Sermons on the Cross

Why is the cross of Jesus Christ so important for Christians? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives a very practical reason: it is the basis of sanctification. He says that often times Christians separate their walk with Christ from what He has accomplished on the cross. They think that the Christian life is only a matter of striving and seeking in one’s own power, but this is wrong. For Christians can only live the Christian life in the power of Jesus’s atoning work and sacrifice. The power of the cross is to see the glory of Christ as the redeemer and Lord who has saved, who preserves, and who will glorify on the last day. This sermon on John 3:14–15 titled “At the Cross” offers hope for all, believers and nonbelievers. It exhorts everyone to put their trust in Jesus Christ as the only hope for this world, and as the only one that can redeem each and every fallen sinner that believes upon His name.

It is the kindness of God that leads His people to salvation. That kindness and love of God is evident throughout the book of Romans as Dr. Lloyd-Jones continues proclaiming its truth in this sermon on Romans 5:6-8. Christ’s love ensures the finality of salvation. It is easy to point out that most people do not truly understand the riches they have in salvation because of Christ’s love since all are sinful people. In the sermon “Love That Produces Salvation,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones breaks down Romans 5:6–8 and shares just how much Christians have received because of Christ’s love for His people. The first realization of this love is that Christ Himself produced and created salvation before the foundation of the earth was made. A second realization is that Christ not only came to the earth, but He also chose to die and bear God’s wrath in humanity’s place. Finally, the listener needs to consider the type of people that benefit from that salvation. These people are not wonderful, good-natured people; they are full of sin and completely undeserving. They are weak and incapable of doing anything that would warrant salvation, and this alone proves that the Lord loved His own enough to save them Himself.

What is the content of saving faith? Why is the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ significant? In this sermon on Romans 10:9–10 titled “Why Christ Died,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses these vital questions. The belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is central to the Christian faith. It is these beliefs that form the heart of the Christian faith because only through Jesus becoming a man and dying for the sins of fallen people can God forgive sinners. Jesus came to this earth in the form of a servant in order to die and the resurrection declared not only that Christ had died for sinners, but it declared His victory over death, sin, and Satan. Christians have a living Savior who, after atoning for sin, ascended into heaven where He now rules over the whole earth and from where He will come to judge the living and the dead. The resurrection, explains Dr. Lloyd-Jones, is God’s public proclamation to the whole universe that he is satisfied with His son who has honored the law completely. God is proclaiming that He and His law are completely satisfied.

In Luke’s account of Christ’s journey to the cross, he includes the last public teaching of Jesus. In the midst of pain and suffering as he trudges along the road to face crucifixion, Jesus turns to the women who are following Him and admonishes them to weep for themselves, not for Him. His instruction is startling since He is on His way to die. In this sermon on Luke 23:27–31 titled “Think, Weep, Repent,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones calls attention to the compassion Christ had for these women that caused Him to stop along His road toward death. He also calls the listener to pay careful attention to the content of Christ’s teaching: weeping for Him is a thoughtless act for He was going to His death on behalf of sinful humankind and would be raised in glory three days later. Christ instructs the women to weep not for Him, but for themselves because of their ignorance of who He is and what He is accomplishing. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones expounds on the content of Christ’s final teaching, he applies this message to the modern listener with a somber warning: “Have you wept over your sin and ignorance? Have you prayed for eyes to behold the love and justice of God displayed on the cross?” He encourages approaching the cross and death of Christ with thoughtfulness and contemplation, with weeping over sin and ignorance.

Why do Christians gather for worship on Good Friday? Certain religious and pseudo-Christian religions gather for what might be called, “holy days.” Listen as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains how tradition, not facts or truth, often drive these empty and meaningless gatherings. But why does the church gather for worship on these special occasions? Dr. Lloyd-Jones opens John 19:31-37 to answer that very question. The Christian faith and motives for Christian worship are based on the certainty of facts. While other religions create what appear to be worship-filled gatherings, they are empty and void of fact. They are created in the minds of men. By contrast, the Christian faith is built on the foundation of fact. Furthermore, those facts are certain and peculiar in nature unfolding the fulfillment of prophecy from centuries gone by. What is the fact that drives worship on Good Friday? In this sermon, Lloyd-Jones teaches that the death of Christ and all of the peculiar facts of his death drive this worship. And, why does his death cause us to worship? Through his death, a literal broken heart, the Lamb of God provides forgiveness for our sin.

At the center of Christianity stands the mystery of the cross. When Jesus foretold that He must die for the sins of His people, even His own disciples did not understand what He meant. It was not until the Holy Spirit enlightened their eyes that they truly believed! This is because no one expected Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to die upon the cross. In this sermon on Acts 2:22-23, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches on the great mystery of the cross, but also on the great blessing of the cross. For there is no salvation apart from the shedding of blood and Jesus dying in the place of sinners. Jesus' whole life led up to the moment that He was put to death by lawless men; the Bible says it was preordained by God! The cross was always God’s plan to save sinners. All men are sinners and in dire need of forgiveness from God. It is only through believing in Jesus, in His person and work, that any can be saved. This sermon calls each and every one of us to forsake our sins and look to Jesus. For there is salvation in no other name!

