What is the Main Message of the Christian Gospel According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the main message of the Christian Gospel is centered on Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came into the world to save it from sin and the dominion of evil. In his sermon, he explains that Philip, when going to Samaria, "preached Christ to them" and "preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ."

The core elements of this message include:

1. Jesus is both man and the Son of God
2. He came deliberately to die on the cross for our sins
3. He bore our punishment and died that we might be forgiven
4. He rose again to justify us before God
5. The message includes not just forgiveness but regeneration - giving believers a new nature and heart

As Lloyd-Jones states: "The message that Philip and these other people preached was a message that has a doctrine which is called the new birth regeneration, that God operates in the souls of men, changing them, giving them a new start, giving them a new heart, a new outlook, a new nature, new desires."

Why Does Dr. Lloyd-Jones Say Christianity Is the Only Hope for the World?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that Christianity is exclusively the only hope for the world because:

1. It alone correctly diagnoses the world's problem - that the world is controlled by evil powers and forces, with humanity under "the dominion of sin and of Satan"

2. It explains why humans can't solve their own problems - "Evil forces, drives, passions, lusts. And the devils and the devil over it all... And men cannot liberate himself."

3. It offers the only effective solution - Jesus Christ, who has:

4. Conquered evil and the devil
5. Cast out demons and healed diseases
6. Conquered death through his resurrection
7. Now holds "all power in heaven and earth"
8. Will return to establish a new creation

As Lloyd-Jones states: "My dear friends, this is the only Hook, and it is a certain hook... This is truth. The certainty of the future is based upon what has already happened."

How Does Dr. Lloyd-Jones Explain the Cause of War and Human Conflict?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that wars and human conflicts stem from the fallen nature of humanity. He references James to explain the root cause:

"From whence come wars and fightings among you? Come they not hence even of your lusts that war in your members? You lust and have not. You kill and desire to have and cannot obtain. You fight and war..."

Lloyd-Jones elaborates that:

1. Nations are "just the individual writ large"
2. The fundamental problem is human selfishness - "I first always. It's what I want that matters."
3. Wars stem from the same sinful nature that drives individual conflicts - "lust, greed, passion, desire, sin, evil, anger, hatred, melly, spite, ambition"
4. The politicians and leaders who start wars are merely expressing the same fallen nature found in everyone

As he says: "It's no use you detaching yourself from society and saying the politicians or the country is doing this or that. It's the very thing you are doing in private. They're only doing on a big scale what you are doing in your own little sphere."

What Does Dr. Lloyd-Jones Say About Christ's Return and the Future of the World?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that the ultimate hope for the world lies not in human efforts but in Christ's return and the establishment of a new creation. He explains:

1. Christ will return to this world with power and authority
2. He will judge and destroy all evil, including the devil and his forces
3. He will purge evil from the entire universe
4. He will establish "a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness"

The preacher describes this future state with biblical imagery: "No more weeping. No more sighing. No more sorrow. It'll all have gone, finished once and forever."

Lloyd-Jones emphasizes this is not achieved through "political action" or "good resolutions" but through "the coming again of the Son of God." He quotes Isaiah's prophecy about peace among all creation and Revelation's vision of God dwelling with his people, where "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying."

Why Does Dr. Lloyd-Jones Reject Christian Pacifism as a Solution to the World's Problems?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones strongly rejects Christian pacifism, calling it "neither Christian nor truth" and "the one thing men cannot do." He provides several reasons:

1. It contradicts Christ's own teaching: "Our Lord never taught that he was going to banish war. He said the exact opposite...that right until the end there shall be wars and rumors of war."

2. It misunderstands human nature: "It is utterly useless and vain to appeal to man to put his world right. It's the one thing he can't do...The powers that are within him are greater than himself."

3. It turns Christianity into mere social teaching: "That, you see, is nothing but to turn the Gospel of Jesus Christ into a political or a social program which you and I have got to put into practice."

4. It denies the essential gospel: "There is no greater denial of the Christian Gospel than what calls itself Christian pacifism."

Lloyd-Jones argues that Christ came precisely because human efforts, including moral teaching and exhortation, could never solve our fundamental problems: "If exhortation and teaching and examples could have saved the world, the law given through Moses would have done it. It couldn't do it."