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Sermon #5697

Faith; the Gift of Grace

A Sermon on 2 Peter 1:1

Originally preached Sept. 20, 1964

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Scripture

2 Peter 1:1 ESV KJV
Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: (ESV)

Sermon Description

In this sermon on 2 Peter 1:1 titled “Faith: The Gift of Grace,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones encourages his people with what they already know—what they are in Christ, what they have, and what awaits them in the future. What is it that makes Christians separate from the world? It is their precious faith. If this concept seems foreign to the listener, perhaps they need to be reminded of the old, old story and realize how they obtained this precious faith: it wasn’t won or achieved, but given as a gift of grace by God through the righteousness and blood of Jesus Christ the Son. Listeners are encouraged to realize the rarity of this gift of faith and that they are among a specific people, a great company—including the apostles, the martyrs, the fathers of the faith, the confessors, the reformers. They have the same faith as these people. Lastly, realize what this precious faith does for the Christian—the wealth of the universe cannot get rid of sins, but faith does. With this precious faith, the Christian is free from the fear of death, able to pass from death to eternal life.

Sermon Breakdown

  1. The apostle Peter wrote this letter to Christians who were facing difficulties and trials. His purpose was to encourage them.
  2. Peter reminds them they have obtained a "precious faith" - a faith of immense value. This is the key to overcoming their difficulties.
  3. Precious faith is a gift from God obtained through Jesus Christ. It is not something we earn or deserve.
  4. The giver - God and Jesus Christ - determines the value of this gift. God gave us this faith to fulfill his righteous purpose and glorify himself.
  5. This faith is rare - not many people have it. Christians are privileged to have received it.
  6. We share this faith with great Christians of the past - apostles, prophets, martyrs. We belong to their company.
  7. This faith provides tremendous blessings: salvation, forgiveness of sins, justification, adoption as God's children, an eternal inheritance, strength to live the Christian life, and assurance of heaven.
  8. Lacking an understanding of these blessings leads to spiritual blindness, forgetting the forgiveness of sins, and falling away.
  9. Grasping the preciousness of our faith leads to spiritual growth, steadfastness, and abundant entrance into heaven.

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.