Sermons on Sin

“It is not so much what we are saved from, but what we are saved for.” With these words, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones exhorts the Christian to the mortification of sin and acknowledges that they are not under the dominion of the flesh. He goes on to describe how Christians who fight against their own flesh are no longer under its rule or reign, but rather united to Christ who has already died to sin and is alive in righteousness. In this sermon on John 1:12­–13, Dr. Lloyd-Jones unpacks the intricacies behind unity with Christ and how that unity is the freedom from sin. Moreover, Dr. Lloyd Jones gives hope for the Christian who question their salvation. Do wrongdoings haunt the conscience and encourage faithful acts? Does sin continually feel cheaper until righteousness is the only worthwhile endeavor? Is there an alienation from the former life of sin and a desire to be a citizen of a life that pursues righteousness? These things illustrate a heavenly citizenship and assurance of salvation. These very truths are essential to the joy-filled Christian life. Dr. Lloyd-Jones gives these proofs, along with several exhortations, to live in a manner worthy of the one and only God who calls His children into His own kingdom and glory.

Every Christian must deal with old, evil desires that resurface, and every Christian must deal with indwelling sin. In this sermon on John 1:16 titled “Flesh and Spirit,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones discusses the way that God deals with remaining sin in the life of the Christian. This namely occurs through progressively sanctifying them through the work of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit whereby Christians are enabled more and more to die to sin and live in righteousness. Dr. Lloyd-Jones elaborates that the Christian must also mortify, or kill, the sin in their life. A Christian who falls into sin is like the Israelite who forgets what it actually was like in slavery in Egypt and longs for the land of his slavery. Instead they must stand fast on Christ who has set them free. Moreover, Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that legalism is not the same as obedience, because legalism assures people of salvation based on their own merit, rather than pointing them to a Savior who has set them free from the Law of Moses. If someone is trapped by their conscience and feels the weight of legalism pressing in, this sermon encourages that the gospel offers freedom from slavery to the law and sin.

What was the point of Jesus’s ministry? Many will see the life of Jesus and believe that He presented the life in which the Christian ought to live and, guided by His teachings, they can live a moral and upstanding life. The Christian should ask: “Do I believe that humanity is utterly depraved in their sinful nature and is unable to save themselves, or do I believe that people are just in need of a little help in order to live the good life?” In this sermon on John 4:27–30 titled “Under Conviction of Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones analyzes the interactions between Jesus and the woman at the well to show that the message of Christ is to bring humanity under the conviction of sin. Putting things in order, Dr. Lloyd-Jones places the conviction of sin as the first teaching in the New Testament, making this the building block in which the Christian life can begin. If the listener has taken up the religion of Christianity without becoming a true Christian, this sermon will help decipher between true belief and false belief. Listeners will then be challenged to analyze their lives and if they have ever truly been convicted of their sin and subsequently brought to repentance.

There is only one way to be reconciled to God and avoid the eternal punishment of hell. Only those who repent of sin and believe in Jesus Christ will be saved. Those who reject the gospel receive condemnation. Who would refuse salvation? In this sermon titled “The Power of Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows in Acts 7:20–29 what compels people to reject the only way of salvation that God has given to this broken world. It is a sinful nature and mind that leads people to reject God in this blind prejudice. Sin has corrupted every aspect of humanity. They are not able to rationally judge the truth of Christianity and the gospel and instead are controlled by blind prejudice and hate. This is why it is only by a divine calling to salvation that anyone believes and is saved. This is what is seen in the story of Moses. Moses was called by God to leave Egypt, but he encountered opposition from his own people. This hostility is not because of any reasonable objection to Moses but it is this blind and prejudiced unbelief being worked out in the life of sinful people who do not know God. This is why it is so vital that the church is always faithful to the message that has been entrusted to them by God.

The word of God is a terrifying mirror to those who are not saved. No one is innocent as all have sinned, Jews and Gentiles alike. Paul quotes the Psalms to prove his point: “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). The Jews had access to the Old Testament, yet they were tragically blind in regards to their own Scriptures and Paul reminds them of what God has stated multiple times. All are under the guilt of sin and all have been born into sin through Adam. In the sermon from Romans 3:10–12 titled “Man Under Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out that it is essential to understand this before one can truly understand the gospel. A person must understand how truly sinful and deceitful human nature is. This will lead to evangelism, showing people their need for salvation by convicting them first of their sin. Paul continues in giving a greater description of sin and how it distorts their view of the world, humankind, and God. Even if the Jews attempted to argue that they were not under condemnation, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Paul was attempting to thwart all arguments by providing adequate evidence.

