The Middle Wall of Partition
A Sermon on Galatians 6:14
Originally preached Nov. 24, 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
In this series on Galatians, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones has presented many reasons why we as people, and specifically as Christians, are to glory in the cross of Christ, as Paul mentions. In this sermo on Galatians 6:14, he presents yet another reason to glory in the cross. It is the cross alone that can produce true unity among men. Men today are striving for unity through worldly measures, but it is not happening. Despite their best efforts, wars and conflicts still run rampant. Only one thing can deal with the tension, war, and strife we are encountering in the world— the cross of Christ. Scripture presents a model for unity, and this is seen from cover to cover as it brought the mighty and lowly together in unity and worship of God. Ultimately, pride is the root cause of this strife. There is nothing in this world that can adequately deal with and address this problem. The cross, however, destroys this pride by showing that everyone is equally sinful and lost. In this way, it levels the playing field because everyone is equally a sinner in the sight of God. Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows that in this way, the cross can provide unity that no other efforts of man can accomplish, and this is yet another reason to glory in the cross of Christ.
Sermon Breakdown
- The world is full of tension, division, strife and danger of war. Nations and individuals are divided.
- The cause of division and strife is the pride in the natural, unregenerate human heart. Pride manifests itself in many ways like pride of birth, race, nationality, color, power, intellect, etc.
- Nothing in the world can deal with pride and the divisions it causes. The world can only produce temporary cessation of hostilities, not real peace. Peace is positive but the world only achieves negative avoidance of war.
- The cross of Christ is the only thing that can produce true unity and peace. It shows us the truth about ourselves and others. It humbles our pride and shows we are all equally helpless sinners.
- The cross shows we are all souls equally made in God's image but under the control of the devil. We are all equally failures, helpless and hopeless.
- The cross shows us we can't boast in anything - not our race, intellect or anything else. We are all equally paupers who need the same salvation.
- The cross provides the only Savior for all. He alone saves, not our belief. He bore our sins so we could be forgiven and become God's children.
- The cross makes us one - equally sharing God's life, forgiveness, hope and Savior. It banishes division and makes "of twain one new man, so making peace".
- The cross is the only hope for peace in the world. While people trust in self, there will be strife. But faith in Christ crucified banishes pride, brings humility and unity.
- We must apply this to ourselves, not just nations. We must see our pride and hopelessness in the cross, find salvation and unity in Christ.
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.