Follow Me
A Sermon on Matthew 9:9
Originally preached Jan. 21, 1962
Scripture
9¶ And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.
Sermon Description
In this sermon, "Follow Me", from Matthew 9:9, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones helps the listener understand the meaning when Jesus says “Follow me.” Much more serious than being lost in a strange place, all of humankind is completely lost in their sin. Jesus says that all are blinded by their sin, dead in their trespasses, and condemned before a Holy God. When Jesus says to follow Him, He means that He alone must be followed. Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows that salvation means to follow Jesus and to become a slave to Him. It is not a light decision, but the rewards are worth it. To follow Jesus may mean loss of friends, persecution, and even death; but it also means that all sins are forgiven, the blessing of the most loving companion, and measurable joy. If anyone is burdened by sin today, they can lay them down at Jesus's feet and see that He will gladly take them if one will only follow and trust His way.
Sermon Breakdown
- Jesus calls Matthew to follow him.
- The call to follow Jesus is a totalitarian call that demands our everything.
- We must surrender our minds to Jesus and his teaching. We must stop relying on our own thoughts and understandings.
- Jesus teaches us the truth about ourselves - that we are lost, condemned sinners under the power of sin and Satan.
- Jesus teaches us the truth about himself - that he is the Son of God who came to give his life as a ransom for our sins.
- We must accept Jesus' teaching about his death on the cross as the only way of salvation and forgiveness.
- Jesus calls us to a new life and way of living as described in the Sermon on the Mount. We must leave behind the world and follow him.
- We should follow Jesus because of who he is - the glorious, majestic Son of God.
- We should follow Jesus because of the alternative - everlasting destruction. He alone can save us from this.
- We should follow Jesus because of what he gives - forgiveness, new life, reconciliation to God, companionship, victory over death, and eternal glory.
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.