Sin destroys everything. It ruins relationships, perverts what is pure, and undoes the underpinnings of society. In this passage, the apostle Paul explains the effect of sin on the world and the salvation that Christ has brought from sin. Because of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden, all have sinned because all are descendants of Adam. That guilt and condemnation is on all people. However, just as all are related to Adam, all who are saved are related to Jesus Christ! In the sermon on Romans 5:12–21, “As in Adam, So in Christ,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argues that Romans 5:12 is one of the most important verses in the whole Bible in terms of theology. This verse confronts with two facts: the universality of sin and the universality of death. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains the biblical and non-biblical view of this passage. It would be easy to create excuses for sin or to become angry that all are guilty because Adam is guilty, but the passage clearly points out that sin is active and so now there is death by sin. Instead of condemning the sin that Adam passed on, the Christian should be rejoicing that Christ’s work on the cross has also passed on.

The Bible tells that all humans are guilty of sin. In this sermon on Romans 5:12–21 “For All Sinned”, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones dives deeper into this truth to discover the magnitude of what this actually means. He begins by showing through Scripture that sin goes all the way back to the first sin of Adam. Death, the punishment of sin, was passed to all generations through the first act of sin by Adam. He points out how this means sin and its consequences were evident even before the law was given. Adam’s sin was imputed to all humanity from the very beginning, causing all to be guilty of sin. However, Dr. Lloyd-Jones does not stop there and instead goes on to show the parallel between the relationship with Adam and the relationship with Jesus. The same way that Adam imputed sin to humanity through his actions, Jesus likewise imputed His righteousness to them. Just as one offense brought death to all humanity, so also Jesus’s one act of obedience put all offenses aside in forgiveness. He concludes by showing the beauty of the justification Jesus brought in light of this parallel.

If the old self has died to sin, then why does the Christian still struggle with sin? In the previous passage, Paul confirmed that the old self in Adam was crucified with Christ. In this passage, Paul specifically uses the term “the body of sin,” which means the body lived in today. In the sermon on Romans 6:6–7 titled “Freed from Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones speaks at length to distinguish between the “old man” and the “body of sin” to which Paul refers. As a Christian, the old self is dead but the mortal body has not yet been delivered from the effects of sin and the fall. Sin still has a rule on the body and so one should long for the redemption of the body that will come. Paul warns that it is because of this exact purpose that the Christian should no longer live in sin and let the members of the body be instruments of sin. Why would the Christian act like the person who has already died? A day is soon coming when the body will be glorified, just as Christ’s body was glorified when He ascended into Heaven. Let the Christian continue to fight the sin that tempts the carnal body and long for the day when they will be free from the effects of sin.

The phrase “don't be a baby” is used in everyday language, but what does that imply? It does not mean that people should put aside their childish ways, but that they are no longer a child so they should act like an adult. In the sermon on Romans 6:7 titled “Freed from the Tyranny of Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expands on his previous sermon by highlighting the same emphasis that Paul writes about in this passage. Once again, Paul is confirming that the old self has died with Christ and so the Christian has been set free from sin. They are no longer under the reign of sin and should live in accordance to this truth. Those who are in Christ are justified from the guilt of sin. Paul once again proves the assurance of salvation. While mortal bodies may still be tempted with sin, Christ’s Holy Spirit dwells within and are no longer under the rule of sin. In the final day when Christ calls the believers home to Heaven, mortal bodies will then be free of all temptation. Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages God’s people to lift their eyes to anticipate that glorious day.

In the sermon on Romans 6:8–10 titled “Christ’s Death Unto Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones encourages the listener to not think of themselves so much. Christians often feel they must continually die to their old selves. This means they have not fully grasped the immense truth that the old self was crucified with Christ and is gone. They no longer need to think of their struggles, downfalls, and constant failures. Paul emphasizes once more that what happened to Christ has also happened to His people. Thus, they are to live after God, not in a future sense but in a present sense. Sin once had dominion over Christ because death is caused by sin. Christ died unto sin but He also rose from the grave, which means He conquered the dominion of sin. This act happened one time, once and forever. Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows that this means the Christian has full assurance in their salvation and the truth that the old self is gone. The resurrection proves that the law was satisfied and they are no longer under any reign of sin.

When Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and felt anguish, it was because He knew that the crucifixion would cut Him off from the realm of God and He wanted to be spared of it. However, Christ came as a volunteer and prayed that the Lord’s will would be done and that He would be restored back to the realm of God. Christ died once unto sin and He is finished with sin once and for all. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones outlines this in his sermon on Romans 6:10–11 titled “No More in Realm of Sin and Death.” Christ came out of glory only once, but He did so for humanity’s sake. Now that Paul has finished emphasizing this point, he moves on to how this truth can be applied. Dr. Lloyd-Jones notes that the truth about humanity has been shared repeatedly up until this point, but now Paul wants the listener to reckon this truth unto themselves. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains three principles that the Christian must bear in mind about these truths. He also explains the meaning and application of the word “reckon.” Therefore, may all reckon these truths day by day and live in thankfulness to the God who conquered sin and death.

Christians are alive unto God in the reign and realm of God. They were dead in sin, but now have been raised together with Christ into an entirely new sphere. But what does it mean to be alive to God? In this sermon on Romans 6:11 titled “Dead to Sin, Alive to God,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches about the new relationship the Christian has with God. “The most terrible thing about a life of sin is that you are not open to the blessings of God,” he states. Common graces are not the real blessings of God; they pale in comparison to these spiritual promises. To be alive unto God means to be part of His purpose. Christians are united to Christ because they are now in Him and members of His body. Be encouraged and learn the result of being in God and the importance of the word “never.” The same Spirit that comes upon the Christian was in Christ. God has begun this work in the Christian and He will complete this work. Be dead to sin and alive to Christ. This helps the Christian fight sin through the great assurance and confidence this gospel provides. The joy of the Lord is the Christian’s strength. Rest on the sure and perfect word of God.

Let not sin therefore reign in the mortal body. Doctrine is always something to be applied, not just considered. In this sermon on Romans 6:12–14 titled “Let Not Sin Reign,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones divides Christians into two groups based on interest in doctrine verses practical matters. Is Christian doctrine simply an intellectual hobby? What is the distinction between a person and their “mortal body”? Look at the connection between mortality and corruption. Sin remains in the body and if it is not kept in check, then it will reign in the body. Sin is not dead, but the Christian must remain dead to sin. The Christian is encouraged to yield the body as a slave to righteousness and holiness and not allow sin to reign, for God provides a way out. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones give the exhortation that the Christian is called not to a sudden deliverance but to a life of sanctification. For the Christian who longs to be holy, they must understand this doctrine and continually remind themselves of it. It is the truth that sanctifies and makes one free. “It is God’s purpose to make us holy and He is working in us,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds the listener. Resist the devil and he will indeed flee.

Why should the Christian live a holy and righteous life? Paul gives an argument and Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones encourages the listener to reason through it. Paul reminds the reader of the state and condition of their old life when they used to be slaves to sin and since one cannot serve two masters, they were not yet slaves to righteousness. In this sermon from Romans 6:20–21 titled “Changed from Glory into Glory,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out there are some people in this world that act moral but are not true Christians. The unsaved are governed by self and a Christian is governed by righteousness. Those who are slaves of sin and not of righteousness lead a fruitless and shameful life. Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages the listener to ask themselves three questions to test if something is from the old life or the new life in Christ: Does it give satisfaction to the mind and heart? Does it help growth in fruit and knowledge? Does it help one lay in store for the future? If no is answered to any of these questions, that lifestyle may be leading down a path to eternal separation from God.

What is the next greatest power after God himself? In the sermon from Romans 7:5–6 titled “The Nature of Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argues that it is the power of sin. As he breaks down Paul’s message in Romans, Dr. Lloyd-Jones outlines several key terms and defines them in the context of the message. It is essential for the reader to understand the terms in order to understand the apostle’s argument and doctrines of the law, salvation, and sanctification. For instance, the term “flesh” can be defined many ways but Dr. Lloyd-Jones believes that Paul uses this term to refer to the opposite of what it means to have life in the Spirit. Those who are in the flesh are unregenerate and cannot please God. When Paul refers to the “motions of sin,” he is talking about passions, affections, and lusting. All natural appetites were created and given by God, but the law aggravates these appetites and sinners allow them control, which lead to sin and death. However, Christ is working for His people and they died with Christ and to the power of sin.

