285 sermons ranging across 19 of the books and letters in the New Testament, all preached at Westminster Chapel. Some were preached in short series, others were individual sermons.
The gospel makes fallen sinners uneasy because it condemns all sin and unrighteousness that defiles God’s law. In this sermon on Acts 24:24–27 titled “Righteousness, Temperance, Judgement,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shares that the message is not one of comfort but one that rightly condemns all who will not repent and believe in it. This is the case of Felix and Drusilla when the apostle Paul preaches the gospel to them. They are living in an adulterous relationship and unjustly holding Paul in prison. Paul does not try to convince them of the reasonability of Christianity and its claims, but tells them the need for righteousness and the great wrath when all will be judged for the deeds done in the flesh. This is why the gospel is such an urgent message, for all are appointed to die and suffer judgement. It is only by believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ that any can escape the righteous wrath of God. However, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains, often times the church is more concerned with politics and moralism than they are with the preaching of the only true hope for humankind. This is the great message that God has entrusted to the church. It is the truth that Jesus Christ died for sinners so that all who believe will be saved.
Why do people reject the only message of salvation? All throughout Scripture, men and women confront Jesus and His message of forgiveness and absolution from all sins, yet they reject it. In this sermon on Acts 26:55 titled “Why is the Gospel Rejected?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones seeks to answer the question. If one believes the Bible, then they know that all are in sin and enslaved to their selfish desires. They do not love or seek what is good and godly. So even in the undeniable fact of their need for sin and of Christ dying and rising again for the salvation of sinners, people are still unwilling to come to God. Even though all are destined to die, they still refuse to come to their only source of salvation: the gospel. Holy Scripture tells that no one can come to the Father unless Jesus draws them. No one can believe in the gospel because they are enslaved to sin, but in God’s grace they can be saved. God can open the eyes of sinners to believe and receive new life in Christ.
How can someone know that they are a Christian? In this sermon on Acts 24:26–29 titled “Are You a Christian?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones presents one of the most important ways one can know that they are living like the apostle Paul. Paul speaks of how Christians can and should live a life that does not depend on external circumstances for happiness. This is because Christians are to find their hope, happiness, and comfort in who God is. Unbelievers are always distressed because they have nothing to trust; they have no firm foundation for life. Paul wished that all men, women, and children trusted in Jesus for their happiness as he did. The Christian message has a very practical application for all of life. It tells that all can be free from worry and fear because of how great God is. This sermon calls each and every one to forsake their sins and believe in Jesus. It tells that there is no other hope in this life, or in the next, other than what is found in Jesus Christ. Only God can grant true happiness.
The crucifixion of the Son of God, who the apostle Paul called the Lord of glory, is the most profound paradox in human history. Because it is foolishness to those who are perishing and wisdom to those being saved, it automatically divides the world into two groups. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 2:6–8 titled “The Cross that Divides,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones elaborates on the mystery of the cross and explains why it divides humanity. The great divide the cross creates comes down to the hidden element in the cross and the necessity of divine illumination produced by the Holy Spirit. While the rulers, princes, authorities, and the natural people see only a failed prophet from Nazareth hung on a tree, revelation given by the Holy Spirit gives spiritual eyes to see it is the God-man Jesus Christ dying for sins in order to bring His people to glory. Hear Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenge the people of God to meditate, spend time on, and “survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died”.
Is it possible to be confident and filled with a sense of assurance about the state of the Christian church today? The Apostle Paul had great confidence and certainty in the faithfulness of God as he wrote to the church in Corinth: “God is faithful.” Do Christians desire the assurance that Paul seems to have in his writings? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches this sermon as an introduction to 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 so that the listener may be helped and strengthened both at the current state of the Christian church, and in evaluating the manner in which Christians live. Dr. Lloyd-Jones asserts that Paul’s confidence is based upon the fact that he knows that salvation is entirely of God. Paul did not have confidence in the Corinthians or himself, but in God and His grace alone. It is God who calls His people up from spiritual death into His salvation. The Christian has been called and quickened by God and can have confidence today knowing that it is God who calls, confirms, and keeps each Christian because He never starts something without finishing it.
