The Message of Salvation
A Sermon on Salvation fom John 3:14-15
Originally preached Feb. 10, 1957
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
In this sermon on the message of salvation from John 3:14–15, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on Christ’s late-night conversation with Nicodemus. Within that conversation, Jesus refers to a symbol of the coming salvation within the Old Testament. Dr. Lloyd-Jones breaks down this powerful example of biblical foreshadowing. When the people of Israel committed a sin against God, He sent venomous snakes among them in the wilderness. When the people cried out to Him, He told Moses to raise up a bronze serpent on a pole, so that whoever should look to the serpent would be saved from the venom. This, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, is a clear parallel to Christ’s redeeming death on the cross. For like the venom of the snakes, the only remedy for sin is to look upward at Jesus crucified, because the judgement of God is coming. And although it is difficult to talk about the wrath of God, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that he cannot soften the truth of the Bible. God is holy, and who can judge His actions? People only have a finite understanding. But through His great love, God offered a way back to Him through His Son, providing those who believe with everlasting life.
Sermon Breakdown
- Jesus came to save us, not just teach or do miracles. Salvation is the primary purpose.
- We are under the wrath of God because of our sin, just like the Israelites with the fiery serpents.
- The world rejects the idea of the wrath of God, but it is clearly taught in Scripture.
- We cannot save ourselves or appease God's wrath through our own efforts. We are helpless.
- Jesus compares himself to the bronze serpent - by looking to him in faith, we can be saved from perishing.
- Jesus' death on the cross is the means of salvation, though it seems foolish and impossible to human thinking.
- We simply need to look to Jesus in faith to be saved, though we may not fully understand how it works.
- If we believe in Jesus, we will not perish but have eternal life. This is the good news of the gospel.
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.