At the Cross
A Sermon on John 3:14-15
Originally preached May 1, 1966
Scripture
14¶ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Sermon Description
Why is the cross of Jesus Christ so important for Christians? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives a very practical reason: it is the basis of sanctification. He says that often times Christians separate their walk with Christ from what He has accomplished on the cross. They think that the Christian life is only a matter of striving and seeking in one’s own power, but this is wrong. For Christians can only live the Christian life in the power of Jesus’s atoning work and sacrifice. The power of the cross is to see the glory of Christ as the redeemer and Lord who has saved, who preserves, and who will glorify on the last day. This sermon on John 3:14–15 titled “At the Cross” offers hope for all, believers and nonbelievers. It exhorts everyone to put their trust in Jesus Christ as the only hope for this world, and as the only one that can redeem each and every fallen sinner that believes upon His name.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon focuses on John 3:14-15 which discusses how Jesus must be lifted up like the serpent in the wilderness.
- The sermon warns against the danger of neglecting or departing from the foundation of the cross. This can lead to an unbalanced and exaggerated focus on certain aspects of faith.
- There is a danger of dividing up Christian truth into separate compartments and focusing on some parts while neglecting others. But truth is one whole in Christ.
- Forgetting the cross leads to pride, boastfulness, and spiritual imbalance. We must maintain a sense of wonder at the cross.
- The correction is to see Christian truth as an interrelated whole. We must keep the cross central, as seen in Scripture and church history.
- The cross humbles us by showing us our sin, disease, condemnation, and helplessness without Christ.
- The cross exalts Christ by showing that salvation is His work alone. We have nothing without Him.
- The cross reminds us that we must keep looking to Christ, as the Israelites looked to the bronze serpent to be healed. We must look to Christ crucified and risen.
- A holiness teaching that dispenses with the cross will do more harm than good. We must test ourselves by our view of the cross.
- The cross humbles us, exalts Christ, and shows us the path to receiving from His fullness.
The Book of John
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.