The Message of the Bible
A Sermon on John 5:45-47
Originally preached July 13, 1958
Scripture
45Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. 46For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. 47But if ye believe not his writings, how shall …
Sermon Description
Those who will not believe in Jesus are awaiting condemnation. In this sermon on John 5:45–47 titled “The Message of the Bible,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones picks up his exposition on the passage and confronts the Jews with the authority of the Bible. Jesus is keeping the pressure on the Jews that their belief in God the Father is empty and void. The Jewish claim to believe in God was inaccurate and was not going to lead to salvation but instead condemnation. Beginning in verse 45, Jesus pulls the rug out from under the Jews when He confronts them concerning the words of Moses. In the end, Jesus would not condemn them, but in fact it was the words of Moses that accused them in the present and would again in the final judgment. If the Jews truly believed the words of Moses, then they would believe in Jesus as Moses had written of Him. Ultimately, the Jews were rejecting the supreme authority of the Bible. True belief that saves is found only by accepting the Bible as the authority, in being right and clear about its message, and by acting upon that message. By exposing the Jews’ faulty belief, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones illuminates that true belief begins with the authority of the Bible.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon begins by introducing three verses from John 5:45-47 which serve as the basis for the sermon.
- The sermon highlights how Jesus brings his discourse to an end with a solemn warning to the Jews. Despite all Jesus has said and done, the Jews still refuse to believe in him.
- Jesus now warns them of the consequences of their unbelief - accusation and condemnation. Jesus shows them the inevitability of this.
- The sermon outlines three main things we must do:
- Realize and accept the supreme authority of the Bible
- Be right and clear about the message of the Bible
- Understand the message of the Bible (judgment, sin, salvation, Jesus as savior)
- The Bible is the only authoritative source on spiritual matters. It is inspired by God. We must come to it with humility.
- It is possible to misunderstand the Bible. The Jews believed in the Bible but misunderstood its message. Many today also misunderstand the Bible's message.
- The message of the Bible is:
- God is the judge, man is responsible and accountable
- Death is not the end, there is an afterlife and final judgment
- All have sinned and are condemned, unable to save themselves
- Jesus is the savior who came to save us from condemnation. He died for our sins.
- At the final judgment, there will be an accuser (Moses/the law) but Jesus does not accuse - he saves. We must go to Jesus, confess our sins, and believe in him.
- The sermon ends with an appeal to the listeners to consider their eternal destiny, realize they will face judgment, and that Jesus came to save them from condemnation. They must believe in Jesus to be saved.
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.