Facing the Facts
A Sermon on Acts 8:4-5
Originally preached Oct. 22, 1967
Scripture
4Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. 5Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.
Sermon Description
Christianity is not about a life of truth seeking nor is it about a religious experience, but it is a proclamation of who God is and what He has done in the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the sermon “Facing the Facts” from Acts 8:4–5, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones confronts those who erroneously claim that Christianity is not about facts, but rather that it is a matter of personal taste. The Christianity of the Bible is one of truth and proclamation. It is a religion that has something to say to the world amidst its pain and suffering. It brings the message of Jesus Christ as King and Savior who died upon the cross at Calvary and rose from the grave so that all who believe will not perish, but have eternal life. This not a message of personal improvement or social transformation first and foremost, but it is about redemption from sins and salvation from God’s wrath that rightly befalls all sinners. If the church wants to be relevant and meaningful, it must proclaim the only message with which it has been entrusted. It must proclaim the gospel to a world that is broken and filled with sin and suffering. It must imitate the early church of the apostles in their boldness and clarity in the way they proclaimed the message of the risen Savior.
Sermon Breakdown
- The passage describes how Christianity spread from Jerusalem to Samaria.
- Persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem, scattering the believers.
- The scattered believers preached the gospel wherever they went.
- Philip, a deacon, preached the gospel in Samaria. Many believed and were baptized.
- Simon the sorcerer had amazed the people of Samaria with magic. But they turned from him to believe Philip's preaching about the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ.
- The passage shows how the gospel spread and the church grew through the preaching of the word.
- The preachers were ordinary Christians, showing the message is simple enough for anyone to understand and share.
- The message was not about the preachers' experiences but about the facts of Jesus Christ.
- The message was definite and particular, not vague or uncertain. The preachers proclaimed the word, the specific message about Jesus.
- The message was simple enough for ordinary people to understand but also profound enough to study for a lifetime.
- The message was not about seeking truth but proclaiming the truth that the preachers had found in Jesus Christ.
- The message was about the kingdom of God, God's rule and reign over people's lives through Jesus Christ.
- The message was about God rescuing people from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light through Jesus Christ.
- People enter God's kingdom by acknowledging their need, confessing their sin, believing the message about Jesus, and surrendering to Him.
- The message brought great joy to those who believed it.
The Book of Acts
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.