Looking Unto Jesus
A Sermon on Ephesians 6:14
Originally preached April 15, 1962
Scripture
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Sermon Description
Christians live in a daily battle where the devil is continuously trying to entice them to disobedience and sin. How then do they stand against the enticements that seem to be forever in their path? In this sermon on Ephesians 6:14 titled “Looking Unto Jesus,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones dives into the answer , revealing that the breastplate of righteousness is the only thing that can protect the Christian. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains how putting on the breastplate of righteousness means looking to Jesus and following His example. It is through taking eyes off of the enticements of the devil and turning them on to Jesus that the Christian can be victorious. A Christian’s job is to follow the example of their Savior, and the breastplate of righteousness is what helps them do this by reminding them that Jesus has imputed and imparted His righteousness to them. During the hardest trials and temptations, the Christian can be comforted by the fact that Jesus also faced the same temptations, and can be encouraged by the example of obedience, humility, and surrender that Jesus gave us to follow.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul exhorts believers to put on the breastplate of righteousness in Ephesians 6:14.
- The breastplate protects the seat of emotions, affections, conscience, desires and will. The devil attacks believers here to bring discouragement, accusations, bondage and condemnation.
- Putting on the breastplate of righteousness is the only way to withstand the devil's temptations and attacks. Mere morality and rules cannot help.
- Negatively, believers must realize the old man is dead, they are dead to sin, dead to Satan's dominion and dead to the law. The law cannot save and only aggravates the problem of sin.
- Positively, putting on the breastplate of righteousness means looking to Jesus, considering what He endured and following His example. His righteousness satisfies God's law and delivers believers.
- Jesus humbled Himself, took the form of a servant, endured contradiction from sinners and was tempted in the wilderness and Gethsemane. He resisted sin even to the point of death. Believers must look to Him.
- Believers must consider why Jesus endured all He did. Not just to save from hell but to make believers good, separate them as a people zealous for good works, enable them to deny ungodliness and live righteously.
- The consequences of Jesus' work for believers who look to Him are that they are new men with a new nature, their old man is dead and their life is hidden with Christ in God.
- Believers must walk carefully, resist the devil, strive against sin and live for Christ as He enables them. There are no shortcuts. Believers must work to understand the meaning and message of Jesus' life, death and resurrection.
The Book of Ephesians
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.