Is Christianity Out of Date?
A Sermon on Genesis 3:22-24
Scripture
22¶ And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23Therefore the LORD God sent him …
Sermon Description
Genesis 3:22-24 helps understand that this is an uncertain and restless age, and the anxiety of science pervades. In this sermon on Genesis 3:22–24 titled “Is Christianity Out of Date?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches that this was not the way God made the world. God made humanity perfect and put them in a perfect environment. God had fellowship and communion with people. How did the world become what it is today? People ceased to realize they had lost communion with God; they failed to see their own finiteness and dependence on God. Desire usurped everything else; people were no longer guided by truth and principle, but by appearance and lust. Fear and guilt came. Look at history and see war and conflict; original paradise was lost. No one escape the judgment of God. All have tried to get back to paradise, but it is always futile as they depend on philosophy, politics, nature, or reason. People were indeed meant for something better; even the nonbeliever understands that. But, all are self-centered and the devil is the god of this world. No one can have paradise on human terms or without God. Look to Christ and find spiritual paradise today.
Sermon Breakdown
- The world was never meant to be like this. There was a time when the world was perfect.
- God created a perfect world and put perfect man in a perfect environment (paradise).
- Paradise was a place of harmony, peace, joy, and man had fellowship with God.
- Man disobeyed God and paradise was lost. Man was driven out of paradise.
- The world has been in a fallen state ever since the fall of man in paradise.
- The story of civilization has been man's futile efforts to get back to paradise.
- Philosophy, politics, poetry, art, culture have failed to get us back to paradise.
- World religions like Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam offer no hope and are hopeless.
- Leading thinkers see no hope for the world and foresee destruction.
- Man cannot get back to paradise on his own terms or without God.
- Man cannot get back to paradise as long as he is a sinner or under the devil's power.
- The cherubim (God's holiness) and the flaming sword (God's law/justice) guard paradise.
- Only Jesus Christ can satisfy the demands of the cherubim and flaming sword.
- Jesus Christ obeyed the law, took our punishment, and entered paradise.
- Faith in Christ allows us to enter spiritual paradise now and future paradise.
- God will create a new heaven and new earth; we will dwell with God in paradise.
Sermon Q&A
How Did Martin Lloyd-Jones Explain the Fall of Man in Genesis 3?
What did Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones identify as the purpose of the Genesis 3 message for modern times?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the purpose of Genesis 3 is to help us understand our modern world and its problems. He stated, "I want to try to show you tonight that it's not only right and good for us to consider the message of the third chapter of Genesis. I want to prove to you that you don't begin to understand the modern world and its problems without understanding the teaching of this chapter." He further asserted that "it is quite impossible to understand the modern world and its tragic condition without the message of this chapter," and that "there is no hope whatsoever of any kind of solution to our problems apart from the message which we find here and in the whole of this book."
How did Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the state of the modern world?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones described the modern world as characterized by: - Restlessness and anxiety (noting the high use of tranquilizers) - Insecurity and uncertainty - Environmental concerns (pollution, ecological problems) - Fear of nuclear destruction - Population explosion and potential famine - Constant strife (industrial, social, interpersonal) - A sense of futility and loneliness - A lack of meaning (quoting T.S. Eliot: "Lonely men in a world without meanings")
What did Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the original cause of humanity's problems?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones pointed to several factors in Genesis 3 that caused the fall: 1. Man ceased to realize his highest privilege was communion with God 2. Man ceased to recognize his finitude and dependence on God 3. Pride and ambition entered as man wanted to be "like gods" 4. Man began to put pleasure and enjoyment in place of truth 5. Man developed a feeling that God was against him 6. Man foolishly thought he could escape from God 7. Man didn't realize the punishment that would come from his rebellion
How has humanity tried to regain paradise according to the sermon?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, humanity has made numerous futile attempts to regain paradise through: 1. Philosophy - great thinkers trying to reason their way back to paradise 2. Politics - various forms of government from oligarchies to democracy 3. Poetry and art - returning to nature and promoting culture 4. Reason - like Tom Paine who wrote "We have it in our power to begin the world over again" 5. Revolutionary ideology - like Marx who said "it remains for us to transform" the world 6. International cooperation - like President Wilson's League of Nations 7. World religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., which Lloyd-Jones described as "utterly hopeless"
Why can't humanity regain paradise on its own according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explained that humanity cannot regain paradise because: 1. "Man wants paradise without God" - but paradise cannot exist without God 2. "Man, while he is still a sinner, can never regain paradise" - selfishness makes paradise impossible 3. Man is "under the power of the devil" - controlled by evil forces 4. The Cherubim represent God's holiness, which sinful man cannot approach 5. The flaming sword represents God's law and justice, which condemns sin
What is the Christian solution to regaining paradise according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones presented the Christian solution as: 1. Jesus Christ is the only one who can face God's holiness (the Cherubim) 2. Christ perfectly obeyed God's law and took our punishment (answering the flaming sword) 3. Through faith in Christ, believers can enter a "spiritual paradise" now - having peace with God 4. Ultimately, Christ will return and restore the entire cosmos to its original paradise condition 5. The Christian can look forward to "a new heaven and a new earth" (Revelation 21)
Dr. Lloyd-Jones concluded with the invitation: "My dear friend, are you already in paradise? Spiritually, you can be. You have nothing to do but to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And you shall be saved in him."
Itinerant Preaching
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.