The Only Authority
A Sermon on Jeremiah 2:8
Originally preached Oct. 30, 1960
Scripture
8The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Sermon Description
What does the prophet Jeremiah say to the church of today? According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in this sermon on Jeremiah 2:8 titled “The Only Authority,” the prophet Jeremiah reminds of the importance of God’s authority in one’s life. Jeremiah decried the corrupt and abusive priesthood of Israel that sacrificed to false gods and did not worship the only true God of Israel as they had been commanded to do. The leaders of Israel had also rejected God and His law. What does this mean for the church of modern times? Just as many in the time of Israel who were supposed to lead the people of God and teach them rightly had gone astray, the church of today has many who claim to be leaders but reject the truth of God’s Scriptures and teach against orthodox Christianity. Whether it is higher criticism of the Bible or attacks on the deity of Christ, many teachers in the church oppose the very teachings of God. The answer to this problem is always the same: the church of Jesus Christ must teach the true message of God’s word despite what the world says. Faithfulness to God requires that Christians believe not what is popular, but what is revealed in God’s word.
Sermon Breakdown
- The prophet Jeremiah was sent by God to warn Israel of impending judgment due to their sin and unbelief.
- The leaders of Israel, the priests, prophets and princes had failed in their duty to lead the people to God. Instead they led the people away from God into sin, idolatry and unbelief.
- The people of Israel were confused and did not know God or understand His salvation because of the failure of their leaders.
- The situation today is similar with much of the leadership of the church and the world leading people away from God and the Bible.
- The Bible and God's word is no longer the authority or standard for much of the church and the world. Instead man's reason, knowledge and philosophy have become the authority.
- As a result, views of God, sin, Christ, salvation, the Bible, prophecy and the future have been distorted and evacuated of their biblical meaning.
- Many are left confused and lost, not understanding the true gospel and biblical Christianity.
- There needs to be a return to God and His word, recognizing our own failure and finiteness. We need to ask again "Where is the Lord?".
- The way back is through repentance, accepting God's revelation in Scripture and trusting in Christ alone for salvation.
- The gospel is the message of Christ, the eternal Son of God, born of a virgin, who died and rose again to save sinners. This is the only foundation and only true Christianity.
Sermon Q&A
What Did Martyn Lloyd-Jones Mean by "The Priests Said Not, Where is the Lord?"
Why did Martyn Lloyd-Jones preach on Jeremiah 2:8?
According to Lloyd-Jones, he preached on Jeremiah 2:8 because he felt divinely compelled to do so. He stated: "I am here tonight, and I'm preaching on this 8th verse in this second chapter of Jeremiah, because this was given to me." He explained that unlike many sermons requiring hard work to prepare, these messages on Jeremiah came to him "as a gift from God" and he felt a sense of "compulsion" to deliver them despite finding the task "distasteful."
What parallel did Lloyd-Jones draw between Jeremiah's time and modern Christianity?
Lloyd-Jones drew a direct parallel between the religious leaders of Jeremiah's time who failed their calling and modern church leaders who have abandoned biblical truth. In both cases, the leaders still held their official titles and used religious terminology, but had "evacuated their meaning and interpolated their own meaning." Just as the priests in Jeremiah's time "turned their backs upon God," Lloyd-Jones believed many modern church leaders had replaced biblical authority with human reasoning and modern philosophy.
How did Lloyd-Jones describe the shift in authority in modern Christianity?
Lloyd-Jones described a complete "change in the seat of authority" where "the authority is no longer God and his word. The authority is man and his reason, his knowledge, his understanding." He stated that many religious leaders reject the Bible as the standard, replacing it with "modern thought and knowledge" and "philosophy." This shift leads to rejecting supernatural elements of Christianity including prophecy, miracles, and the virgin birth.
What specific doctrines did Lloyd-Jones say were being abandoned by modern church leaders?
According to Lloyd-Jones, many modern church leaders had abandoned essential Christian doctrines including: - The divine inspiration and authority of Scripture - The virgin birth of Christ - The deity of Christ - The substitutionary atonement ("No substitution") - The literal bodily resurrection - The second coming of Christ - The existence of hell and eternal judgment - The concept of sin itself
What did Lloyd-Jones identify as the result of this doctrinal abandonment?
Lloyd-Jones identified several consequences of this doctrinal abandonment: 1. Mass confusion about what Christianity actually teaches 2. Only 10% of people in his country even claiming to be Christian 3. Moral declension and increasing lawlessness 4. People living like animals because they're taught they are merely evolved animals 5. No perceived need for church attendance when Christianity is reduced to good works 6. Loss of eternal perspective and fear of judgment
What solution did Lloyd-Jones propose to this crisis?
Lloyd-Jones proposed a return to biblical authority as the solution. He urged listeners to "come back and consider the book" and to ask "where is the Lord?" rather than trusting in human philosophies. He called for: - Repentance and confession of failure - Accepting God's revelation of Himself and His way of salvation - Embracing the gospel message of Christ's substitutionary death - Belief in the virgin birth, resurrection, and second coming of Christ - Acknowledging sin and our need for salvation
He concluded that in Christ alone is "God's truth" and that "You reject it at the peril of your soul. You believe it, and you will find salvation and a hope of glory that can never fade away."
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.