Christ; the Only Hope
A Sermon on John 7:7
Originally preached April 26, 1959
Scripture
7The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
Sermon Description
Unbelief in the gospel is the great tragedy. Christians believe that the rejection of the Son of God has eternal consequences and as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches in this sermon on John 7:7 titled “Christ, the Only Hope,” there is no more serious and sober subject in all of Scripture than the world’s unbelief. Some give intellectual arguments as the reason for their rejection of Christianity or claim not to have strong enough information about God to accept the gospel message. What is the true nature of unbelief? What about those closest to Jesus in His earthly ministry — did they receive Him when seeing with their own eyes His power, authority, and miracles? The Gospel of John has much to say about the world and its unbelief. Dr. Lloyd-Jones leads His listeners through the puzzling reality that the Son of God came to His own and His own did not receive Him. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains the great divide of the world and asks the listener for their reaction to Jesus Christ, the only hope for the world.
Sermon Breakdown
- All men by nature belong to the world. The world refers to humanity organized apart from God.
- The world hates Christ. This hatred is not merely intellectual disagreement but moral antagonism.
- The world hates Christ because he exposes its evil and sin. He shows the world its hypocrisy, evil works, evil hearts, and the sinfulness even of its best works.
- Christ's life, teaching, works, and especially his death on the cross testify against the world.
- The world hates Christ because he shows that it is lost and cannot save itself. Only Christ's death can save.
- Do you hate Christ and his gospel? If so, you are under God's wrath. If you die in that condition, you will go to hell.
- Though you have hated him, if you see your sin and need, turn to Christ. He will receive you, pardon you, and give you a new nature.
- The world cannot hate the Christless because they belong to it. The world hates Christ's people.
- Persecution shows you belong to Christ, not the world.
- Christ died even for his enemies. Come to him, and he will receive you.
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.