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Sermon #2070

Follow Me

A Sermon on Acts 7:1-8

Originally preached Nov. 27, 1966

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Scripture

Acts 7:1-8 ESV KJV
And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and …

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Sermon Description

The Christian life is one of constant movement away from sin and toward holiness. As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains in his sermon from Acts 7:1–8 titled “Follow Me,” the Christian life is fundamentally God-centered. It requires the abandonment all other things for the sake of the gospel and Christ. Abraham exemplified this God-centered life when he left kindred and country to go to a foreign land to serve and worship God. In this way Abraham is the great example that is given in the New Testament, and he is appealed to by the writers of the New Testament to show that service to God is not something that comes with the advent of Christ. Abraham and all those that believed in the Old Testament were trusting in the promises of Christ. It is by trusting in Christ that they were counted righteous before God. Furthermore, many of them were persecuted and suffered for their faith as martyrs, as did many suffer in the New Testament and even in modern times. This should serve as an encouragement to Christians in all times because they stand in a long line of faithful and Godly believers who were willing to forsake this world and to suffer as Christians for Christ. Christians should see and rejoice in the God who calls and loves His people, and who has sent His Son to die in their place so that they may live.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. Stephen is delivering a speech before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council. He begins by recounting the story of Abraham.
  2. Abraham was called by God to leave Mesopotamia and go to the land God would show him. Abraham obeyed God's call.
  3. God called Abraham and promised to give him the land, even though at the time Abraham had no children and did not even own any land. Abraham trusted God's promise.
  4. Abraham's life serves as an epitome of the gospel message. God took the initiative to call Abraham, just as God took the initiative to provide salvation through Jesus Christ.
  5. Abraham's life shows that belief in God's promise is the only requirement for salvation. Abraham was justified by faith alone, just as we are justified by faith in Christ.
  6. However, belief is just the beginning. Abraham went on to live a life devoted to following God. Likewise, Christians are called not just to believe in Christ but to follow him.
  7. Abraham's life was centered on God. He submitted his thinking and desires to God's will. Christians are called to be God-centered rather than self-centered.
  8. Abraham separated himself from the world and sin. Though living in the world, Christians are called to be separate from worldliness and set apart for God.
  9. Abraham followed God even when he had nothing tangible to show for it. Christians walk by faith, not by sight, trusting in God's promises.
  10. Abraham endured trials and setbacks but kept following God. The Christian life is not easy and without hardship. Christians must be willing to take up their cross to follow Christ.
  11. Abraham looked forward to the eternal city of God. Christians are to live as strangers and pilgrims in this world, looking ahead to the world to come.
  12. We must follow Christ because of the worthlessness of worldly life, the glory of walking with Christ, and Christ himself, the Son of God who gave his life for us.

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.