The Gospel of the Kingdom
A Sermon on Matthew 4:23
Originally preached Dec. 13, 1964
Scripture
23¶ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Sermon Description
What is the gospel is? A great tragedy today (even among professing Christians) is not knowing what the gospel of Jesus Christ is. In this Christmas sermon on Matthew 4:23 titled “The Gospel of the Kingdom,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on the message that frames the beginning and end of the Lord Jesus’s ministry. By looking at both Matthew 4:23 and 24:14, he explores the message of the gospel from the perspective of the kingdom of God. Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds that the greatness of the gospel is the good news of God’s kingdom (or His rule and reign). People are often guilty of reducing the gospel to subjective terms such as personal happiness or peace. They often start with themselves and end with themselves. But as Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches, the gospel of the kingdom reminds that the whole world is involved in God’s redemption. The good news of the kingdom reminds that the Son of God came to this earth not to simply make people respectable, but to make them obedient to God. This obedience to the King brings Him glory. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones answers the most important question of all: why was it necessary for Jesus Christ to come into the world?
Sermon Breakdown
- The gospel of the kingdom means the rule of God, the reign of God.
- The kingdom of God is not political or outward. It is a mystery that grows secretly.
- The kingdom of God comes through the preaching of the gospel, not through force or politics.
- The kingdom of God is established as individuals are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's Son.
- The kingdom of God will be fully established when Christ returns, judges the world, and creates a new heaven and new earth.
- We must repent and believe the gospel to enter God's kingdom.
Sermons on the Kingdom of God
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.