By Free Grace Alone
A Sermon on Romans 3:24
Originally preached March 8, 1957
Scripture
24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Sermon Description
Just as a prisoner needs to pay a price to obtain freedom, sinners also need to pay a ransom for freedom. However, the Lord in His kindness has paid the price and given freedom to the Christian. In this sermon titled “By Free Grace Alone,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches from Romans 3:24 and breaks the verse into three parts: the reminder of what salvation really is, how salvation becomes the Christian’s, and how it is possible for God to do this for His people. In this verse, Paul explains free justification by the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Because of that work, the Christian has been declared righteous. This does not mean that they are currently righteous, but that the Lord has deemed them so. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the present tense of the word “justifying” means that Christians are currently being justified. The listener is reminded that this salvation is a free gift to all, both Jew and Gentile. While the law reveals sin, God’s grace gives a free pardon. This is only possible because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The term used here is the same term as a prisoner being set free and Christ has set His people free from the slavery of sin.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is emphasizing that God has provided a way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. This was foretold in the Old Testament but has now been revealed through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
- The word "now" is used to contrast the old way of attempting to achieve righteousness through the law versus the new way of receiving righteousness through faith in Christ. We now live in a new age where salvation is available through faith alone.
- Salvation is not just the forgiveness of sins but also being clothed in the righteousness of Christ. We need a perfect righteousness to stand before God, which we receive through faith in Christ.
- The way we receive this righteousness is through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith means knowing the truth, assenting to the truth, and trusting in the truth. It means looking away from ourselves and trusting completely in Christ's finished work.
- Our faith does not save us, only Christ saves us. Faith is merely the instrument through which we receive salvation. If we say our faith saves us, we have something to boast in, but salvation is by grace alone.
- This salvation is available to all who believe, both Jew and Gentile. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all sinned in Adam, and we continue to sin individually. We lack the glory of God, which is to know Him, rejoice in Him, and share in His glory.
- As Christians, we now share in the glory of God as we are being transformed into Christ's image. One day our bodies will also be transformed into glorious bodies like Christ's. Sin robs us of righteousness and glory, but salvation restores both.
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Justification by Faith Questions and Answers
What does Lloyd-Jones emphasize is the main point of Romans 3:21-24?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the main point of Romans 3:21-24 is that God has provided a way of salvation that humans could never achieve themselves. The apostle Paul emphasizes that "God has now revealed his way of saving men," which is "something that God has provided." Lloyd-Jones stresses that "a righteousness of God has become available" which was foreshadowed in the Old Testament but is now fully revealed through Christ. This is the heart of the gospel message - not something human beings have developed, but God's divine solution for our inability to save ourselves.
How does Lloyd-Jones explain the significance of the word "now" in Romans 3:21?
Lloyd-Jones explains that "now" in Romans 3:21 has both a grammatical and historical significance. He states: "It's not merely brought in here as a kind of grammatical connection" but emphasizes "the historical aspect of this matter." The word indicates that "something has recently happened which has opened out a new possibility for us." This refers to "the coming of the Son of God into the world," marking "the great turning point in history." Lloyd-Jones stresses that Christianity is not just a philosophy but "primarily a series of historical facts" - the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
What does it mean that this righteousness is "without the law"?
Lloyd-Jones clarifies that "without the law" does not mean God has abrogated or done away with His law. Rather, it means that "our keeping of the law perfectly ourselves as the means of salvation has been entirely set aside...because another has rendered this perfect obedience to the law on our behalf." He explains that salvation "does not leave it to us to satisfy the law," but Christ has "satisfied it and kept it" for us. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that "the law has not been removed" but fulfilled by Christ, and we receive "the fruit and the results of what he has done."
How does Lloyd-Jones define faith in this sermon?
Lloyd-Jones defines faith as having three essential elements: "a knowledge of truth, an assent to truth, and a trust in the truth." He emphasizes that true faith must include all three components - "an awareness of the truth, an assent to it, a committal of oneself to it." Faith is not merely intellectual knowledge or agreement, but requires "a real trusting to him and to what he has done on our behalf." The person with faith "no longer looks at himself" or relies on personal righteousness but "looks entirely to the Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work, and he rests on that alone."
What is the relationship between faith and salvation according to Lloyd-Jones?
Lloyd-Jones strongly emphasizes that "it isn't our faith that saves us" but rather "the Lord Jesus Christ who saves you." He warns that if we say faith saves us, then "faith has become a work and you've got something to boast of." Faith is "only the instrument" or "the channel through which the righteousness becomes mine," not the cause of justification. The cause is "the Lord Jesus Christ and all he has done." Lloyd-Jones stresses that there is "no boasting in the christian life," and we must never refer to faith as the cause of our salvation, because "it's only the channel through which the righteousness becomes mine."
What does Lloyd-Jones say it means to "fall short of the glory of God"?
Lloyd-Jones explains that falling short of the glory of God means we "lack it" and "have got a need of it." He interprets this through parallel passages about glory throughout the New Testament and concludes it has two aspects. First, it means unbelievers don't "behold the glory of God and rejoice in it" - they're "God haters" who "don't know the glory." Second, non-Christians don't "share in it" or "partake of it." Lloyd-Jones says sin "not only makes a man unrighteous, it robs him of the glory of God." By contrast, Christians are "partakers of the divine nature" with a "new man" inside that is glorious and will be "changed from glory to glory" until even our bodies are glorified.
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.