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Sermon #3282

God's Goodness and Severity

A Sermon on Romans 11:18-22

Originally preached Feb. 5, 1965

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Scripture

Romans 11:18-22 ESV KJV
do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their …

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Sermon Description

In previous passages, Paul has explained that because of the Jews’ unbelief, the Gentiles were granted belief through Christ. In Romans 11:18–22, Paul now warns the Gentiles against any boasting because of their new standing and salvation. There is no place for pride in a Christian’s life and Paul warns that any such feelings would cause one to suffer. In this sermon on Romans 11:18–22 titled “God’s Goodness and Severity,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the best corrective against pride is to know God, and the truth and character of God. The greatest lack would be a lack of the knowledge of God. This lack would show in one’s doctrine and view of sin, and would lead to a lack of fear of the Lord. In his closing, Dr. Lloyd-Jones also pauses to reflect on the goodness and severity of God in Romans 11:22. God is true in all of His characteristics and He is fully known in each of those character traits. One cannot say that God is good without acknowledging His severity. One cannot dwell only on the wrath of God without showing the love of God. The truest example of this is Christ on the cross. May the Christian never boast in themselves, but instead boast in Christ and all that He has done for them.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The teaching in Romans 11:18-22 is that our greatest danger is pride and conceit.
  2. We must cultivate humility, watchfulness and fear.
  3. The best corrective against pride is knowing God's character.
  4. Failing to know God manifests in wrong doctrine, ignoring God, false views of sin and man, false views of atonement and holiness.
  5. In practice, it leads to breezy evangelism, focusing on man's needs, false appeals, emphasis on experiences, false holiness and pride.
  6. The answer is beholding God's goodness and severity in His revelation.
  7. We must accept all of God's attributes, not isolating or opposing them. God acts as a whole.
  8. God's treatment of Israel shows His goodness and severity. The cross supremely shows this.
  9. The purpose of salvation is bringing us to God's glory, not just meeting our needs.
  10. We must never presume on God's love or forgiveness. Complacency is impossible in light of God's character.
  11. We must walk carefully and reverently before God.

The Book of Romans

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.