God's Goodness and Severity
A Sermon on Romans 11:18-22
Originally preached Feb. 5, 1965
Scripture
18Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. 20Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be …
Sermon Description
In previous passages, Paul has explained that because of the Jews’ unbelief, the Gentiles were granted belief through Christ. In Romans 11:18–22, Paul now warns the Gentiles against any boasting because of their new standing and salvation. There is no place for pride in a Christian’s life and Paul warns that any such feelings would cause one to suffer. In this sermon on Romans 11:18–22 titled “God’s Goodness and Severity,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the best corrective against pride is to know God, and the truth and character of God. The greatest lack would be a lack of the knowledge of God. This lack would show in one’s doctrine and view of sin, and would lead to a lack of fear of the Lord. In his closing, Dr. Lloyd-Jones also pauses to reflect on the goodness and severity of God in Romans 11:22. God is true in all of His characteristics and He is fully known in each of those character traits. One cannot say that God is good without acknowledging His severity. One cannot dwell only on the wrath of God without showing the love of God. The truest example of this is Christ on the cross. May the Christian never boast in themselves, but instead boast in Christ and all that He has done for them.
Sermon Breakdown
- The teaching in Romans 11:18-22 is that our greatest danger is pride and conceit.
- We must cultivate humility, watchfulness and fear.
- The best corrective against pride is knowing God's character.
- Failing to know God manifests in wrong doctrine, ignoring God, false views of sin and man, false views of atonement and holiness.
- In practice, it leads to breezy evangelism, focusing on man's needs, false appeals, emphasis on experiences, false holiness and pride.
- The answer is beholding God's goodness and severity in His revelation.
- We must accept all of God's attributes, not isolating or opposing them. God acts as a whole.
- God's treatment of Israel shows His goodness and severity. The cross supremely shows this.
- The purpose of salvation is bringing us to God's glory, not just meeting our needs.
- We must never presume on God's love or forgiveness. Complacency is impossible in light of God's character.
- We must walk carefully and reverently before God.
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Goodness and Severity of God: Questions and Answers
What does "Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God" mean in Romans 11:22?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Romans 11:22 is teaching us that we must view God in His entirety, not just focusing on one attribute. The phrase "Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God" calls us to recognize both God's kindness and compassion (goodness) and His severe and exact justice (severity). Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that "God always acts as a whole" with all His attributes displayed together simultaneously. We must never isolate one attribute of God or play one attribute against another, as this leads to a distorted view of God.
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say our greatest danger as Christians is pride?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies pride as our greatest danger because it causes us to forget our proper relationship to God. In the context of Romans 11, the Gentile believers were in danger of "boasting against the branches" (the Jews who had been broken off), thinking they were superior. Lloyd-Jones warns that Christians can easily fall into the same error as the Jews did - believing they are special and secure regardless of their actions. He describes this as constantly needing to "keep our eye on justification by works," as we're prone to subtly reintroduce works-righteousness into our thinking despite believing in justification by faith intellectually.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as our greatest need as Christians?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, "our greatest need always is to know God, to know the character of God, to know the truth about God." He explains that the whole of our thinking should be controlled by our knowledge of God, and that this knowledge is our best corrective against pride. Conversely, he states that "our greatest lack, as Christian people always is the lack of a knowledge of God." This knowledge must come from God's own revelation in Scripture, not from our philosophical speculations or preferences.
How does a wrong view of God affect Christian doctrine according to Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that a failure to start with the proper knowledge of God affects our doctrine in several ways: 1. It can lead to ignoring God the Father altogether and focusing only on Jesus 2. It creates false views of God (like seeing God as only love) 3. It leads to false views of sin (defining sin in terms of man rather than as disobedience to God) 4. It distorts our understanding of the atonement (seeing the cross merely as a demonstration of love rather than as sacrificial payment for sin) 5. It removes the need for regeneration 6. It creates false teachings about holiness and sanctification
How does a wrong view of God affect Christian practice according to Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows that a failure to start with God affects Christian practice in several ways: 1. In evangelism - leading to a "breeziness" with jokes, entertainment, and wrong appeals 2. In placing false emphasis on experiences rather than relationship with God 3. In creating wrong motives for holiness (focusing on personal victory rather than communion with God) 4. In fostering pride in one's activities, holiness, or experiences 5. In causing a lack of godliness and "the fear of the Lord" 6. In creating superficiality and self-contentment in Christian life
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say is the greatest demonstration of both God's goodness and severity?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies the cross of Christ as the ultimate demonstration of both God's goodness and severity working together. He states: "If you really want to see the goodness and the severity of God being manifested together, do you know where you find it? On the cross on Calvary's hill." On the cross, God demonstrated His severity by punishing sin fully, pouring out "the vials of his wrath against sin on his own son," while simultaneously demonstrating His goodness in providing salvation. Lloyd-Jones explains that "God's love is a holy love" and there was only one way God could forgive - "by putting our sins on his son and by punishing them in him."
What warning does Dr. Lloyd-Jones give about presuming on God's goodness?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns believers never to presume on God's love or forgiveness. He emphasizes Romans 11:22's warning: "toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness, otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." He states: "If you presume on the fact that you're a Christian and a child of God, I tremble for you and what may happen to you." Lloyd-Jones says that understanding both God's goodness and severity makes complacency, self-satisfaction, and pride "unthinkable" for the Christian. Instead, we should "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" and "walk circumspectly, walk carefully, walk with reverence and godly fear."
What does Lloyd-Jones say is the most common error in modern views of God?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the most common error in modern views of God is emphasizing only His goodness while neglecting His severity. He states: "Behold, therefore the goodness of God is the modern cry. But Paul says, behold, therefore the goodness AND [severity]... I see no hope of restoration until we've restored this AND." Lloyd-Jones laments that modern teaching focuses almost exclusively on "the goodness, the love of God, the mercy, the kindness and the compassion" while "we are hearing less and less and less about the severity, the justice, the righteousness, the wrath of God upon sin." He calls this isolation of God's love from His other attributes "the modern heresy" and "a form of idolatry."
What is the ultimate object of salvation according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that "the object of salvation always is to bring us to God and to a knowledge of him." He explains that "the ultimate object of salvation is the glory of God, not primarily anything in men." Salvation is not just about forgiveness as an end in itself, but about making us holy. He quotes Titus 2:14 that Christ "gave himself for us that he might separate unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Lloyd-Jones urges Christians not to think of salvation primarily in terms of personal benefits or subjective states, but in terms of relationship to God.
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.