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Sermon #5554

Blinded by the God of the Age

A Sermon on 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

Originally preached March 26, 1961

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 ESV KJV
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of …

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Sermon Description

What Paul preached determined how he preached it: the nature of the gospel in the glory of God provides the power. Look at the biggest problem confronting humanity today in considering how Christ was treated on earth: why is the Son of God rejected? In this sermon on 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses the vital urgency of proclaiming the message of the gospel and the various groups who have rejected Christ as the Messiah over the years. Both an able person and a fool are ignorant of the gospel and reject God. There is no new knowledge. “The gospel is revelation; it is not man’s straining to try and discover.” The world cannot know God by seeking; He must reveal Himself. If the God of this world has blinded people, the gospel is hid from the unbeliever. The gospel alone explains the state of this imperfect world today. Unbelief is always a result of prejudice, and a refusal to face the facts. Do not boast in ignorance and glory in shame. It is never clever to reject this message. There will be eternal punishment without relief. Be amazed by His glory — God in the flesh. Turn to the Lord, He alone gives sight.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon begins by introducing the topic of unbelief and why some do not believe the gospel. Dr. Lloyd-Jones discusses two common but false views about unbelief: that there is nothing in the gospel to believe and that unbelief is due to intelligence or knowledge.
  2. Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that these views are false because intelligent and unintelligent people believe and disbelieve, and there is no new knowledge that disproves the gospel. Unbelief is due to the devil blinding unbelievers to the truth.
  3. Dr. Lloyd-Jones discusses the tragedy of unbelief. Unbelievers do not recognize their lost and sinful state or the consequences of unbelief. They glory in their ignorance and shame.
  4. Unbelievers cannot see God's plan of salvation, the glory of Christ, the meaning of Christ's death and resurrection, the benefits of belief, or the hope of eternal life. Their inability to see these spiritual truths is tragic.
  5. The only one who can remove the veil of unbelief is God. Unbelievers must recognize their blindness and cry out to God to give them sight.
  6. Those who receive sight are able to see the glory of Christ and rejoice in him. They can say they have found light and life in Christ.

Sermons on Knowledge

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.