Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Sermon Questions on Revelation 21:1

What is the "most characteristic word" of the Christian message according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, hope is the most characteristic word of the Christian message. He states: "Now there we are reminded at once of what is perhaps the great and characteristic, most characteristic word which is to be found in the christian message. In the christian gospel. It is this word, this message of hope." He emphasizes that it's "the only hope in this world" and that "the great message of the Bible, from beginning to end, is the message of hope."

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the Bible's approach to reality compared to other perspectives?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the Bible as having stark realism, stating that "there is nothing which is more notable about the whole of the biblical message as its stark realism." He claims the Bible faces facts as they are, doesn't try to whitewash its heroes, doesn't give a rosy picture of men or the world, and exposes hidden things. He says, "If I had no other reason for believing the Bible to be the word of God, this, for me, would rarely be enough that I get the truth about men and about life in the Bible in a way that I get it nowhere else."

What paradox does Dr. Lloyd-Jones present about the gospel's pessimism and optimism?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents the paradox that "the gospel is very much more pessimistic in one sense, than the profoundest human pessimist. On the other hand, it is more infinitely optimistic than the highest and the brightest optimism of men." He elaborates by saying the gospel is "immediately pessimistic, but ultimately gloriously optimistic." The gospel is pessimistic about human nature's ability to change itself but optimistic about God's ultimate plan for renewal.

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say about the world's false hopes and optimism?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that the Bible "exposes the utter futility, not to say the childishness, of all the false hopes with which the world tries to comfort itself." He challenges the idea that a new year or changing times will somehow fix humanity's problems, quoting Ecclesiastes: "What has been will be." He sees this worldly optimism as futile because human nature remains unchanged: "If you are expecting anything from 1957 to solve your problems, I say you're a fool. What has been will be pride and greed and avarice and lust and passion will remain in human nature as it has been."

What is the meaning of the "new heaven and new earth" in Revelation 21:1 according to the sermon?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the "new heaven and new earth" represents God's final solution to the world's problems—not a gradual improvement of the current world, but a cataclysmic, apocalyptic event. He states: "The world, it says, is going to continue like this, so much so that while it lasts, it'll be like that. Well, where is the hope? Well, that this world is growing and there'll be a new one." He describes it as the time when Christ returns as judge, when "everything that sin has done to this universe will be blotted and burnt out of existence, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth," where "there shall be no sin, there shall be no sorrow. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

How does the gospel transform individuals in the present, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, while the world cannot be changed immediately, individuals can be transformed: "though the world cannot be changed and will not be changed, that we can be changed, you and I, in the same old world, we can be made new men and women." This transformation gives believers a new perspective: "We can be so changed that looking at that same old world, we can say, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things have become new." This gospel transformation makes believers "independent of the world" and "delivers us from the thraldom of circumstance and chance," providing "a happiness and a joy that are not dependent upon the world."

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the most important question for his listeners?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies the most important question as determining "whether we belong to this kingdom of God that will not be involved in the destruction of the earth." He emphasizes that this is "the most important decision, the most important question for every one of us here this morning." The sermon concludes with the urgency of this choice—whether one has committed their life to Christ and is among those who will inherit the new heaven and new earth, or remains among the "unbelieving" who will face judgment.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe those who will inherit the new heaven and new earth?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes those who will inherit the new heaven and new earth as people who are "athirst"—those who realize their failure and helplessness, who understand they "cannot look to the world or to history or to time for any amelioration or improvement or salvation." He explains: "He's a man who's come to the end and says, I am a thirst. I am starving, what can I do? And turns to God in utter helplessness." These are people who have turned to God, asked for deliverance, received His life, and belong to "the new community, the new Jerusalem, the city of God."

What criticism does Dr. Lloyd-Jones address about Christianity being unrealistic or escapist?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones addresses the criticism that "the christian message is lacking in realism and that it's just a kind of escape mechanism." He notes that some call Christianity "the dope or the opiate of the people" that takes believers into "a kind of charmed atmosphere" where they can temporarily forget their troubles. Critics claim Christianity is "unreal," "remote," and "isn't relevant." Dr. Lloyd-Jones counters this by arguing that Christianity is actually the most realistic worldview, facing the facts as they are with "stark realism," while also offering genuine hope based not on fantasies about human improvement but on God's intervention.