October 1966

What is the chief end of man? While this question is often asked, few answer it as Jesus Christ does. Jesus Christ tells that each and every one was made to worship God in spirit and in truth. This is humanity’s purpose but the great tragedy is that many do not worship God rightly. Even in the church, many turn worship into nothing more than emotion or reduce it to a bare intellectual exercise. These stand in opposition to true worship that is concerned not only with the form of worship, but also with the heart in worship. Only those who can worship rightly are those who have been saved from sin and made inheritors of God’s kingdom. In this sermon on John 4:13-14 titled “The Chief End of Man,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that before the church can evangelize the world, it must first undergo a revival as it is only a church that worships God rightly that can be a light in the world for Christ. This sermon calls all to ask themselves if they know God and worship Him rightly as this is the chief end for which humanity was created.

God will always keep His promises. His great plan of redemption of the whole world through the work of Christ Jesus is enacted through covenants. Listen in this sermon from Acts 7:1–8 titled “The God of Covenants” as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows how these great redemptive events form the background of the work of Christ. This redemptive work is for the salvation of individuals and was planned before the foundations of the earth to glorify His name. This great and sovereign plan is important because it exalts God and humbles humanity. It was this sovereign call that brought the pagan Abram to come and worship the true God and declared him righteous. God has planned both the beginning and the end of all things, and He works in history to bring about His plan. Christians should rest in this great truth; God’s plan will be brought to pass. In this outworking of God’s great plan of salvation, He chooses to make covenants with humanity. He made a covenant with Noah after the flood and promised He would not flood the world again. He made a covenant with Abraham and gave Him the sign of circumcision. It is Jesus who came and brought a new covenant, the fulfillment of all God’s promises. It is this great truth that the early church proclaimed. It is salvation in Christ as the fulfillment of God’s great plan.

Biblical ethics are supernatural ethics. The call of the Lord Jesus Christ upon His followers is different from humanity’s own fallen instinct. Christ’s call is a fundamentally other worldly way of life – it is what James calls wisdom from above. When Christians encounter evil against them, the natural instinct is retaliation. A person cannot carry out the injunctions given by the apostle Paul in this passage. In this sermon on Romans 12:17–18 titled “Be Different,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says the story of humanity is one of hitting back and retaliation. People scoff at turning the other cheek as it is viewed as a weakness. While Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages Christians not to retaliate, the Scriptures raise one’s thoughts beyond just the negative. When the Christian encounters evil against them, their response is to put the evil action against them in the larger context of their entire Christian outlook. Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds that Christians do not act on instinct but instead should consider the gospel, Christ, and their witness to the Christian faith. Christians should fight for peace but not peace at any cost, warns Dr. Lloyd-Jones. Listen as he explains the important nuance of contending for the truth while at the same time being peacemakers.

The Samaritan woman that Jesus encounters in John 4:13–14 is a good example of someone who is unable to see things spiritually. Throughout this encounter, Jesus mentions spiritual things, such as the nature of salvation and redemption, but this woman understands Him only as speaking of worldly things. Unfortunately, as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains in this sermon titled “Spiritual Dullness,” this is the state of all people who live in sin and darkness. Those who do not have a renewed mind do not have the ability to understand gospel truths, for these are spiritually discerned by the aid of the Holy Spirit. Even Christians are often blind to spiritual truths. This can result from a lack of a proper understanding of God’s word or from sin in the life of believers. Many Christians try to rationalize their sins instead of confronting them and this can lead to spiritual blindness and a life of alienation from God and neighbor. This is why the church must proclaim the gospel that continually transforms and renews believers. Every day Christians are in need of God’s great grace again, and God is faithful to give His grace in Christ to believers. This should encourage all Christians to rely on God for all things and to faithfully and joyfully proclaim the great truth of the gospel of salvation by grace alone.

How is God at work today? In this sermon on Acts 7:2 titled “The God Who Reveals Himself,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones begins by showing how throughout the Bible God revealed Himself through His actions and words. This begins in the Old Testament with the law and the prophets where God revealed His nature and will to the Jews. Now He has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. The Messiah was sent into the world to accomplish the Father’s will and all that was foretold in the prophets and the book of the law. Jesus Christ came to pay the ransom for sin and provide the only way to be reconciled to God. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes, this is the outworking of God’s great plan of redemption proclaimed in the Old Testament. Not only does Jesus come to save the lost, but in His work God is seen more fully. This is how God is known, not through philosophical reflection but through his Son, God incarnate. Without God’s revelation, humanity would never be able to know Him as He is. God has come into His creation and He took a human nature upon Himself. He was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life and died a horrific death, but then rose from the grave and is alive today. This is God in human flesh. He is the one who came into the world to save sinners and to reveal Himself to those who are blind.

