Revival Sermon: Dead Orthodoxy
A Sermon on the Danger of Dead Orthodoxy
Scripture
17So Isaac departed from there and camped in the Valley of Gerar, and settled there.
Argument over the Wells
18Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death …
17¶ And Isaac departed thence, and pitched his tent in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and …
Sermon Description
The church has an important duty to fulfill before she can truly benefit the kingdom of God. She must deal with the hindrances that keep away the truths of the gospel. In this sermon on Genesis 26:17–18 titled “Revival Sermon: Dead Orthodoxy,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones presents these dangerous obstacles and asks the listener to consider the lack of balance within the church. It is necessary to consider dead orthodoxy along with defective orthodoxy. He is convinced that out of all dangers threatening revival, this is the greatest danger confronting the church and any individual with an evangelical outlook. In the midst of dead orthodoxy, people are driven to contentment and to practice religion merely for safety and security. Is the Christian just content because they have the right beliefs? Do they come to God’s house just to listen to a sermon? Dr. Lloyd-Jones references 1 Thessalonians 5:19 which tells the Christian not to quench the Holy Spirit. He explains the different ways one can avoid this: recognizing a fear of enthusiasm, confusion, false excitement, emotionalism, and pseudo-intellectualism. He clarifies the difference between emotionalism and emotion. Christians may be so afraid of the false that they quench the true emotion: “We’ve forgotten how to weep my friends,” with joy and with sadness.
Revival 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.