Where Art Thou?
A Sermon on Genesis 3:9
Originally preached Oct. 23, 1955
Scripture
9And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Sermon Description
No one is wise, clever, or powerful enough to escape the corruption of sin. In this sermon on Genesis 3:9 titled “Where Are Thou?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones proclaims that the power of sin over the world can be seen in the garden when Adam and Eve rejected God’s commands, lived by their own desires, and plunged the world into disastrous sin. Ever since, people reject the truth of Christianity by claiming that it is irrational, intellectually inadequate, and foolish. In its sinful pride and arrogance, humanity seeks to judge God’s word using the intellect and mind. But according to Scripture, all are slaves to sin and are born wholly corrupt. Only by God’s grace can those born in Adam receive new eyes and a new mind to see and know God rightly. It is not up to humanity and its reasoning, but to God and His infinite grace that He grants to those whom He has given to Christ Jesus. This is the heart of the gospel that God promised to Adam and Eve when He said that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent once and for all. Christ was born of a woman and died upon the cross so that all who repent and believe upon His name will be saved and made inheritors of life everlasting.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon is focused on Genesis 3:9 - "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?"
- God addresses us personally. He is interested in us as individuals.
- We think we are investigating God, but really God is investigating us. We are on trial, not the investigators.
- Christianity is about us and our lives, not just opinions and ideas.
- God forces us to face where we really are - intellectually, morally, spiritually. We hide behind "trees" to avoid this.
- God addresses the true nature of our sin and rebellion against him. Sin is not just an action but violation of God's law and our created purpose.
- God pronounces judgment on sin - conflict, suffering, pain, death. Civilization shows the futility of man's efforts apart from God.
- But God provides a way out through Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, who bore our judgment.
- We must come out of hiding and cry out to God for mercy. He will receive all who come to him.
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.