Marks of the Spiritual Life
A Sermon on John 3:8
Originally preached Feb. 6, 1966
Scripture
8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
Sermon Description
The most obvious thing about a regenerate person is that their whole life is marked by an eager desire to learn more of their salvation. In this sermon on John 3:8 titled “Marks of a Spiritual Life,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows what this will look like in the life of the believer. To begin, a great test of salvation is that the believer will be very aware of their ignorance. They continue to make a greater and greater effort to satisfy a desire to learn more about their faith. Of course, Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds the listener that this desire will ebb and flow throughout life. The result of learning is then being moved by knowledge to a deep care and compassion for those who are not Christians. The true believer will observe darkness in the lives of others and be so moved that they must share the gospel with them. The Christian is encouraged in their desire to grow in gospel-knowledge and share it with others and be reminded that this is an evidence of God’s grace and salvation.
Sermon Breakdown
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The sermon begins by introducing the passage from John 3:8 which describes the characteristics of someone born of the Spirit. The sermon will examine the marks of the new life in Christ.
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The first characteristic of the new life is that it is the most obvious thing about a person. It cannot be hidden.
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Those with the new life are conscious of being dealt with by God. They have been humbled and have truly repented. There is a fundamental seriousness to them.
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There is a new life and nature within those born again. This leads to being surprised at oneself. A born again Christian cannot fully understand themselves.
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The new life leads to others seeing a difference in the person. It separates them from even family members who lack the new life.
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The new life leads to spiritual understanding. One gains the mind of Christ.
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With spiritual understanding comes a desire for more knowledge and growth. There is an awareness of ignorance and a desire to learn.
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The desire for knowledge comes from realizing one has entered into a "great palace" with many treasures to explore. There are unsearchable riches in Christ to discover.
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A test of true spiritual life is not being content with the preliminaries but desiring to go deeper. Mature Christians read more than children's Bible stories and seek deeper truth.
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Those with spiritual life have a concern for the unregenerate. They have a desire to help others understand the truth they have found.
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There is a difference between carnal zeal for a cause and true spiritual concern. True concern arises spontaneously, is sensitive, recognizes the seriousness, prays over it, and is patient. It reproduces the life of Christ.
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True spiritual concern grieves over the state of the world and prays for revival. It recognizes the depth of the need and the sufficiency of God's grace.
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.