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Sermon #5296

God or Man?

A Sermon on Jeremiah 17:5-8

Originally preached May 1, 1955

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Scripture

Jeremiah 17:5-8 ESV KJV
Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in …

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Sermon Description

Why has humanity strayed away from God? Many men and women go throughout their lives not caring about God, salvation, or eternity. They concern themselves with everything other than God and His ways, yet all were created by God and for God. In this sermon on Jeremiah 17:5–8 titled “God or Man?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones proclaims that the reason for humanity’s refusal to love and serve God is found in the fact that people are sinners and rebels against God. Adam and Eve listened to the voice of the serpent rather than that of God Himself and fell into sin. However, people are still unwilling to accept that they are sinners; they claim that they do not believe in Christianity because it is intellectually ridiculous. What then is one to make of humanity in sin? How can they be saved? The answer is found in God’s great plan of salvation through Jesus Christ. God saves sinful and rebellious people by sending His only Son to die in their place that they might live as children of God. It is God incarnate in Jesus Christ that overcomes human sin and hatred for all that is good by living and dying as a person. Jesus was then raised from the grave and now reigns and intercedes for all those that trust in His gospel of grace.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The sermon begins by introducing Jeremiah 17:5-8 which contrasts the cursed man who trusts in man with the blessed man who trusts in God.
  2. The world is obviously not in a state of blessing currently due to wars, troubles, and unhappiness. The question is why is the world like this? The only answer is sin.
  3. Sin affects the whole of man - his mind, will, and heart. The mind of sinful man trusts in himself. He believes his intellect can understand all mysteries.
  4. Sinful man believes he can accomplish anything by his own determination and effort. He believes he can solve all problems and deliver himself. This is the fatal error of politics and philosophy.
  5. Sinful man even believes he can make himself fit to stand before God through good works and morality. This shows his fatal self-confidence.
  6. The prophet describes the sinful man as cursed. His mind, will, and heart are all against God. He dislikes, hates, and fears God. Sin is a total ruin of man.
  7. It is foolish and mad for sinful man to put himself at the center and have confidence in himself. History shows man's repeated failures, yet he continues in self-confidence.
  8. The blessed man is the opposite. He realizes his own sinfulness, helplessness, and hopelessness. He has no confidence in himself but trusts in the Lord.
  9. The blessed man listens to and believes the Word of God. He relies only on the Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning work. His heart centers on the Lord.
  10. Though the blessed man may not understand all of God's ways, he trusts in God's love and sovereignty. His hope is in God, not his own understanding.
  11. We must ask ourselves if our hearts are right with God. Do we trust in ourselves or God? We must renounce self and trust utterly in Christ to be blessed.

Old Testament

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.