Boasting Excluded
A Sermon on Romans 3:27-31
Scripture
27Where then is boasting? It has been excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. 29Or is God the God of Jews only? Is …
27Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 29Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also …
Sermon Description
Merely knowing the truth will not save anyone. The Jews are a vivid example of this desperate condition as they often they prided themselves as God’s chosen people and thus did not need Paul’s teachings. However, Paul shows that boasting in works or heritage will do nothing in terms of one’s salvation. Salvation is open to all people, yet there is nothing that one actually does that merits salvation; it is truly only by the work of the Lord. It may seem that Paul has been repeating the same statements several times in the previous chapters of this epistle, and Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones adds that this is because the message is crucial and because of sin, the truth does not always appear right away to those who are listening. In this sermon on Romans 3:27–31 titled “Boasting Excluded,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones also shows that all are guilty of boasting. Sometimes a Christian may say that their faith or works are the reason they receive salvation, but that is wrong. One’s faith is merely the instrument by which they receive salvation, and their works are merely the outward expression of the work of the Lord. The Christian should be very mindful that their faith is not only intellectual or a belief; it must be a true element of trust and commitment in their lives.
The Book of Romans
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.