In this sermon on Romans 12:16 titled “Wisdom and Knowledge,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches on the importance of being of the same mind. Christians are to bless those who persecute them, rejoice with those who rejoice, and are to be of the same mind in agreement with one another. Two things threaten to destroy harmony – haughtiness in minding high things and being wise in one’s own eyes. Christians should learn about the folly of intellectual pride and look at the history of the Christian church to see how important it is to guard against this sin. This sin is the abuse of one of God’s greatest gift to humanity — the intellect. There is a difference between knowledge and wisdom: one is merely gathering and acquiring factual information, while the other is the power and capacity to apply it. The greater the scholar, the more humble the person. A little knowledge is most dangerous and while love builds one up, knowledge merely puffs up. Christians should consider the humility and meekness of the Son of God and remember the Scriptures, “walk humbly with thy God” and “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Christians are encouraged to learn to distinguish between true and false wisdom.

The living water of Jesus Christ is the mark of a true Christian. It is the fullness of life that followers of Christ receive and experience. In this sermon on John 4:13–14 titled “The Problem with Prejudice,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones speaks of this living water by diving into the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. He begins by focusing on Jesus’s approach with the Samaritan women. This is an important aspect to understand because it is also Jesus’s approach with His people today. First, Jesus is always in complete control. There is never a moment that all are not fully in His hands. This truth can bring Christians much comfort in realizing that He is in control of our lives. Second, Jesus draws gently to Himself. Dr. Lloyd-Jones goes on to show how Jesus pursues after and loves His people with a never-ending love, wanting them to accept His living water. However, the sinful flesh creates hindrances that keep the Christian from His living water. In this case, Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows that the woman at the well created a hindrance of prejudice. He ends by challenging the listener to view their own lives for any hindrances that may be keeping them from the living water of Christ.

What is God’s plan for the Christian’s life? To what extent will the Christian follow God’s leading? These are hard questions that Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers as he studies God’s call on Abraham and the covenant He made. In this sermon from Acts 7:1–2 titled “The God of Glory Visits Abraham,” the listener hears how God demonstrates His ability to act in the world to accomplish His purposes and bring about His will for the world. God brought Abraham out of a pagan land that does not worship or serve Him and through this He makes a new people, the descendants of Abraham and all who would believe in God. Christianity is a religion concerning what God has done in time and history and what He continues doing. He actively works to bring about redemption of the whole world through the work of Christ on the cross. He is not like an idle deity of the pagan gods, but He is both able and willing to call and lead His people. He does all this in the world so that sinners may be saved from the judgement they deserve. The world does not know this peace or plan of salvation. The world seeks to enact nothing more than moral reform but God is working to bring about redemption of every aspect of reality by his Son, Christ Jesus. The listener is encouraged to look to God as the great Savior who works all things together, according to His sovereign plan.

Is it harder to rejoice with those who rejoice or weep with those who weep? In this sermon on Romans 12:15–16 titled “Practical Christianity (2),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones looks at how Christians are called to respond to one another. The problem of every human being, without exception, is the problem of pride and self. All struggle with envy and jealousy. The Christian is called to not settle for being able to hide this sin but learn to replace it by rejoicing with another over their success. No one can do this for themselves. The gospel of salvation in Christ is the only thing that can deliver one from the self and unify them with the body of believers. Christians cannot divide doctrine and practice and should look at the story of the Christian church, being called to have a common mind and think like one another. Christians are encouraged to know what it means to be knit together in love. They are to look at the example of Christ washing the feet of men and preach the gospel to the poorest. Nothing is more incongruent to the Christian faith as social disjunctions. Christians should associate with the humble, forsaking pride and ambition, and come humbly before the Lord.

