Those days ...
A Sermon on Luke 2:1
Originally preached Dec. 25, 1965
Scripture
1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
Sermon Description
Every Christmas season a battle rages. For Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones the battle rages over the historical facts about the birth of Christ. While many deny the facts of Christmas altogether, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says there is a much more dangerous message distributed among the culture during the Christmas season. It is a message which says that it does not matter whether the Son of God actually was born in a particular location and in a particular year. Whether the birth of Christ is true or historical makes no difference at all because we can still say we have a noble teaching in the Christmas story, and it can still help people have a better life. This psychologizing of the Christmas message, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, sounds wonderful, but in the end it is the most hopeless message the world has ever heard. Why? Because sinful humanity is left with nothing but an exhortation to live a moral life. But the historical, biblical facts of the Christian Gospel is about what God has actually done in time through the Son of God. In this Christmas Day sermon, Dr. Lloyd-Jones expounds the relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ to time, emphasizing that the Son of God was before time, manifested in time, come late in time, in the fullness of time, is himself the center of time, and will come back to end time! Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones battles for the true Christmas message in this sermon on Luke 2:1.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon begins by emphasizing the historical nature of Christianity and the importance of observing Christmas to recognize this.
- There are two wrong attitudes towards the historical facts of Christianity:
- Denying the facts altogether and calling them myths
- Saying the facts don't matter, only the message and psychological influence
- The facts of Christianity are proven by secular history and the details provided in the Bible.
- We must recognize the relationship of Jesus to time:
- He was before time, eternal
- He was manifested in time, entered into history
- His coming was "late in time" but still in the "fullness of time" according to God's plan
- His coming is the center of time, dividing BC and AD and ending one age and starting another
- Jesus came from eternity into time, lived on earth, then returned to eternity. But he is still concerned with time and will return again to end time.
- When Jesus returns, he will gather his people to himself to reign forever in eternity beyond time. He will hand back a perfect, restored universe to God the Father.
- Christianity is not just a philosophy or teaching, but the story of what God has done to redeem us and make us his children.
Other 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.