Many people claim to be Christians but they are truly Christ-less. A Christian is one who has received and believed in Christ, one who has fellowship with Him, and one who is waiting for His return. Christ came to bear witness to the truth. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:4–9 titled “The Testimony of Christ,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on the testimony of Christ and the importance of foundational principles. What did Christ have to testify about? The question of the person of Christ is crucial – two natures in one flesh, God’s own son. No one is their own, and they have no right to do what they want with themselves. They have been rescued by Christ. If anyone has the Son of God, then they have eternal life. This gospel is not simply a theory or personal opinion; it is the testimony of God Himself. It is a tragedy to deny these things. This sermon teaches what Christ says about God and humanity, and the only way of being right before God.
In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:22–24 titled “The Everlasting Gospel,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones asks how the listener thinks about the Christian faith and message. It is a message that one never expects or desires. The cross cannot be removed from this message, yet it is a stumbling block to many. Many think they know what they need and are still looking for a sign, but God gave the message. It is impossible for any to know the truth about themselves while still in sin. Dr. Lloyd-Jones preaches that everyone not only needs help, but they need complete deliverance. The preaching of the cross is an offense to human ears. Why do they resent the cross? Due to the implications, this message is offensive by nature. It denounces everything that people rely upon. People are proud and self-confident, but listen and learn that even the wisest cannot stand before God justly. The blood of Christ is required. This is the Christian message and there is no other. Christ came to die — this is God’s way of salvation, the everlasting gospel. Believe it and be found in Him.
Christianity is always contemporary since Christians live in this world too. What differentiates the Christian? People have mastered many things in this life, but they cannot master the lust in their own life and mind – all are failures, none are righteous. People proclaim what they are by what they glory in. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached this sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:31 titled “To Seek and to Save” after the first man had gone into space. One can hear the boasting of humanity over the course of history. What does the Christian glory in? Christianity is not just an intellectual knowledge; it is an actual boasting in the Lord. Learn that to glory in any person is merely self-worship. There cannot be two things glorified because to glory in one is to crucify another – God and self cannot both be exalted. There is nothing special about a person in themselves, but there is every reason to glory in Jesus Christ alone – He is not an ordinary man. The world is as it is because it is not glorying in Christ. People come from earth and go to heaven; Christ was sent from heaven and came to earth. Learn of the purpose of His coming and rejoice in Christianity’s message.
Let no one glory in humanity as the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. The unusual confidence in human intelligence is the leading cause for rejecting the gospel. People deem the gospel useless and foolish. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 2:6 titled “Dawn that Never Leads to Day,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones examines two positions of life and the true knowledge of the meaning of life. The achievements of civilization and discoveries of humanity are so small in comparison to the grandeur of this universe. Listen to the message of the Bible and consider the Tower of Babel, King Herod, the flood, and Job. The wisdom of this world can only understand a portion of life, and nothing beyond. God’s knowledge is far beyond humanity’s finite comprehension. Listen as history is explained as the progressive scientific discovery of the Medieval Ages, Renaissance, and the Enlightenment, which ultimately pressed God into the background and exalted humanity. Humanity is always dawning a new era, but never arriving. In God’s divine wisdom, He gives people great ability, but all of humanity’s achievements will ultimately come to nothing.
What is the foundation in this life? Is it personal possessions or sense of security? People put their hope and base life on many things. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 3:11 titled “Christ the Foundation,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that any foundation in life that is not Jesus Christ is doomed to fail. All other foundations are passing and transient; they satisfy, but only temporarily. Jesus Christ is an eternal foundation that can never be shaken. He is a foundation that never leaves His people wanting for more. Christ alone can satisfy one’s deepest needs and desires. It is only Christ who can take away sin and make one a child of God. The greatest tragedy is that many reject Christ as their hope, and turn to everything else that is vain and passing away. Christ calls His people to turn away from the world and trust solely in His work on the cross for salvation. All other foundations are like sinking sand, but Jesus Christ is God’s appointed means of salvation as the only sure and steady foundation for all who believe.
