A New Birth
A Sermon on 1 Peter 2:2
Originally preached March 25, 1962
Scripture
2As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
Sermon Description
What makes a Christian? If one listens to what God has to say in His Word, they will see that it is not a result of anything that humanity does or can do. Christians are those that are born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. Just as no one contributes to their natural birth, neither do they contribute anything to their supernatural birth. This affects a profound change in those that are born again; it wholly reorients their life, desires, and wills. Christians now desire to live a life that is marked by obedience to God and love of fellow people. Salvation, then, is a result of God’s grace apart from anything one can do. This sermon tells of the only hope in this life: the gospel. There is nothing that anyone can do to save themselves, but God has acted in His grace to redeem sinners and bring them to a true knowledge of Him. In this sermon on 1 Peter 2:2 titled “A New Birth,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones proclaims the only true and lasting message of hope in this world, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sermon Breakdown
- No one is born a Christian. Christianity requires a new birth.
- Becoming a Christian requires a profound change. It is not merely an addition or improvement to one's life. It is an entirely new life.
- This change is not something we can do for ourselves. Our best efforts are insufficient.
- No human being can produce this change in us either. No priest, church or human authority has the power to make someone else a Christian.
- Only God can produce this change. It is a creative act, like creation itself. God breathes new life into us, like when he first made man.
- This change is mysterious and marvelous. We cannot fully understand how God works in us. But we can see the effects, like we see the effects of the wind.
- This change leads to something completely new. We were not God's people, now we are. We did not have mercy, now we have mercy. Everything is new.
- This change gives us an entirely new outlook. We become concerned first with God and our souls, not earthly things. We see ourselves as strangers in this world, destined for eternity.
- This change gives us new desires, like newborn babies desiring milk. We hunger for God, righteousness, holiness and to know God's word.
- This change leads to new conduct. We avoid worldliness and sin, deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ.
- To become a Christian, we must be born again. We must receive new life from God and become his children.
- We receive this new life by believing in Jesus Christ. Whoever believes in him will never be put to shame.
Other Sermons
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.