Love Thy Neighbour
A Sermon on “Love your neighbor as yourself” from Mark 12:28–31
Originally preached Sept. 26, 1965
Scripture
28¶ And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our …
Sermon Description
Chaos, conflict, and crisis are a regular part of the world. All of humanity’s attempts to bring peace and reconciliation fall short. In this sermon on Mark 21:28–31 titled “Love Thy Neighbour,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shares that humanity’s priorities are misplaced. Humankind tries to appease their own desires with their own answers. This human-centered approach is unbiblical because it does not start with God in order to understand the nature of humanity. Only when people see themselves as created by God and in need of redemption and reconciliation with God can they properly diagnose themselves and their problems. Until a person recognizes their sin and rebellion before God, they will never understand the depth of their alienation from one another and God. It is only the gospel that can free anyone from their guilt and sin before a holy God, and it is only by believing in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that they can truly live in fellowship and communion with one another. It is only by divine aid that anyone can flee from themselves and turn to God so that they may be freed from their sin.
Sermon Breakdown
- The scribe came to Jesus and asked him which is the first commandment of all.
- Jesus answered that the first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
- The second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.
- The scribe was surprised by Jesus's answer as he expected Jesus to choose one of the 613 commandments.
- The scribe and his companions were arguing about which commandment was the greatest.
- The scribe likely came with wrong motives to test Jesus.
- However, Jesus's answer corrected the scribe and his companions.
- Jesus's answer shows that the scribe and his companions had their priorities wrong.
- The world today also has its priorities wrong in the same way.
- The world starts with man instead of God which is wrong.
- The world rejects the biblical order that Jesus gave.
- The world focuses on applying the gospel instead of understanding the gospel first.
- Christian conduct cannot come before becoming a Christian.
- The world has no authority or standard as it rejects God.
- The world believes everything is relative and subjective leading to confusion.
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.