Jesus Christ; Our Lord

A Sermon on Romans 1:3-5

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Scripture

Romans 1:3-5 ESV KJV

concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about …

Sermon Description

Christians are forgiven of sin so that they may follow their Savior. Some today reject this notion that one must submit to Jesus as Lord. They argue salvation is by grace, and therefore obedience is not necessary. While salvation is completely by grace through faith, the Christian faith must not be separated from obedience to Jesus. Can one accept Jesus as Savior and not as Lord? In this sermon titled “Jesus Christ, Our Lord” from Romans 1:3–5, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers that question with a resounding no. The earliest Christians were persecuted over the word “Lord.” For them, Jesus was not only Savior, but he was also Lord. The very nature of believing the gospel becomes an issue of submission. Christians are commanded to believe, and thus obey the gospel. Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows that the only way one can accept Jesus is in this full sense: as both Savior and Lord. Faith is obedience to the word of God. If the word of God is rejected, then God is also rejected, making Him a liar. Receiving the gospel is, therefore, to obey Him and receive Jesus as Lord. The entire Christian faith depends on the recognition of this and this is what makes one a Christian. This is the work of God: that the Christian believes on Him who He has sent –– Jesus Christ, the Lord.’

Sermon Breakdown

The apostle Paul tells us that the gospel is concerning God's Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ came according to the flesh as the seed of David, but was also declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead.
The name "Jesus Christ our Lord" represents who He is - Jesus (the Son of Man and Savior), Christ (the anointed Messiah and prophet, priest and king), and Lord (the Son of God and ruler of all).
Paul ascribes this full title to Jesus because:
Paul is what he is (a Christian and apostle) because of the grace and calling of Jesus Christ.
Paul does what he does (preach the gospel) because Jesus Christ called him to bring about "the obedience of faith" among the Gentiles.
Paul does what he does for the sake of Jesus Christ's name and glory.
"The obedience of faith" means believing in and obeying the gospel, not just obeying as a result of faith. Faith itself is obedience to God's word.
Sin is primarily disobedience and refusal to listen to God, not just wrong actions. The gospel calls us to obedience and to listen to what God says about Jesus.
We should believe in Jesus not just to be delivered from problems but because God commands us to believe in His Son. Not believing is disobedience and calling God a liar.
Faith is obedience to God's word. Not believing is disobedience. We are all sinners because we have all disobeyed God's word. Christians are those who have obeyed by believing in Jesus.

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.