The Gospel of John has a frequent theme of the abundant life found in Christ. All throughout the book, this theme appears in a variety of ways. Listen as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones speaks on one such story which points to this theme in this sermon on the woman at the well in John 4:1–26. Dr. Lloyd-Jones begins by pointing out several things that can be learned from this woman’s encounter with Jesus. First, this story shows that the fullness of Jesus is possible for everyone. His fullness is not retained for certain people, but is for all humanity. He goes on to explain how this story points to Jesus’s unique way of coming to His people right where they are and ridding them of a religious mindset of routine and sameness, filling them with the fullness of the Messiah. While both of these aspects are seen in this story, the most significant and stunning one found is the personal element of Jesus’s encounter with the woman at the well. Although Jesus was tired and thirsty, He was more focused on sharing His living water with her. The story, preached in this sermon on the woman at the well, is a beautiful glimpse into Jesus’s love for all humanity and desire for all people to experience His fullness.

Rejecting Christ is nothing new but why are so many people quick to turn against God today? In this sermon on Acts 7:1–2 titled “Institutional Religion,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out that many people who reject the gospel are just like the Jewish leaders who did so in the time of the apostles. They believe that just because they perform good deeds, they do not need a savior or salvation. Or they think that because of their heritage and association with institutionalized religion that they are in good standing with God. There are many people who go to church every Lord’s Day and who give their money and time to the church, and yet are not saved. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones exposes the dangers of institutionalized religion. These are people who perform religious actions not out of a heart of love, but out of tradition and human means. This is the great threat to the church in all times because these people do not believe that they are in need of salvation and redemption. They are deceived by their own vain actions and traditions. The answer to this is the true and powerful gospel of Christ that alone can save people from their blind slavery to false religion.

In this sermon on Romans 12:14–15 titled “Practical Christianity (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones looks at the application for the doctrine Paul has been laying down and how theory moves into practical daily living: “The glory of God in His great salvation is involved in this [daily living].” Learn that the best form of evangelism is Christian people manifesting the Christian life, not only the proclamation by word of mouth. Dr. Lloyd-Jones shares that “a mere theoretical Christianity is useless” and a contradiction. The Scriptures are intensely practical and Christians are called to have patience with unbelievers. Moreover, Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that one’s attitude towards persecution must be positive as the endurance of persecution in its various forms tests the reality of their Christianity in a thorough manner. Only a Christian can bless (and not curse) those who persecute them. Christians are called to remember what they were and how God reacted to them, showing them total grace. The sinner must be separated from the sin, asking the question, “Why does a person behave the way they does?” Christians are encouraged to have compassion on the sinner’s helpless state and pray for the salvation of unbelievers to “be like our blessed Lord.”

Why does the church of today seem to be so ineffective and weak? In this sermon on Romans 8:18 titled “We Shall Be Like Him,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers that the church does not behold the glory of God, and so they are not transformed by the glory of God. The modern church focuses on plans and schemes in order to reach the world. But Dr. Lloyd-Jones explores the fatal flaws of this approach to ministry. The world needs to see a church that looks to God and beholds His power and glory. The church should come to see the futility of worldly means of evangelism and outreach, and they should see the power of God working in Christ as not only the greatest means of reaching the world, but as the only power that the church has. The church must rely on the Spirit’s working in the life of believers and the gospel message to reach the world. Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that this has always been the case. The greatest revivals were not brought about by the plans of people, but by the Spirit working in the lives of Christians who had beholden the glory of God and been transformed by this glory. If the church is to reach the world, it must forsake all earthly means of evangelism and look to the power and glory of Christ.

Listen as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones discusses the greatest tragedy of all – the rejection of the Gospel. Apart from this, the world would not know tragedy. The trouble with man is that he is by nature a fool. We must not glory in man; we must not rely upon him with all our trust. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, learn about the cult of personality and the fundamental lack of fitness man has to hold the allegiance of other men. Man’s powers are altogether given to him; he is a created being. Men are selfish and always changing. To glory in man is to be enslaved, furthermore to glory in self is to be enslaved. “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” Do not be deceived, life is a master to you, you are not a captain of your soul. Discover the wisdom of glorying in Christ! The Gospel is a call to glory in Christ alone. Christ voluntarily takes a place of subordination and humiliation to work out God’s great plan of redemption. Christ wasn't mastered by life, He conquered death. See the world in a different way — see it as a work of God’s hands.