Listen as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones discusses the greatest tragedy of all – the rejection of the Gospel. Apart from this, the world would not know tragedy. The trouble with man is that he is by nature a fool. We must not glory in man; we must not rely upon him with all our trust. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, learn about the cult of personality and the fundamental lack of fitness man has to hold the allegiance of other men. Man’s powers are altogether given to him; he is a created being. Men are selfish and always changing. To glory in man is to be enslaved, furthermore to glory in self is to be enslaved. “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” Do not be deceived, life is a master to you, you are not a captain of your soul. Discover the wisdom of glorying in Christ! The Gospel is a call to glory in Christ alone. Christ voluntarily takes a place of subordination and humiliation to work out God’s great plan of redemption. Christ wasn't mastered by life, He conquered death. See the world in a different way — see it as a work of God’s hands.
What does the Apostle Paul mean when he says that the kingdom of God consists not of word, but of power? This is the question that Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones seeks to answer in this sermon from 1 Corinthians 4:20. He says that Paul was not like many of his contemporary wise men in that he did not have a great appearance, nor did he speak with power. For Paul was not concerned with these things because he trusted not in himself, but in the power of God. Dr. Lloyd-Jones continues to show that the kingdom of God is not about clever words or gifted speakers, but the kingdom of God is about the power of God, namely Christ Jesus and His gospel. How is the power of God seen? If the Christian looks to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they will see men and women who were totally transformed by the power of God. This new power that they received was not their own doing, but it came from God empowering His people in order that they might serve Him. This God-given power is what enables Christians to fight sin, boldly proclaim the gospel, and live a life that seeks the kingdom of God.
Believing there is no need for a savior is the greatest idol of all; it is the idol of self-satisfaction. The Bible declares that there are none who are righteous, not even one. As one faces the holiness of God, one finds themselves unsatisfied and deeply in need of change. Where, in this chaotic world, do sinners find hope? In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 titled “The Reality of Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the gospel of Jesus Christ provides real hope. Too often, Christians focus on curing the symptoms of sin, but ignore the disease. They view Jesus as a helper, a mere counselor. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the hope of the Corinthian Christians was much more: they were washed. These early believers were sick with sin. The gospel did not merely treat symptoms; the gospel addressed the whole person. The gospel dealt with the disease. They were washed and changed. All today are sick with sin and need to be washed, sanctified, and set apart. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones not only exposes sin, but points the listener to the power provided in Jesus’s name. Through the power of the gospel, all may be changed. Christians were once dead in their sins, but they have been washed clean.
The world celebrates the power of humanity. Human achievement gains the highest order of praise. From the cities built to the industry created, human inventions and achievements are truly remarkable. No one can deny the wonders of the human mind. In spite of this progress, however, humans are left powerless. As a matter of fact, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out, human progress highlights the inability to solve their main problem. Wars increase. Corruption is woven into institutions. Violence does not cease. While people can build a civilization, the facts do not show that humanity has any real power. What all need is the power of God. What humanity needs is regeneration, a new life. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 titled “A New Creation,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones displays God’s purpose to save people from their corruption, and to make them children of God. This happens as the Holy Spirit works in a person and causes them to see and know God. Christianity is not just a better life––it is God working out His purpose in His people. He produces a rebirth in the Christian as the mind and intellect is renewed. The believer desires things they have never before desired. The new person’s greatest desire is to know God.
Who is Jesus? Many say that Jesus was merely a good teacher. He was a teacher; the greatest teacher who has ever lived, but He is more. Christ did not merely come to teach, for teaching cannot conquer sin. Law cannot change a person. Jesus came to change lives. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 titled “The Holy Spirit in Salvation,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that Christians once were something else, but they have been transformed. The Christian is a new being, no longer under the power and sway of the devil. The wicked one cannot touch them. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that this is not achieved through Jesus’s gift of teaching, but it is achieved through Jesus’s gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit emancipates the new believer by giving them knowledge of and a taste for Christ. The believer has new affections and desires. Jesus, therefore, is seen in human weakness, failure, hopelessness, and despair. All must go to Him, just as they are, and find new life. Humanity needs more than His teaching; people need Him. Indeed, Jesus is more than a teacher. He is more than a law-giver. Jesus is the Savior who will never leave nor forsake His people.
