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Sermon #RV03

Revival Sermon: The Modern Philistine

A Sermon on Genesis 26:17-18

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Scripture

Genesis 26:17-18 ESV KJV
So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names …

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Sermon Description

The condition of the church today suggests that her need is as urgent as it has ever been. In this sermon on Genesis 26:17–18 titled “Revival Sermon: The Modern Philistine,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expands on the great and urgent need for revival and reawakening. To influence this, he says, the church must follow Isaac, who dug again the wells of his father Abraham: “The essence of wisdom for the church at a time like this is to look back into her own history.” When she does this, what will she find? She will find that no revival has ever been known in history that denied the fundamentals of the Christian faith or neglected such vital truths. These truths are constantly buried by “the rubbish of the Philistines.” Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains the vital truths and doctrines denied by the Philistines: the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Bible, the doctrine of sin, and the wrath of God. Revival cannot happen without the proclamation of these truths. It is with arrogance, pride, and the tendency to glorify oneself rather than God that stands between us and His mighty blessings of revival.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The church today is in a desperate state and urgently needs revival and awakening.
  2. Isaac needed water to live, just as the church needs revival to live. The problem is a matter of life or death.
  3. The situation is as dire as it's ever been. The church is fighting for its life.
  4. Isaac didn't waste time speculating or searching for answers. He went back to the wells dug in Abraham's day.
  5. The church should look to its history to see how God revived His people in the past.
  6. God and human sin don't change, so the solutions of the past still apply today.
  7. Concealing or neglecting vital truths always marks times of decline in the church.
  8. No revival has come to churches that deny essential truths. Unitarians and Catholics have never had revivals.
  9. Such churches always oppose revival and persecute those experiencing it. They see revival as devilish.
  10. Rediscovering vital truths has always led to revival. The Reformation came from rediscovering justification by faith.
  11. The 18th century revival came from rediscovering vital doctrines obscured by rationalism and deism.
  12. The 1859 revival came as the church rejected Arianism and rediscovered the deity of Christ.
  13. Vital doctrines must be believed for revival. Their denial prohibits revival.
  14. The first vital truth is the sovereign, living, transcendent God who acts in the world.
  15. God is not an abstraction or philosophical concept. He is life and the author of all being.
  16. The "God in all" view sees God as imminent but not transcendent. It denies God's sovereignty.
  17. Deism sees God as creator but not involved in the world. It cuts God off from acting in His universe.
  18. A deistic or philosophical view of God makes prayer meaningless and revival impossible.
  19. The second vital truth is the authority of Scripture. The Philistines deny revelation and inspiration.
  20. They rely on human reason, not God's revelation. They see man searching for God, not God for man.
  21. Apart from Scripture, we have no knowledge of God or how to find blessing. We must submit to its authority.
  22. The third vital truth is man's sin and God's wrath. Natural man hates these doctrines and calls them insulting.
  23. Sin is explained away psychologically. God's wrath is seen as incompatible with His love.
  24. But revival reveals man's sinfulness and God's wrath. Men see their vileness and fear God's wrath.
  25. Jesus and the New Testament also teach sin and wrath. God's wrath is terrifying, especially the wrath of the Lamb.
  26. Until we humble ourselves before God's holiness and wrath, there is no hope of revival. Our arrogance must go.
  27. We must start with a right view of God and Scripture before considering other doctrines.
  28. We must clear away the rubbish of the Philistines to find the water of life again.

Sermon Q&A

Questions and Answers from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Revival

What does the story of Isaac digging the wells represent in relation to the church today?

According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the story of Isaac digging again the wells of Abraham (Genesis 26:17-18) represents the urgent need for the church to return to its original sources of spiritual life. Just as Isaac needed water to survive and found that the Philistines had stopped up the wells with earth and rubbish, the church today needs to clear away false teachings and rediscover fundamental biblical truths that have been obscured. Lloyd-Jones states, "The trouble today in the christian church and the failure of the church to deal with the whole problem of sin in the world outside is entirely due to the rubbish and the earth that the modern Philistines have thrown into the wells of God and have thereby stopped them."

What has characterized every period of spiritual declension in church history?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that throughout church history, every period of spiritual declension has been characterized by "the concealing and the neglect of certain truths and certain aspects of christian truth." He provides several historical examples, including the period before the Protestant Reformation when "vital truths of salvation could not be seen" because they were "entirely hidden, cluttered up, covered over by all that mass of teaching" in the Roman Catholic Church. Similarly, before the 18th century revival, deism and rationalism controlled church thinking, covering over the "living water of salvation." In each case, essential doctrines were either denied, concealed, or neglected.

What is the relationship between doctrinal reformation and revival according to Lloyd-Jones?

According to Lloyd-Jones, doctrinal reformation always precedes revival. He states: "Without a single exception, it is the rediscovery of these cardinal doctrines that has always led ultimately to revival." He explains that while revivals appear to come suddenly, historical examination reveals there was always preparatory work happening quietly - specifically the rediscovery of fundamental biblical truths. He cites Martin Luther's rediscovery of justification by faith before the Protestant Reformation, John Wesley's understanding of this same doctrine three months before his Aldersgate experience in 1738, and how in Northern Ireland the rejection of Arianism (which denied Christ's deity) prepared the way for the 1859 revival. In each case, theological correction preceded spiritual awakening.

What are the three fundamental truths that Lloyd-Jones claims are essential for revival?

In this sermon, Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies three fundamental truths that must be recovered for revival to occur:

  1. "The truth concerning the sovereign, transcendent, living God who acts and who intervenes and erupts into the history of the church and of individuals" - not the God of philosophers who is merely an abstraction or remote concept

  2. "The authority of this book, the authority of the Bible" - a belief in divine revelation rather than man's search for truth through reason and speculation

  3. "Man in sin and under the wrath of God" - recognizing human sinfulness and God's holy judgment against sin, which leads to conviction and repentance

Lloyd-Jones indicates he has more doctrines to discuss but focuses on these three as the foundation without which revival cannot occur.

Why does Lloyd-Jones claim that certain churches have never experienced revival?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones states emphatically: "No revival has ever been known in the history of churches which deny or ignore certain essential truths." He specifically mentions that Unitarians and Roman Catholics have never experienced revival because they deny cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith. Regarding Unitarians (who deny the deity of Christ), he states, "You have never heard of a revival amongst the Unitarians, and you've never heard of it because there's never been one." Concerning Roman Catholics, he says while individual Catholics have been spiritually awakened, this has "led invariably to their leaving their church." He argues these churches have not only failed to experience revival but have historically "opposed and have always persecuted those who have been in the midst of revival."

How does Lloyd-Jones describe what happens to people during genuine revival?

According to Lloyd-Jones, during genuine revival, people become intensely aware of two primary things: "their own unutterable sinfulness" and "the wrath of a holy God." He describes people "groaning, agonizing, under conviction of sin" and feeling so conscious of their "unworthiness and their foulness and their vileness that they feel they cannot live." This conviction creates an "agony of soul" where they "can't sleep" and "don't know what to do themselves." Simultaneously, they recognize God's holiness and righteous anger against sin, which causes "intensest agony" as they realize they deserve divine judgment. This profound conviction of sin and awareness of God's holiness is the consistent pattern Lloyd-Jones identifies in all historical revivals.

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.