Raised for Our Justification
A Sermon on Romans 4:22-25
Originally preached Oct. 18, 1957
Scripture
22And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. 23Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; 24But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the …
Sermon Description
What is faith? Is it simply belief in some divine power? Is it merely confidence in belief itself? In this sermon on Romans 4:22–25 titled “Raised for Our Justification,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones seeks to answer the question of what true faith is. Biblical faith is not a generic faith in an idea of God or even salvation, but it an absolute trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ. It is a faith in the message that Jesus has died and risen from the dead. It is a faith that revolves around what Jesus has done for sinners by dying on the cross. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that saves and makes the Christian right before God. It is Jesus’s work on the cross that brings the believer to a true knowledge of God the Father. The only thing left to do is to believe in Jesus, to come before God in need of His grace and mercy. Just as Abraham believed in the promises of God and it was accounted to him as righteousness, so too all that believe in the promise of God in Jesus Christ will justified before God. This sermon is a message of hope and peace in the salvation that Jesus’s brings.
Sermon Breakdown
- Justifying faith believes in God and glorifies God. It believes God's word solely because it is God's word.
- Justifying faith believes specifically in what God has said through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is the final proof that Jesus is the Son of God.
- Through the resurrection, God says that Jesus died for our sins and was raised for our justification. Jesus died as a sacrifice for our sins, and God raised him to show he accepted that sacrifice.
- Abraham believed God's promise despite circumstances, and we must believe in Jesus's sacrifice for our sins despite our circumstances. Justifying faith believes God's word in spite of our own sinfulness and weakness.
- Justifying faith gives us confidence to stand before God, despite our sins and circumstances. We can have assurance of salvation because of what God has done through Jesus, not because of anything in us.
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.