He That Hath Ears
A Sermon on Acts 8:5-12
Originally preached Nov. 19, 1967
Scripture
5Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many …
Sermon Description
Who really needs the gospel? Is it just for the weak, the lonely, the worst of society? In the sermon “He That Hath Ears,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones turns to Acts 8:5–12 and shows that the gospel calls all to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation only comes to those who surrender their entire life to Christ. There are no halfway Christians. While many men and women hear the preaching of the gospel and see the lives of other Christians, they often think Christianity is merely an external code of conduct, an ethical system, or another lifestyle. Sadly, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes, they never actually come to a true understanding of what it is they are rejecting. However, even though humanity is in sin and rebels against the one true God, no one is beyond salvation. Salvation is ultimately the result of God’s Holy Spirit. He regenerates fallen men and women, giving them new hearts and minds that believe and trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the hope that Christians have when sharing the gospel; it is ultimately God who saves and redeems. Once one is saved by the power of God, they begin to live the new life of a believer. They repent of their sin and live a life of faith and hope in the great Savior, Jesus Christ.
Sermon Breakdown
- The spread of the Christian church and the Gospel is fascinating actual history.
- At first, Christianity was confined to Jerusalem but spread to Judea, Samaria and the world according to Jesus' prophecy.
- Persecution in Jerusalem caused Christians to scatter, leading Philip to preach in Samaria.
- We study this to know what Christianity, the Gospel and the church really are, as there is much confusion.
- The Gospel calls for acceptance and obedience, not just listening. Many hear but do not obey and become Christian.
- Repentance means reconsidering questions about life and being willing to change one's mind and obey the Gospel.
- The Samaritans gave earnest heed to Philip, showing willingness to listen and be influenced. Many refuse to even hear the Gospel.
- Repentance requires facing the evidence, like the Samaritans did in seeing Philip's miracles and listening to his preaching.
- The Gospel presents the truth, calling us to rethink our philosophies and consider other views. It shows our need and God's plan.
- The Samaritans saw the Gospel's righteousness, relevance and truth about themselves, leading to belief and baptism.
- Baptism means submitting to the Gospel and confessing faith in Christ's blood to cleanse from sin. It turns from the world to follow Christ.
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.