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Sermon #3171

Purpose of Salvation

A Sermon on Romans 8:17-18

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Scripture

Romans 8:17-18 ESV KJV
and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to …

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Sermon Description

According to Genesis 1–2, humanity is the crown of God’s creation. Adam and Eve’s innocent state before the God whose image and likeness they reflected represented the tremendous glory given to them. Sadly, all this was affected by the fall. What then is the ultimate goal of salvation? As wonderful as forgiveness of sin may be, is salvation merely that? As gracious as avoiding the eternal wrath of God in hell would be, is that all salvation is about? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says in this sermon on salvation that God should be praised because salvation is so much more. Not only does the Christian attain the original glory of humanity in the garden, but in Christ they anticipate and will receive much more glory than Adam ever experienced – perfection. In this sermon on Romans 8:17–18 titled “Purpose of Salvation,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones lays out the apostle Paul’s argument regarding the glorification that awaits the Christian. Glorification is the Christian’s goal, not mere justification, and not even sanctification. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says a biblical view of glorification is important for Christian lives, especially during times of great suffering. In fact, Paul constantly connects suffering with glory in the life of the believer. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones brings out the great implications and application of this truth for the Christian life today.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The passage under consideration is Romans 8:17-18. The ultimate end and object of salvation is our glorification.
  2. Glorification means full and entire deliverance from sin and evil in all their effects and in every respect, body, soul and spirit. We shall become like the Lord Jesus Christ, perfect and glorified men.
  3. The apostle introduces glorification in Romans 5:2 - "we rejoice in hope of the glory of God". He continues this theme in Romans 8.
  4. Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God, suggesting a kind of glory. But man sinned and fell, losing this glory. Man is now restless, trying to regain what was lost.
  5. We can only understand Christian salvation as restoring this lost glory and more - we are taken beyond Adam's original state. What Adam lost is freely given to us in Christ.
  6. Currently, we have glimpses of this glory through the Spirit, but we are not yet glorified. We are being sanctified in preparation for glorification. Sin remains in our mortal bodies, so we continue to struggle against it.
  7. There are proofs that we are children of God being prepared for glory: being led by the Spirit; having the Spirit of adoption; the witness of the Spirit; suffering with Christ.
  8. Whenever the Bible speaks of glory, it also speaks of suffering. This is to prevent believers from stumbling and thinking the Christian life means an end to suffering. Suffering and glory are juxtaposed.
  9. Romans 8:18-25 shows our glorification is part of the glorification of the whole cosmos. This provides further assurance of our salvation and an understanding of the Christian life and suffering.
  10. We must have a clear view of the association of suffering and glory to have a strong Christian testimony.

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.