Saved By Grace
A Sermon on Isaiah 52:1-3
Scripture
1Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands …
Sermon Description
The gospel like a trapped city hearing of coming deliverance. In this sermon on Isaiah 52:1–3 titled “Saved By Grace,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shares that this joy produced by the news of Scripture is a great characteristic of the gospel and the story of the Bible is seen in this passage. First, that people are fools. They have rebelled against God and chosen lesser things over the all-satisfying goodness of who He is. Second, salvation is entirely of God’s grace. To understand this point, and the whole of the gospel, one must understand what is wrong with humanity. Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds that they have sold their souls to sin and are slaves to it. But praise be to God, this is not the end of the story. Though they have nothing to pay, God can and will redeem them. In this passage, He says that Christians are redeemed without money. First, because they ultimately have nothing to pay. They are broken sinners with nothing to bring before God. Second, redemption is without money because it has already been paid for on the cross of Jesus Christ. All that is required is to repent from one’s sins and disobedience against God and belief in the gospel. This, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, is what brings deliverance from sin and peace with God for this life and the next.
Sermon Breakdown
- The passage under consideration is Isaiah 52:1-3. The prophet Isaiah presents the gospel message in a pictorial manner.
- The gospel is the message of the entire Bible. It records God's way of salvation.
- There is a great need to understand the true gospel message today as there are many false gospels being preached.
- The glory and wonder of the true gospel is missing from false gospels. They reduce the gospel to something small and human.
- The gospel comes as a proclamation of good news to those in need of deliverance. It is a message from God, not man.
- Man is a fool who has sold himself and his soul for nothing. He is now a slave as a result.
- Man sold himself by rejecting God and the life he was meant to live. He wanted freedom but became a slave.
- The world offers man nothing for his mind, heart or spirit. It has no insight, lasting pleasure or consolation.
- Man cannot save himself or contribute to his salvation. He is penniless and bankrupt. Salvation is the free gift of God.
- Salvation was paid for by Christ giving himself on the cross. He paid the price and ransomed us.
- The gospel offers peace with God, beautiful garments of righteousness, freedom from slavery to sin, good things and solid joy.
- Despite present appearances, God reigns and will judge the world and set up his eternal kingdom. Believers will reign with him.
- The gospel, though rejected by man, is a source of amazement for those who believe.
Old Testament
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.