MLJ Trust Logo Image
Search
Sermon #3057

The Law Established

A Sermon on Romans 3:31

Originally preached May 3, 1957

Share Share on Twitter Share on Facebook
Play Sermon
btn-play
Download Sermon Add to Queue Add to Playlist

Scripture

Romans 3:31 ESV KJV
Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. (ESV)

Sermon Description

The law of God condemns but the grace of God saves. So what room is there to boast? There are three deductions that Paul is drawing with his description of salvation: there can no longer be any boasting, the gospel is for all people without distinction, and the gospel establishes the law. Some Jews may feel that with this new message about receiving salvation through faith means that their law is void, but Paul says that is unthinkable. This salvation is a justification whereby God has declared His people as righteous in His sight. In this sermon titled “The Law Established” from Romans 3:31, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that Paul is repeating what the Lord said in the Sermon on the Mount. The Lord honored the law in His active obedience and nothing that He would do would prove the law void. Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides seven points of how the cross and salvation honors the law and discusses reasons why people would reject this teaching.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The apostle Paul asks a rhetorical question: Do we then make void the law through faith?
  2. He answers: God forbid. Yea, we establish the law.
  3. There are two interpretations of what "the law" refers to here:
  4. The Old Testament scriptures
  5. The Mosaic law (moral and ceremonial law)
  6. The second interpretation is more likely based on the context and flow of Paul's argument.
  7. The gospel establishes the law in several ways:
  8. Jesus perfectly obeyed the law in his life (active obedience)
  9. Jesus bore the punishment for our sins demanded by the law (passive obedience)
  10. The gospel confirms what the law says about God's holiness and righteousness
  11. The gospel confirms what the law says about God's wrath against sin
  12. The gospel confirms what the law says about our sin and sinfulness
  13. The gospel fulfills the Old Testament types and shadows (sacrifices, priesthood, etc.)
  14. The gospel confirms that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins
  15. The gospel gives us a spiritual understanding of the law
  16. Wrong views of how the gospel establishes the law:
  17. That the gospel enables us to live the law (sanctification, not justification)
  18. That Paul was wrong in his view of the atonement
  19. That the early church corrupted Paul's teaching, which we now have rediscovered
  20. That we must adapt our teaching to suit the modern mindset
  21. We must reject these wrong views and hold fast to the truth of propitiation through faith in Christ's blood.

Sermon Q&A

Understanding the Law and Faith in Romans 3:31 According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

What does Romans 3:31 say about the relationship between faith and the law?

Romans 3:31 states: "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid. Yea, we establish the law." According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, this verse presents the third characteristic of God's way of salvation. Far from nullifying or dismissing the law, the apostle Paul emphatically declares that the gospel of faith actually upholds and establishes the law. Paul's strong language ("God forbid" or "May it not be") shows how abhorrent he found the very suggestion that faith would undermine the law.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones interpret "the law" in Romans 3:31?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones rejects the interpretation that "the law" here refers to the entire Old Testament. Instead, he argues that Paul is referring specifically to the Mosaic Law (both moral and ceremonial) that he has been discussing throughout chapters 2 and 3. His reasons include the consistency of context (Paul has been using "law" in this sense throughout) and the lack of any connecting word like "for" between this verse and chapter 4, suggesting a shift in topic rather than a continuation.

How does the atonement of Christ establish the law according to Lloyd-Jones?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Christ's atonement establishes the law in seven key ways:

  1. Through Christ's active obedience - He perfectly fulfilled the law in His sinless life
  2. Through Christ's passive obedience - He bore the punishment demanded by the law on the cross
  3. By confirming what the law reveals about God's holiness and righteousness
  4. By confirming the law's teaching about God's wrath against sin
  5. By confirming what the law says about human sinfulness and helplessness
  6. By fulfilling the Levitical ceremonial law with its sacrifices and types
  7. By confirming the law's declaration that "without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins"

What theological views about the atonement does Lloyd-Jones reject?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones rejects three modern interpretations of the atonement:

  1. The view that Paul was simply wrong or culturally conditioned by Jewish ideas of blood sacrifice
  2. The view (attributed to C.H. Dodd) that the church misunderstood Paul's teaching from the 2nd century until modern linguistic research "discovered" his true meaning
  3. The view that we should avoid teaching anything "objectionable to the modern mind" like blood sacrifice or divine wrath

Lloyd-Jones considers these views arrogant and a denial of the central gospel message upheld throughout church history.

Why does Lloyd-Jones reject the idea that Romans 3:31 refers to sanctification?

Lloyd-Jones rejects the interpretation that this verse means faith enables us to live according to the law (sanctification). His reasons are:

  1. The context of Romans 3 is entirely about justification, not sanctification
  2. This interpretation would contradict Paul's doctrine of justification by faith alone
  3. It would reintroduce works as the ground of justification
  4. The verse is about how Christ's work establishes the law, not about our ability to keep it

According to Lloyd-Jones, such an interpretation leads back to a Roman Catholic view where justification is based on sanctification rather than faith alone.

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.