Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Romans 9:22-23: Questions and Answers

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the main purpose of God in salvation according to Romans 9:23?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, God's main purpose in salvation is "to show and to make known the riches of his glory." The sermon emphasizes that God's primary aim in saving people is not primarily for our benefit but to display the magnificence of His own character. As Lloyd-Jones states, "Everything that God does is a revelation of some aspect or other of his being and of his character," and in salvation, God particularly reveals "the riches of his glory" through His mercy toward undeserving sinners.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones define "the glory of God" in this sermon?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that "the ultimate truth about God, the ultimate attribute of God, if we may so speak, is his glory." He describes glory as something that "baffles description" and can only be partially understood through biblical accounts of those who have glimpsed it. He states, "All I know is this, that it's perfect light, perfect love." Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that while God's glory is manifested in His power and wrath, it is most profoundly revealed in His mercy toward sinners.

What is the relationship between verses 22 and 23 of Romans 9 according to Lloyd-Jones?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones acknowledges that scholars debate whether these verses are "two separate but parallel statements, or are they two parts of one statement." He suggests both interpretations have merit. They can be understood as two related ideas: God shows patience toward vessels of wrath while simultaneously extending grace to vessels of mercy. Alternatively, they can be taken as two separate aspects of God's character being displayed. Either way, Lloyd-Jones says "the meaning is much the same in both cases" - God's character is being revealed through both His judgment and His mercy.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones define God's grace in this sermon?

Lloyd-Jones defines grace as "favor shown to those who are utterly and completely undeserving." He elaborates: "Grace is kindness shown to a man who deserves nothing but punishment. He deserves nothing at all. And yet, though he deserves nothing, he is shown great favor." This definition highlights the completely unmerited nature of God's grace, which is central to understanding "the riches of his glory" in salvation.

What is significant about the Trinity's involvement in salvation according to Lloyd-Jones?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the plan of salvation involves all three persons of the Trinity working together in a remarkable display of divine glory. He describes how "the three blessed persons dividing this work and this plan up amongst themselves" with the Father planning, the Son executing, and the Spirit applying salvation. What's particularly striking is how the Son and Spirit voluntarily subordinate themselves in the process: "The second person in the Trinity humbles himself... and makes himself subordinate to the Father" while "the Holy Spirit subordinates himself to the Son and to the Father" - all for the purpose of saving undeserving sinners.

How does Lloyd-Jones respond to objections about God's justice in saving some but not others?

Lloyd-Jones responds to these objections by pointing to the overwhelming glory of God displayed in salvation. He effectively says that if we truly understood the riches of God's glory in saving anyone at all, we wouldn't be questioning His justice. As he puts it, "Oh, how blind they are to the riches of his glory. If they'd only had a glimpse of it, they'd be so filled with astonishment they wouldn't be able to say anything else." He challenges his listeners at the end: "Does anybody object to all this? Does anybody feel still that this is unjust?"

What examples from the Old Testament does Lloyd-Jones use to illustrate God's purpose of redemption?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes how the Old Testament reveals "the outworking of that one great purpose" announced in Genesis 3:15 that "the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." He traces this line of redemption through Abel, Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah. He specifically highlights Jacob and David as examples of unlikely candidates for God's favor. With Jacob, God chose someone "scheming, underhanded, sly" rather than the seemingly "nicer" Esau, and with David, God remained faithful despite "terrible and most grievous sin." These examples show "the glory of God and the wonder of his ways."

According to Lloyd-Jones, what is the relationship between understanding sin and appreciating God's glory?

Lloyd-Jones insists that a person cannot comprehend "the riches of God's glory" without first understanding the depth of human sin. He states, "If you don't believe that [we are all hell-deserving sinners], you will know nothing about grace, and you'll know nothing about the riches of God's glory." He emphasizes that we "can't hope to begin to understand, leave alone to measure the riches of his glory unless you know something about the depth of sin." This understanding of our desperate condition makes God's gracious salvation all the more glorious.

How does Lloyd-Jones describe what the Bible is primarily about?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones rejects the notion that the Bible is "the history of men searching for God." Instead, he declares, "It's always the history of God searching for lost men." He explains that the Bible is fundamentally "the history of redemption" where "all the history and all that you have about other nations, it comes in simply because it throws some light upon the history of redemption." Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that Scripture isn't "primarily about this world and this life" but about "God's people, about these vessels of mercy and what God is doing about them."

What did Lloyd-Jones say is visible even to angels through God's redemption of sinners?

Lloyd-Jones, citing Ephesians 3:10, explains that even "the principalities and powers in heavenly places" (angels) learn something new about God through His redemption of the church. Though angels have "spent their time in the presence of God, in the glory of heaven," they now see "something of his manyfold wisdom which they'd never seen before in and through the church." Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that "even the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places, are going to see something of the truth about the glory of God that they'd never seen before through us the vessels of mercy."