The Nature of Belief
A Sermon on John 3:18
Originally preached March 24, 1957
Scripture
18¶ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Sermon Description
What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ? In this sermon on John 3:18 titled “The Nature of Belief,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that it is far more than mere intellectual assent. True belief requires trust in God and His promises. It means trusting that Jesus has died for sins and that His called have been set free from the bondage and dominion of evil. This is the most important truth in the world because it affects not only life in this world, but also in the next. Those who know God will live with Him for eternity in the new heavens and the new earth, but those who reject the message of salvation are guilty of the vilest sin as they have rejected the very Son of God and are already condemned. All who reject God are cast out of His presence because they have broken His law and rejected His salvation. Those who do not believe in the gospel have no hope because God has provided no other way of salvation. It is only by believing upon Jesus Christ that they can be saved and made right with God. This is the gospel that must be proclaimed to a fallen world.
Sermon Breakdown
- The importance of belief
- Life is serious because it determines our eternal destiny
- Listening to the gospel is the most important thing we can do
- Belief is not just saying you believe - it requires accepting Christ's teaching about our sinful state, trusting in Christ as our savior, and committing our lives to him
- Belief means seeing that eternal destiny is the most important thing, clinging to Christ, and avoiding sin
- Belief involves accepting Christ's teaching, trusting in his sacrifice, and committing our lives to him
- Unbelief is an enormous sin because it rejects God's law, Christ's testimony, and God's witness of Christ
- Unbelief says God is a liar and spurns his love shown in Christ's sacrifice
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on John 3:18
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the controlling word in John 3:14-18?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the controlling word that keeps recurring throughout this passage is "believe." He points out how it appears repeatedly in verses 14-18: "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish," "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him," and "He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already." Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that this is the characteristic mark of the New Testament Gospel and the key word of the Protestant faith, as discovered by Martin Luther that "a man is justified by faith, which means his belief."
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones consider life in this world to be so serious?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that life is serious because "this life of ours is nothing but a kind of preparatory school. It's a place of probation. It is a place of preparation." He explains that the Bible consistently presents life as temporary - calling believers "strangers and pilgrims," "travelers and journeymen and sajoners." The seriousness comes from the fact that during our relatively short time in this world, we are "determining an everlasting and eternal destiny." As he puts it, "That during the short time, comparatively speaking, we are in this world. We are determining an everlasting eternal destiny."
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say believing is NOT?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones clarifies that true biblical belief is not: 1. "Simply to say that you believe certain things" 2. "Merely to give an intellectual assent to a number of assertions and propositions" 3. "Simply believing certain things about the Lord Jesus Christ" such as that He was the best man who ever lived or the greatest teacher
He explains that many people can give theoretical assent to biblical truths without it affecting their lives at all, which is not true belief as defined by Scripture.
What is the true content or character of biblical belief according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, true belief means accepting Christ's teaching about mankind's sinful condition, recognizing we are perishing without Him, understanding why Christ came into the world, and trusting ourselves entirely to Him. He summarizes it: "I realize that I'm just passing through this world and that I'm always under the eye of God...that I'm condemned, that I'm lost, that nothing that I can do can save me...But that I now see that God has so loved me that he sent his only begotten son to bear my sins and their punishment." True belief means these truths become "central" and "controlling in my life and all my activity and all my experience."
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones call unbelief an "enormity"?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes unbelief as an "enormity" (a terrible sin) for several reasons: 1. It "flouts God's law and God's judgment on us and on our sin" 2. It means "rejecting the testimony of God's only begotten son" 3. It means "rejecting the testimony of God himself to his own son" 4. It makes God out to be a liar (referencing 1 John 5:10) 5. It means "spurning and rejecting God's love and his wondrous way of salvation"
He concludes that "there's nothing, finally, more terrible" than unbelief because it means rejecting "everything that is most glorious and wondrous, even in God himself."
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones not preach about current events like political changes or strikes?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones acknowledges that he receives criticism for not addressing current events like "the fall of a prime minister" or strikes. He gives two reasons for not doing so: 1. He admits: "I rarely don't know enough about the facts to express an intelligent opinion." 2. More importantly, he believes the church has a far greater priority: "The business of the church of God is to do something that is surpassing altogether in importance, and that is this, to deal with the question of men's eternal destiny." While current affairs may be important, they only apply "for a while," whereas he focuses on "something that will apply to you for all eternity without end."
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.