The Means of Salvation
A Sermon on Galatians 6:14
Originally preached Oct. 20, 1963
Scripture
14But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
Sermon Description
What is at the heart of the Christian faith? In this sermon on Galatians 6:14 titled “The Means of Salvation,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that it is the cross of Calvary where Jesus died for sinners. The gospel shows that the whole life of Jesus looked forward to the greatest act of love and compassion that the world will ever know when God’s only Son died in the place of wicked sinners. This death on the cross is what Christ came to do, and it is the culmination of His earthly life. Also, the apostle Paul shows that it is the cross that brings salvation and forgiveness of sins. It is not the works of human merit or the flesh that make people right with God, but it is God suffering in the place of sinners that brings salvation to all who believe. What does this mean for Christians today? This central gospel message is still the only way of salvation and restoration of God. Human fundamental needs never change; they are still rebels that must be made right with God. The blood of Christ is still the only way that anyone can be freed from sin and made an inheritor in the new life of salvation of Christ.
Sermon Breakdown
- Life in this world is an extremely serious matter. It is not something light or trivial. There are moral laws and consequences in operation, and we will all stand before God in judgment.
- The most important question in life is how to sow to the Spirit. How do we live so that we reap blessing and eternal life?
- There are contradictory voices claiming to preach the Christian message. We must determine which is the true message.
- The true Christian message is the preaching of the cross - the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. This was the message preached by Paul and the other apostles.
- The preaching of the cross has never been popular. It was a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks. But Paul gloried in the cross.
- Paul gloried in the cross because it is the means by which we are saved. "By whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
- The death of Christ on the cross was not an accident or tragedy. It was essential for salvation. Jesus came deliberately to die.
- All people have sinned and fall short of God's glory. But God is just and holy, and He must punish sin.
- On the cross, God laid our sins on Jesus and punished them in Him. Jesus bore our punishment and took our guilt. The law was satisfied.
- We only have to believe this message to be saved. Nothing else. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
- This message can save the worst of sinners. No one is beyond hope. All who believe are justified from all things.
- Do you glory in the cross of Christ? Do you want to hear more of this message? Beware if you do not.
Sermon Q&A
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on Glorying in the Cross of Christ
What is the central message of the Christian gospel according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the central message of the Christian gospel is the cross of Christ. As he emphasizes in his sermon: "The preaching of the cross, the preaching of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross on Calvary's hill is the very heart and center of the Christian Gospel and the christian message." He points out that this is what the apostle Paul gloried in when he wrote in Galatians 6:14, "God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say that the teaching of Jesus is not the primary message of Christianity?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that while Jesus' teaching is important, it is not the primary message of Christianity because it doesn't solve humanity's fundamental problem. He states: "If you only preach the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, you not only do not solve the problem of mankind, you in a sense even aggravate it because you preach nothing but utter condemnation. Nobody can do it." The moral teaching of Jesus, including the Sermon on the Mount, actually intensifies our awareness of our inability to live up to God's standards rather than providing salvation.
How does the cross save people according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the cross saves people through substitutionary atonement. He explains: "What was happening on the cross on Calvary's hill was that God himself was laying your sins and mine upon his own dearly beloved son. And he paid the penalty of our guilt and our transgressions." He quotes 2 Corinthians 5:21, "He hath made him to be sin for us that knew no sin himself, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Jesus bore the punishment we deserved, satisfying God's justice, so that we could be forgiven.
What evidence does Dr. Lloyd-Jones provide that the cross is central to the Christian message?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides several lines of evidence: 1. The apostolic preaching in the New Testament consistently centered on Christ's death 2. The amount of space given to Christ's death in the Gospels 3. Jesus' own teaching about His upcoming death 4. The institution of the Lord's Supper/Communion to commemorate His death 5. The conversation between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration about His coming death 6. Numerous New Testament passages that emphasize the saving significance of Christ's death
What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the fundamental human problem that the cross addresses?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies the fundamental human problem as sin and guilt before a holy God. He says: "Man is a guilty sinner and God is a holy God. How can the two be brought together? The answer is the cross of Christ." He emphasizes that all people, regardless of how morally respectable they may appear, stand condemned before God: "In the sight of God, the most respectable non-Christian in London tonight is as damned and as hopeless as the vilest reprobate and sinner. There is no difference."
What response does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say people should have to the message of the cross?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that people should respond to the message of the cross with faith - simply believing and trusting in what Christ has done. He states: "I have only one thing to do. I have nothing to do but to believe this message." He emphatically rejects the idea that we must first reform our lives: "Don't tell me you're going out to live a better life... Don't tell me you're going to be a better man or a better woman... You have only one thing to do," which is to believe in what Christ has accomplished on the cross.
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.