The crucifixion of the Son of God, who the apostle Paul called the Lord of glory, is the most profound paradox in human history. Because it is foolishness to those who are perishing and wisdom to those being saved, it automatically divides the world into two groups. In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 2:6–8 titled “The Cross that Divides,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones elaborates on the mystery of the cross and explains why it divides humanity. The great divide the cross creates comes down to the hidden element in the cross and the necessity of divine illumination produced by the Holy Spirit. While the rulers, princes, authorities, and the natural people see only a failed prophet from Nazareth hung on a tree, revelation given by the Holy Spirit gives spiritual eyes to see it is the God-man Jesus Christ dying for sins in order to bring His people to glory. Hear Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenge the people of God to meditate, spend time on, and “survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died”.

In this sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:22–24 titled “The Everlasting Gospel,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones asks how the listener thinks about the Christian faith and message. It is a message that one never expects or desires. The cross cannot be removed from this message, yet it is a stumbling block to many. Many think they know what they need and are still looking for a sign, but God gave the message. It is impossible for any to know the truth about themselves while still in sin. Dr. Lloyd-Jones preaches that everyone not only needs help, but they need complete deliverance. The preaching of the cross is an offense to human ears. Why do they resent the cross? Due to the implications, this message is offensive by nature. It denounces everything that people rely upon. People are proud and self-confident, but listen and learn that even the wisest cannot stand before God justly. The blood of Christ is required. This is the Christian message and there is no other. Christ came to die — this is God’s way of salvation, the everlasting gospel. Believe it and be found in Him.

The apostle Paul teaches that the cross of Christ is at the center of the gospel and in this Scripture, he defends the gospel of God’s grace alone. In this sermon on Galatians 1:3–5 titled “The Results of the Cross,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains how all stand before God condemned for their sin and rebellion against a holy God. But God, in His grace, sent His Son into the world to die for sinners so that they might be forgiven and made His children. This salvation is an ultimate act of grace that is a result of God’s free love. There is nothing anyone can do to merit God’s favor or love. It is God who sends His Spirit to convict people of their sin and awaken them to their fallen condition. How does salvation change a person? The Bible is clear that not only does salvation make one right with God, but it gives them a new mind and new desires. It changes them by giving them a love for God and the people of God. It makes sinners into new people who now love and serve God. This sermon calls all to leave behind sin and come to Jesus who alone can save sinners and give them eternal life.

The main thrust of the gospel is the cross. In this sermon on Galatians 5:11 and 6:14 titled “Glory in the Cross of Christ,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on the different reactions to this that people have and the consequences that come with each one. There are only two possible responses. Either people accept Christ and His sacrifice, or they see it as offensive. This offense is deeply divisive and angering, something that pushes people away from God when they let it take root in their hearts. Dr. Lloyd-Jones states that if one merely has pity after hearing the gospel message, then they have not heard the true story of the cross. It is either an offense, or glory is found in it. This leads to an interesting question—why does the gospel produce two opposite reactions? Why is it offensive? Ultimately, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, it is because it proclaims that all equally are sinners and that they cannot save themselves, a truth that is very humbling. This destroys pride because it means that the smartest and strongest people are all on equal footing before the Lord with those who are poor and uneducated, something that is difficult for many to accept. Yet, what a silly reason this is to keep someone from having eternal life through Christ. The gospel alone is to be one’s glory.

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.

What is the central message of the gospel? In this sermon on Galatians 6:14 titled “The Offence of the Cross,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on the cross and its centrality to the good news of Jesus Christ. How one responds to the cross, he says, determines how they will spend eternity. Paul says that the cross is either an offense or something to glory in, and if either of these reactions are not caused, then the cross has not been preached accurately. Why is it offensive? Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides three reasons. First, it cuts across human pride and preconceived notions of one’s ability to be in control of their destiny. Second, the natural person wants to be saved by ideas and philosophies, and the cross is not that. Third, the cross appears to some to be immoral— the idea of an innocent man dying for those who have done wrong is scandalous to many. Yet, it is the crux of the cross. The cross levels the playing fields between all people—the wealthy, the poor, the academic, and the layperson. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that Christians are those who do not merely accept the fact of the cross, but rather glory in it because of what they see—the obedience, sacrifice, and love of Jesus. It is everything to the person who has seen it and this is why the cross is central to the gospel.

