Why Christ Died
A Sermon on Romans 10:9-10
Originally preached Nov. 1, 1963
Scripture
9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Sermon Description
What is the content of saving faith? Why is the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ significant? In this sermon on Romans 10:9–10 titled “Why Christ Died,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses these vital questions. The belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is central to the Christian faith. It is these beliefs that form the heart of the Christian faith because only through Jesus becoming a man and dying for the sins of fallen people can God forgive sinners. Jesus came to this earth in the form of a servant in order to die and the resurrection declared not only that Christ had died for sinners, but it declared His victory over death, sin, and Satan. Christians have a living Savior who, after atoning for sin, ascended into heaven where He now rules over the whole earth and from where He will come to judge the living and the dead. The resurrection, explains Dr. Lloyd-Jones, is God’s public proclamation to the whole universe that he is satisfied with His son who has honored the law completely. God is proclaiming that He and His law are completely satisfied.
Sermon Breakdown
- The content of saving faith includes believing Jesus is Lord and God raised him from the dead.
- Believing Jesus is Lord means believing He is the eternal Son of God, the Lord of glory.
- Believing God raised Jesus from the dead implies believing Jesus died and why He died.
- Jesus died willingly though He could have avoided it. He set His face to go to Jerusalem to die.
- Jesus died to give His life as a ransom for many, to finish the work the Father gave Him to do, and to sanctify Himself for His people.
- After the resurrection, Jesus explained to His disciples from Scripture why the Messiah had to suffer and die. The apostles preached the same message.
- Paul preached that Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that Jesus is the Christ.
- The resurrection proves Jesus is the Son of God and shows why He died. His death paid for our sins and satisfied God's wrath and law.
- The resurrection proclaims God's acceptance of Christ's work and that salvation is complete. Jesus died to sin once for all.
- There is no condemnation for those in Christ because He died for our sins and was raised for our justification.
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.