Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Christmas Sermon Questions and Answers

What is the historical significance of Christmas according to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the main reason for observing Christmas is to emphasize "the historical character of the Christian faith." He stresses that Christianity is "a faith that is based upon facts" rather than merely ideas or psychological suggestions. The sermon highlights how Luke's Gospel deliberately places Jesus' birth in a specific historical context with the phrase "in those days," mentioning "a decree from Caesar Augustus" and noting that "this taxing was first made when Cyreneus was governor of Syria" - all verifiable historical facts.

What are the two wrong attitudes toward Christmas that Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies two wrong attitudes: 1. "To deny the facts altogether and to say that these are fairy tales or what they now call myths" - the view that the Christmas story didn't actually happen but is just a story meant to convey some profound truth. 2. The attitude that "it doesn't matter whether these things did happen or not" - claiming that whether Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem is irrelevant because "we still have this wonderful teaching and this is the thing that matters." Dr. Lloyd-Jones considers this second view "even worse than the first" because it reduces Christianity to mere psychological influence.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain Christ's relationship to time?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents several aspects of Christ's relationship to time: 1. He was "before time" - "In the beginning was the Word" means "there was never a time when he wasn't." 2. He "was manifested in time" - the eternal entered into the temporal world at a specific point in history. 3. He came "late in time" - after approximately 4,000 years following the fall of man. 4. He came "in the fullness of time" - at God's perfectly appointed moment. 5. His coming is "the center of time" - dividing history (BC/AD) and becoming the pivotal point around which all history revolves. 6. He will "end time" when He comes again to "wind up time, finish it, bring an end to the universe as we know it."

Why did Christ come "late in time" according to the sermon?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Christ came "late in time" to prove conclusively that humanity could not save itself. He states: "Man is so stubborn in his foolish self regard. Man is so madly confident of his own innate powers and abilities that he had to be convinced that he couldn't save himself." God gave humanity approximately 4,000 years to demonstrate they couldn't save themselves through: 1. The law, which no one could keep perfectly 2. Great civilizations (Babylonia, Media-Persia, Greece, Rome) that rose and fell 3. Philosophy and human wisdom that ultimately failed

"If the Son of God had come almost immediately after the fall of men, well then men would have said, 'Ah, but if I'd only been given a chance, I could have done it myself.'"

What does it mean that Christ came "in the fullness of time"?

When Dr. Lloyd-Jones speaks of Christ coming "in the fullness of time," he explains that while it was "late" in terms of human history, it was exactly according to God's perfect schedule. He states: "It's not late in God's timetable... When the fullness of the times was come, God's appointed time, the time that was planned before the beginning of time."

This demonstrates God's sovereignty and independence from human affairs. "God is independent of this world and of what happens in it... He acts quite apart from them... at his own appointed hour, at his own appointed moment." The birth of Jesus is "the proof of the supremacy of God" because "the world can't save itself, but it can't prevent God from saving it either."

What is the ultimate purpose of Christ's coming according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Christ came to redeem fallen humanity and restore all creation. He quotes Jesus' own words that "the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost." The ultimate purpose extends beyond making people "better" - it's about complete transformation and redemption.

He concludes that when Christ returns, "He will end time and hand back to God the Father, a universe purged of sin and evil and rebellion and wrong and ugliness and all that is foul. He will hand back to his Father a restored, a regenerated, a perfect universe, peopled with his own perfect people."

As Lloyd-Jones quotes John Calvin: "The Son of God became the son of men, that the sinful sons of men might be made the sons of God."