Not Far from the Kingdom
A Sermon on Mark 12:34
Scripture
34When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And then, no one dared any longer to question Him.
34And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
Sermon Description
In this sermon on Mark 12:34 titled “Not Far From the Kingdom,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones discusses the matter of the kingdom of God. No one suffered in this world like the Son of God. Biblical Christianity is not vague or indefinite. Either one is in the kingdom of God or they are not. Everyone will have to come to stand before God alone — it is a very straight gate by which one can enter. Learn how far one can travel and yet not be in the kingdom. Though there are various positions occupied by those outside the kingdom, they have no advantage over one another. Many people think that Christians are merely ignorant and unintelligent, but this is not true. Learn the true mark of intelligence. God cannot be bought by good deeds or sacrifices; the mere external acts of religion do not please God. Learn of the essential demand of God’s law. One cannot simply be intellectually interested in religion – religion must move from theoretical to practical, or else there is great danger. The law of God is not here to be applauded, but to be applied. “Believe and be ye saved.”
Kingdom of God
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.