Many today believe that society has progressed beyond their need for the Bible. Through education, culture, art, and sophistication, they believe that humanity has found hope beyond the brokenness. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 titled “The Unrighteous Shall not Inherit,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out that the Bible deals with real life. The sins of today are no different than the sins of ancient Corinth. Today, sin has been normalized. What the Bible calls wicked, the modern world justifies. Fornication is excused. Adultery is condoned in some situations. Homosexuality has been declared right. Lying is tolerated. Everything is considered relative. Some believe moral teaching is the hope. Jesus did not merely come to give exhortations. Others believe training is the hope. No amount of education can correct the human heart. Human hope is not in ability, cleverness, or wealth. Studying 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, Dr. Lloyd-Jones examines the problem of sin and its remedy. Humans are unrighteous by nature and what matters is righteousness. Do not be deceived. The need for humanity is to be washed, sanctified, and justified. This is the timeless message of Christianity. Jesus has come to save humanity from sin so they can inherit the kingdom of God. He died for their transgressions and was raised for their justification.
The Apostle Paul’s most famous chapter on love is often praised for its poetic beauty and aesthetics. But should we reduce 1 Corinthians 13 to ornate language and mere sentimentality? Should we instead tremble at Paul’s love chapter? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones suggests the latter. The Scriptures are clear about the danger of drifting and it is possible, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, for a person to think they are Christian when they are in fact not a Christian at all. Therefore, they must examine themselves. But because the heart is deceitful due to sin, one must examine themself in the right way – the true way, and 1 Corinthians 12:31–13:3 is a passage for true self-examination. Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that Paul is dealing with a church that has put its hope in what they do – miracles, tongues, healings – rather than the most important fact that they are Christians through the new birth. Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns that people can perform extraordinary works and yet not be born again. He says all works of intellect, sacrifice, speaking, gifts to the poor, and general kindness can be counterfeit by sinful people and the devil himself. But there is one proof which cannot be counterfeit, and that is love. True love from the heart manifested outwardly cannot be falsified because God’s nature is love, and the Christian partakes in that divine nature through the new birth. The Christian should test themself according to the sure and true Word of God.
The Christian’s hope in Christ radically changes how they see the future. Why is this? In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 13:9–13 titled “Now and Then,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers this question. Christians are new people in Christ. This means that they now live new lives, not focused on the passing things of this world, but on the eternal things of God. Christians can look at the future, not as something dark and mysterious, but they can have hope knowing that Christ reigns over all things and will bring His kingdom to completion. This is not mere escapism, but it is a real hope experienced here and now based on the faithfulness of God. Unbelievers cannot have any true and lasting hope for the future. The best they can have is a blind optimism that cannot really give any hope. This sermon calls all to forsake their sins and look to Jesus who is the hope today and tomorrow. Only by believing in Jesus can anyone have their sins removed and become the children of God. This is the hope for everything in life.
If ever there was a time to go back to the first principles of Christianity, it is now. While there are still parts of the Christian faith that pervade Western culture to this day, it can hardly be doubted that the majority of people are not familiar with the basic message of the faith. Paul likewise did not take it for granted that the church at Corinth needed to be reminded of the foundational principles. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones challenges the contemporary church’s preoccupation with the world instead of these first principles. In his sermon on 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Dr. Lloyd-Jones lays out the basic content of the gospel. He asks fundamental questions which need to be asked regularly, especially in a biblically illiterate culture: what is Christianity all about and what is the content of the church’s message? Lloyd-Jones follows the biblical text closely, bringing out the central aspects of the gospel: God’s holiness and wrath, sin, Christ’s substitutionary death, resurrection, salvation, and forgiveness.
Saul of Tarsus had a dramatic encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Damascus, and he was never the same afterward. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 15:8–11 titled “The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones makes the case that Christians go through a remarkably similar process in their own conversions. There is much to be learned of the Christian faith from the life and writings of the apostle Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul highlights his own conversion to show that the gospel he preaches is the same gospel he received. Dr. Lloyd-Jones maintains that this is the same gospel that has transformed individuals throughout the history of the church, and continues to transform lives even today. The process is that God seeks out people, makes Himself known to them, and shows them the way of salvation. Christian conversion is completely dependent upon the power of the grace of God. By the grace of God, a Christian can say, “I was…but I am.” Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenges his audience to consider the conviction of sin, repentance, and rebirth.
