A Sermon on Galatians 6:12-13
Built on Sound Foundations
Originally preached Oct. 13, 1963
Scripture
12As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. 13For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may …
Sermon Description
The certainty of the gospel is the foundation for the Christian life. In this sermon on Galatians 6:12–13 titled “Built on Sound Foundations,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows why the assurance all believers can have in the gospel is central to the Christian hope. God reveals Himself and His plan of salvation through His true word, the Scripture. Humanity is not left wondering what they must do to be saved, for holy Scripture says that all who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus will be saved. Christians ought not to be led astray by false teachings that say they cannot know what the gospel is. Scripture stands above all human reason and institutions; it stands above all other sources of authority. Furthermore, Scripture tells facts that really happened. It tells that Jesus of Nazareth lived and died for sinners, but it also tells that He rose from the dead in victory over all sin and death. God’s word calls all to believe in the gospel for the forgiveness of sins as the only path to true and lasting peace with God.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul had to fight false teachings and establish the true Christian message.
- There were false teachers telling the Galatians they needed to be circumcised to be true Christians. Paul says this is not the gospel.
-
Paul establishes three tests to determine true and false gospels:
-
Authority: False gospels are based on human authority, true gospel is based on divine authority of Scripture.
- Character: False gospels are institutional, external, rely on human effort, and are popular. True gospel is simple, internal, relies on faith, is humbling, and glorifies Christ.
-
Pragmatic: False gospels do not work - they do not provide power, joy, peace or help in life and death. The true gospel does provide these things through Christ.
-
The true gospel is that we are saved by faith in Christ alone, not by works or human effort. This gives freedom, joy and assurance of salvation.
Sermons on Authority
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.