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Sermon #5437

Why Is Christianity Rejected?

A Sermon on John 5:40

Originally preached May 18, 1958

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Scripture

John 5:40 ESV KJV
yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. (ESV)

Sermon Description

In this sermon on John 5:40 titled “Why Is Christianity Rejected?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones focuses on Jesus now offering the practical application. He provides the invitation for the Jews and for all sinners to come to Him. Ultimately, the invitation to come is an invitation to believe in Him for salvation. Having defined what it means to truly believe in Jesus, now Dr. Lloyd-Jones considers why sinners do not come to Jesus and believe. In the context, Jesus invites the Jews to come, but they refuse to come. Many who reject Christ argue that their intellect moves them to reject Christianity. They are educated and imply that those who accept Christianity lack a mind, intelligence, and rationality. But intellect does not cause one to reject Christ. Looking again at the text, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that their will does not let them come. The Jews, and all sinners who reject Christianity, are unable to come because of their will. The wills and the minds of people are corrupt and in bondage to the disease of sin. What does this mean that the will is bondage and corrupt? What will the result of this bondage be? How can the will be set free? The answers to these questions unlock the key to why Christianity is rejected.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon text is John 5:40 which says "And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life."
  2. Jesus said this to Jews after performing miracles and giving them evidence that he is the Son of God. Yet they still did not believe in him.
  3. Jesus is showing them the real reasons why they will not come to him. The reasons they give are wrong. The true reasons are different.
  4. The most terrible thing is to die without coming to Jesus. We must understand this terrible condition.
  5. Jesus wants them to see the enormity of their position. He analyzes it for them.
  6. The first reason given is that it is not intellectual. If it was intellectual, Christians would be unintelligent. But history shows great Christian minds.
  7. If it was intellectual, it would be unfair since people have different intellectual abilities.
  8. The gospel does not contradict the intellect or reason. It has inspired great minds.
  9. No new knowledge makes Christianity impossible. All knowledge is irrelevant to the Christian faith.
  10. The real reason is the will. "Ye will not come unto me." It is deeper than the intellect.
  11. The will is influenced by other forces like the devil and sin. Man is not just intellect.
  12. The Bible says man lost his freedom of will and mind after the Fall. He is a slave to the devil and sin.
  13. The devil blinds minds to the truth and creates antagonism to the truth.
  14. People are blind to their sinful state, their need for salvation, and Jesus himself.
  15. Sin and the devil create hatred of the truth, morality, holiness, and Jesus.
  16. The natural mind is enmity against God. Men love darkness rather than light.
  17. The gospel condemns what people love and commends what they hate. People hate giving up sin.
  18. People will believe anything to justify their sin. The reasons for unbelief are moral, not intellectual.
  19. We must cry to God to deliver us from this appalling state and open our eyes.
  20. Jesus died to save us. We must go to him as we are, and he will receive us.

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.