The Law, Our Schoolmaster,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that this is an entirely wrong way of understanding the law. It was given in order to show the need for salvation, not as a means of earning salvation. The apostle Paul tells that Christ alone is the way of salvation and it is only by believing in His life, death, and resurrection that there is salvation. This is a salvation of grace and grace alone. This sermon confronts with the questions: what does one believe about the law? What are the trappings of a life of legalism and works, one apart from the grace of God? The only way of salvation is not found in keeping the law, but in believing in the gospel of Jesus 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.