Under Conviction of Sin
A Sermon on John 4:27-30
Originally preached Oct. 22, 1967
Scripture
27¶ And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? 28The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, 29Come, …
Sermon Description
What was the point of Jesus’s ministry? Many will see the life of Jesus and believe that He presented the life in which the Christian ought to live and, guided by His teachings, they can live a moral and upstanding life. The Christian should ask: “Do I believe that humanity is utterly depraved in their sinful nature and is unable to save themselves, or do I believe that people are just in need of a little help in order to live the good life?” In this sermon on John 4:27–30 titled “Under Conviction of Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones analyzes the interactions between Jesus and the woman at the well to show that the message of Christ is to bring humanity under the conviction of sin. Putting things in order, Dr. Lloyd-Jones places the conviction of sin as the first teaching in the New Testament, making this the building block in which the Christian life can begin. If the listener has taken up the religion of Christianity without becoming a true Christian, this sermon will help decipher between true belief and false belief. Listeners will then be challenged to analyze their lives and if they have ever truly been convicted of their sin and subsequently brought to repentance.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon focuses on John 4:27-30 and the woman of Samaria's statement "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?"
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones says this statement shows the primacy of conviction of sin. Without conviction of sin, we cannot know Christ.
- Conviction of sin is the difference between cults/psychology and true Christianity. Cults and psychology make us feel good about ourselves. True Christianity shows us our sin.
- Conviction of sin is the difference between taking up religion and becoming truly Christian. Many take up religion to imitate Christ or do good works, but they lack conviction of sin.
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones illustrates how conviction of sin is primary in the New Testament by looking at John the Baptist, Jesus, the apostles' preaching, and Paul's preaching. They all preached repentance.
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones says the Sermon on the Mount was meant to convict people of their sin, not tell them how to live. The law is impossible to follow perfectly.
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones says without conviction of sin, we cannot receive God's fullness and grace. We must start with conviction of sin.
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns against thinking we are all right as we are. We must be "cast down" and shown our unworthiness before God.
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones says conviction of sin is most lacking in the church today. We lack humility and a sense of unworthiness before God.
- Dr. Lloyd-Jones says if the Christian message has never made us feel worse about ourselves, we have not truly heard it. It should make us feel hopeless without Christ.
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.