Servants of Sin
A Sermon on Romans 6:20-21
Originally preached March 6, 1959
Scripture
20For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. 21What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
Sermon Description
Why should the Christian live a holy and righteous life? Paul gives an argument and Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones encourages the listener to reason through it. Paul reminds the reader of the state and condition of their old life when they used to be slaves to sin and since one cannot serve two masters, they were not yet slaves to righteousness. In this sermon from Romans 6:20–21 titled “Changed from Glory into Glory,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out there are some people in this world that act moral but are not true Christians. The unsaved are governed by self and a Christian is governed by righteousness. Those who are slaves of sin and not of righteousness lead a fruitless and shameful life. Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages the listener to ask themselves three questions to test if something is from the old life or the new life in Christ: Does it give satisfaction to the mind and heart? Does it help growth in fruit and knowledge? Does it help one lay in store for the future? If no is answered to any of these questions, that lifestyle may be leading down a path to eternal separation from God.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is giving reasons to support his exhortation in verse 19.
- Verses 20-23 give arguments for why we should not continue in sin.
- Verse 20 reminds us of our old sinful state before becoming Christians. We were slaves to sin and free from righteousness.
- Being "free from righteousness" means we were not governed or controlled by righteousness. We were governed by sin instead.
- Moral and religious people who reject Christ are still "free from righteousness" and slaves to sin. Their good works are worthless to God.
- Verse 21 describes the old sinful life in detail. It was fruitless, shameful, and led to death.
- The old sinful life yielded no valuable or lasting fruit. It only gave temporary pleasure.
- The old sinful life was shameful, involving deceit, uncleanness, and debasing behavior. Many lost their sense of shame over sin.
- The old sinful life led to death - separation from God in this life and eternal destruction after death.
- We must constantly remember our old sinful state to avoid sinning again. Looking at the fruitless, shameful, and deadly nature of sin will make it unthinkable to continue in sin.
- Relying only on feelings or passively waiting for deliverance from sin is wrong. We must examine sin's nature from Scripture and reject it vigorously.
- Sanctification comes through understanding and applying God's Word, not passively waiting for deliverance from sin.
Sermon Q&A
Questions and Answers about Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Romans 6:20-21
What does it mean to be "free from righteousness" according to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, being "free from righteousness" does not mean having liberty to do whatever one wants, nor does it simply mean being altogether bad. Rather, it means not being under the control or jurisdiction of righteousness. As he explains, "When you were the slaves of sin, you were not the slaves of righteousness. You were not being governed and controlled and directed by righteousness." The phrase indicates a state where righteousness has no power or authority over a person's life - they are outside its realm and jurisdiction.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones distinguish between mere morality and true Christian righteousness?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones makes a clear distinction between worldly morality and Christian righteousness. He explains that non-Christians who are moral may establish "their own righteousness" but are ignorant of and not submitted to "God's righteousness." The difference is that the moral non-Christian is self-satisfied, living by their own standard which they themselves decide upon, while a person who knows God's righteousness is aware of their own unworthiness and hungers for true righteousness. Lloyd-Jones describes the morality of non-Christians as "filthy rags" and "an abomination in the sight of God" despite being "highly esteemed amongst men."
What are the three characteristics of the non-Christian life according to this sermon?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the non-Christian life has three devastating characteristics: 1. It is a fruitless life - "What fruit had ye then?" It yields no true profit or value, giving only temporary pleasures with no lasting satisfaction. 2. It is a life of shame - "Whereof ye are now ashamed?" The activities themselves are shameful and eventually produce a sense of shame, though many have sunk so low they've lost their ability to feel shame. 3. It leads to death - "The end of those things is death." This means not just physical death but separation from the life of God, spiritual death, and ultimately eternal separation from God.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones suggest Christians should combat temptation and sin?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones rejects the idea of a "magical way" of being delivered from sin. Instead, he advocates a reasoned approach where Christians actively remember and analyze the nature of their old sinful life. He states Christians should "constantly keep these things before your minds" and "so look at that life until you feel ashamed of it." When temptation comes, believers should analyze it, recognize what it's asking them to do, and reject it based on the knowledge that sin leads to a fruitless, shameful life that ends in death. This method of "mortifying sin" requires active engagement rather than passive deliverance.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the greatest enemies of Christian truth today?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies "good, moral, ethical, religious people who are not Christians" as the greatest enemies of Christian truth. He specifically refers to those who "believe in the ethic, but they're not interested in the doctrines" - people who reject Christ and his atonement while maintaining a moral exterior. He describes these individuals as "the most terrible type" of unbelievers who need "to be most severely denounced as our Lord denounced the Pharisees of old." Their self-satisfaction and rejection of Christian doctrine while maintaining a veneer of morality makes them particularly dangerous opponents of true faith.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the restlessness of the world apart from Christ?
Lloyd-Jones describes the world apart from Christ as fundamentally restless. He quotes Augustine: "Thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee." He observes that people without Christ get tired of one thing and take up another, constantly seeking new experiences and entertainment. He points to the declining popularity of cinemas as people move to television and other forms of entertainment, seeing this as a symptom of "this terrible restlessness" where people "get tired of everything" and "have to change and mix their drinks and their forms of sin." He describes this as "going round and round in circles because you've got no real satisfaction."
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.