How does sin seize the law as an opportunity? In the previous verse, Paul mentions that the law aggravates lusts and passions within him and now he explains that in further detail. In the sermon on Romans 7:8 titled “Sin’s Nature and Character,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that sin uses the law as a starting point to prove a result. The result is that sin essentially wreaks havoc in a person’s heart, producing lusts and desires in an evil sense. It uses the law as a fulcrum to completely take over in a powerful way. The law shows how truly sinful people are because it is a guideline of how to live. Humanity would never see its need for salvation if it did not understand how powerful sin is. It further explains the nature and character of sin. Sin ignites rebellion and causes people to become independent, feeling that they no longer need a God. This leads to complete lawlessness and destroys any order of discipline. Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides some modern-day illustrations of how this is evident in daily life.

Was there ever a time that Paul was without the law? In the sermon on Romans 7:9 titled “Sin Revealed by the Law,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that Paul is referring to the time in Paul’s life when he was not aware of the law. Before a person knows the law, they are unconscious about their sin. Without the resistance of the law, they would have never understood the power of sin. Paul says “sin sprang to life” and now he has a full understanding of his sinfulness and sin is all the more evident. Previously, a person without the law believes they are alive and free, but with the law they lack old self-assurance and self-reliance. Now with the law, a Christian feels death as they mourn their sin. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that once again Paul has confirmed that the law can never sanctify or deliver. With the law, there is a complete view of morals and ethics and since God gave the law, Christians now know sin and are without excuse. Those who say that they have no sin are clearly deceiving themselves. Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns that there is no more hopeless statement than for someone to say that they are not a sinner.

Sin is deceiving, but just how does it deceive? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches the sermon on Romans 7:10–11 titled “The Deceitfulness of Sin” and further dissects just how powerful and persuasive sin can be in a Christian’s life. Paul confirmed in his letter to the Romans that no one can find life by the law and instead can actually find death. This is because sin is death and the law shows the sin in lives. Paul is careful to clarify that the law is good as long as it is used lawfully. However, despite one’s best efforts, sin uses the law and condemns. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains four ways in which sin deceives: it makes one feel that God is against them; it makes them feel that the law is unreasonable in its demands; it praises the sinner and makes them think highly of themselves; and it even deceives about sin itself. In order to be vigilant, Christians need to ensure that they are not easily persuaded by the powerfulness and deceitfulness of sin.

How can a good thing cause death? Paul makes a case that the law is in fact a good thing. However, some argued that it brought death to them and Paul adamantly refutes this statement. In the sermon on Romans 7:12–13 titled “Sin Uses Law to Produce Death,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds on Paul’s argument that the law is good, but it is sin that causes death. First, the law is holy and the complete opposite of sin. The law is just and never makes unfair demands, but sin is deceitful. The law is good and there is no better life than the one that is lived by God’s law. God created the law as a tool to instruct and bring about a knowledge of sin. The law allows the sinner to see their complete failure and need for a savior. It is on this basis that Paul’s point is proven: the law is a good tool created by God but it is the sin that produces death. Dr. Lloyd-Jones reiterates Paul’s point that the law was never meant to be a way of salvation.

What is the spiritual identity of the man? Is he regenerate? Unregenerate? Or carnal? This has been the burning question Dr. Marytn Lloyd-Jones has been asking of Romans 7:15-25. After having carefully worked through several verses already, in this message Dr. Lloyd-Jones continues to aid his listeners through this difficult passage. Looking at the larger context of Romans, Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds us that Paul is not merely telling us about his personal experience in Romans 7. Instead, Paul is defending his view of the law. As the apostle is neither denouncing the law nor attributing the responsibility for sin to the law, the question remains: how does sin come to pass then? In answering this question, the apostle Paul makes one of the most daring statements in all the Bible. Paul asserts that sin dwells in me! In other words, sin takes up residence in each person. As such, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, we must realize that sin is not just outside but is part of our very nature. Listen as he explains the power of sin, the dual nature of man, and how this all connects to finding out the spiritual identity of the man in Romans 7.