Born of the Spirit
A Sermon on 1 Peter 1:18-23
Originally preached Nov. 22, 1959
Scripture
18Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20Who verily was foreordained before …
Sermon Description
How does Christ change someone? In this sermon on 1 Peter 1:18–23 titled “Born of the Spirit,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches how all who believe in Jesus are born again through the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the great doctrine of the new birth. What does it mean to be born again? At natural birth, all are born in sin. But at spiritual birth, Christians are born into a new life in Christ. The Holy Spirit works to change God’s people from unholy sinners, to righteous, forgiven men and women in Christ. There is no longer any condemnation or judgment for those in Christ, for Jesus by His death has cleansed from all sin those who believe. The glorious truth of the gospel is that it brings new life and a new nature. God’s chosen are delivered from the law, the flesh, and sin when they believe in Jesus. To believe in Jesus is to trust that He died and rose from the grave, paying the wages of sin so that any sinner might have new life and be reconciled to God. Listen closely as Dr. Lloyd-Jones unfolds the saving truth of the gospel.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon is based on 1 Peter 1:18-23 which describes how Christians are redeemed and born again through Christ.
- Christians were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver and gold but with the precious blood of Christ.
- Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times.
- Christians believe in God who raised Christ from the dead and gave him glory.
- Christians have purified their souls by obeying the truth and showing unfeigned love for the brethren.
- Christians are born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible seed through the word of God.
- The word of God lives and abides forever.
- To be redeemed means to be reconciled to God and delivered from condemnation and God's wrath.
- To be redeemed also means to be delivered from the old sinful way of life and set free from its tyranny.
- Being born again is a definite event that leads to a complete change in a person's life.
- Being born again is not something we do ourselves but something done to us by God.
- The Holy Spirit is the agent that causes us to be born again by implanting the seed of new life in us.
- The new life we receive is incorruptible unlike the corruptible life we had before.
- The corruptible life we had before leads to sin but the incorruptible life leads to righteousness.
- The incorruptible life comes from God and is patterned after Christ, making us partakers of the divine nature.
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.