Love Thy Neighbour
A Sermon on “Love your neighbor as yourself” from Mark 12:28–31
Originally preached Sept. 26, 1965
Scripture
28¶ And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our …
Sermon Description
Chaos, conflict, and crisis are a regular part of the world. All of humanity’s attempts to bring peace and reconciliation fall short. In this sermon on Mark 21:28–31 titled “Love Thy Neighbour,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shares that humanity’s priorities are misplaced. Humankind tries to appease their own desires with their own answers. This human-centered approach is unbiblical because it does not start with God in order to understand the nature of humanity. Only when people see themselves as created by God and in need of redemption and reconciliation with God can they properly diagnose themselves and their problems. Until a person recognizes their sin and rebellion before God, they will never understand the depth of their alienation from one another and God. It is only the gospel that can free anyone from their guilt and sin before a holy God, and it is only by believing in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that they can truly live in fellowship and communion with one another. It is only by divine aid that anyone can flee from themselves and turn to God so that they may be freed from their sin.
Sermon Breakdown
- The scribe came to Jesus and asked him which is the first commandment of all.
- Jesus answered that the first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
- The second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.
- The scribe was surprised by Jesus's answer as he expected Jesus to choose one of the 613 commandments.
- The scribe and his companions were arguing about which commandment was the greatest.
- The scribe likely came with wrong motives to test Jesus.
- However, Jesus's answer corrected the scribe and his companions.
- Jesus's answer shows that the scribe and his companions had their priorities wrong.
- The world today also has its priorities wrong in the same way.
- The world starts with man instead of God which is wrong.
- The world rejects the biblical order that Jesus gave.
- The world focuses on applying the gospel instead of understanding the gospel first.
- Christian conduct cannot come before becoming a Christian.
- The world has no authority or standard as it rejects God.
- The world believes everything is relative and subjective leading to confusion.
Sermon Q&A
Questions About Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Priorities and God's Commandments
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the first and greatest commandment according to Jesus?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Jesus clearly teaches that the first and greatest commandment is "Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." He emphasizes that this primacy is crucial and must come before the second commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself.
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe the modern world has its priorities wrong?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the modern world has its priorities wrong because it starts with man rather than God. He says the world today puts the second commandment (love your neighbor) before the first (love God), believing that reconciling man with man is the supreme question rather than addressing our relationship with God first. This inversion of priorities is, according to Lloyd-Jones, the root cause of our problems.
What example does Dr. Lloyd-Jones give of someone putting human problems before theological concerns?
He quotes a Lord Provost at a religious conference in Glasgow who said: "I'm a plain simple man. I haven't got time to read theology and I'm not interested in theology... What I want to know is this. Can you help me to love my fellow men?" Lloyd-Jones sees this as a perfect example of someone dismissing the first commandment (relationship with God) to focus only on the second (relationships with others).
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the modern view of humanity?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the modern view of humanity as believing that man is autonomous (his own judge), has great understanding and wisdom (pointing to scientific achievements), believes he can do all things if he just believes in himself, and thinks that he is always right. This view sees man as self-sufficient and not needing God, which Lloyd-Jones argues is fundamentally flawed.
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say happens to a person's view of themselves when they face God?
When a person faces God, Lloyd-Jones says they realize several truths: they are merely creatures, not the center of the universe; they are failures who haven't loved God as they should; they are guilty before God; they are helpless to change themselves; and they cannot find God or love their neighbors in their own strength. This encounter with God humbles a person "to the dust" and shows them their true condition.
What solution does Dr. Lloyd-Jones offer for reconciling people with each other?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones insists that the only way to reconcile people with each other is to first be reconciled to God through Christ. He states that we need forgiveness from God and a new nature, which only comes through recognizing our failure, accepting Christ's sacrifice, and being transformed by Him. Only when we've experienced God's forgiveness can we truly forgive others and see them differently.
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones connect world problems like wars with individual human nature?
He argues that all world problems stem from individual human nature. He says, "What's a country? It's a collection of individuals. Why does a country do such and such a thing? It's because as individuals, we do such things." He maintains that the problem is not political but spiritual—our relationship to God. Until individual human nature is changed, national and international conflicts will continue.
What parable does Dr. Lloyd-Jones reference at the end of his sermon and why?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones references the parable of the unforgiving servant from Matthew 18, where a servant who was forgiven a huge debt refuses to forgive his fellow servant a small debt. He uses this to illustrate that the only way to truly forgive others is to recognize how much we ourselves have been forgiven by God. Our motivation for treating others well comes from experiencing God's grace to us first.
Other Sermons
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.