The Living God
A Sermon on Acts 7:37-38
Originally preached April 23, 1967
Scripture
37¶ This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. 38This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which …
Sermon Description
What is the meaning and value of life? Is there a greater purpose than just what can be seen? In the sermon “The Living God,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones opens Acts 7:37–38 and explains the various ways people rationalize life. Some say humanity should be understood in terms of economics and materialism. Others accept a philosophical and rationalistic view that exalts intellect and scholarship. According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, whatever specific teaching one holds to, they all have one thing in common: they reject what God’s word says about humanity and how they are to live. These theories reject the idea that God has spoken, and His word commands all to be holy and to love their neighbors as themselves. For only by starting with God’s revelation can one understand what God designed people to be. This is why modern humanity is wasting time seeking to solve the world’s problems apart from God. Forgiveness can never be found, guilt can never be erased, and hope can never be secured apart from Christ. But when one looks to God’s word, they see their sin and great need for forgiveness. In God’s word, the truth is seen that Jesus died for sinners and that in believing on His name all can be washed from sin and freed from unbelief.
Sermon Breakdown
- The Bible is the word of God. It is eternal, living, and powerful.
- The word of God reveals God's character. He is holy, righteous, just, and loving.
- God demands worship and will not share his glory with idols. He is a jealous God.
- The word of God reveals the truth about human nature. Humans are made in God's image, not just animals.
- The word of God shows how humans should live. We should love God and love our neighbor.
- The Ten Commandments summarize how we should live. We should worship God alone and not sin against others.
- The word of God condemns us for our sin and failure to obey God's law.
- The word of God offers salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the law and died for our sins.
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.