When people look at the world today, they see a world that is torn apart by much grief, suffering, and loss. And yet, they often fail to see the reason behind the pain that exists. In this sermon on the glory of the cross from Galatians 6:14 titled “The Glory of the Cross,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones works through understanding suffering and the characteristics of the world to help better comprehend the glory of the cross. He says that the world and what it stands for are the causes of all its tragedies. He defines the world as that which is apart from and/or without God. What are the characteristics of the world? The world is driven by an unquenchable lust and desire, such as for money, power, and sex. These have driven people to live for themselves, and this has led to the sin in the world. It can only be overcome through the cross. It does this by showing what the world really is and how empty its pursuits are. In His ministry on earth, Jesus made this a central part of His ministry, emphasizing things that were total opposites from the world. Everything that is opposed to God will suffer eternal destruction, and this is the glory of the cross—it is the only thing that satisfies, and it is the only salvation.

What is the thing around which your life revolves, around which you are the most proud of? For Christians, that answer should unequivocally be the cross of Jesus Christ. A Christian finds his joy – his glory – in the cross because it crucified the world to him. “The world,” and what it stands, for is responsible for all the heartache and tragedies around us. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches from Galatians 6:14 that one is either with the world or with God. He explains what it means to be “of the world” – a view or outlook on life that is viewed and lived apart from God. Man is at the center, and this life is controlled by desire. How does the cross crucify the world to believers? Primarily, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, it shows us what the world really is. The world is perishing and will eventually be no more — as Scripture states elsewhere, “What profit is it if a man gains the whole world but loses his soul?” Once someone sees the pointlessness behind pursuing the world and the things of it, they are drawn to Christ and His Kingdom that will reign forever. By being crucified to the world, one gains a greater hope because one sees the reality of what will truly last! Dr. Lloyd-Jones urges that we revolve our lives around the cross of Christ.

Paul tells us that the cross of Christ delivers us from the power of the devil. How? And why are things in this world the way they are? In this sermon on Galatians 6:14, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones helps us to understand the spiritual warfare that is at play behind everything we see and why it is so important to understand this other battle going on behind the scenes. All that is bad in the world today is not due merely to human nature, but also to spiritual warfare. Satan, through sin, has consumed people with a passion of antagonism against God. The whole human race has become slaves of Satan. How? Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows us from Scripture how he dominates and controls the mind. Additionally, Satan works through people’s desires to get them to commit sins and acts of atrocity for their own gain. Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages us to see the spiritual battle raging behind the scenes in the events of Scripture, providing many examples. How can one escape from this control? Through the cross. All men are under this power unless saved by the power of the Gospel. Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages us to repent from our sins and believe in Christ today to be delivered!

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.

Scripture testifies that the cross and blood of Christ speak. In this sermon on Galatians 6:14 titled “A Public Declaration,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the first thing they say is that the souls of people are very precious. This is seen by the fact that God sent His Son to die on behalf of sinful people who couldn’t save themselves. Second, the cross says that the most important thing to people is their relationship with God. How one responds to Jesus’s death on the cross will affect how they spend eternity, either with God or apart from Him. Thus, it is of the utmost importance. Third, the essence of sin is the breaking of a relationship with God. Fourth and finally, the cross and blood say that all need to submit to it so that they can be saved. This, according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, is the exposition of the cross. In this, it declares that it alone is the way of dealing with one’s sin, and it invites those who don’t know Christ to come and find forgiveness from their sins and be reconciled to God.

Why do Christians preach the cross? Why is it that this cruel tool of murder stands at the heart of God’s gospel? The answer is found in the power of the cross for salvation. Listen as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones unfolds the words of Paul that the cross is the means by which God has conquered sin, death, and the devil by dying a cruel death. In this sermon on Galatians 6:14 titled “Glorying Only in the Cross,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains not only the fact of the cross, but also the need. God the Father sent His only Son into the world to die for all because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All are in dire need of salvation and forgiveness and this salvation only comes through Jesus’s sacrificial death upon the cross. Now those that believe are freed from the curse of the law, sin, and death. This is the only way to salvation. This sermon calls each and every sinner to leave their evil ways behind and come to Jesus. Come to the cross and find salvation in God’s Son who has died for sinners.

The cross of Jesus Christ must be central to the Christian’s beliefs about God. In this sermon on Galatians 6:14 titled “A New Life,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones helps the listener understand how Paul’s view of the cross changed how he saw himself and how it applies to lives today. First, those who are not saved see themselves from the world’s perspective—their identity is in their power, pedigree, wealth, intellect, or other similar titles or possessions. Ironically, it is the Lord who ultimately gives those things. Second, a worldview without Christ is incredibly self-centered. Christianity is the polar opposite because it effectively levels the playing field, showing that every single person is just as deserving of God’s wrath as the next person. Third, the cross is a completely new way of life—it changed everything for Paul. Not only does it show people a new way of living, but it also shows how to suffer. For anyone daunted with the idea of trying to follow Christ, Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds them that they have the Lord’s example to follow in everything, allowing them to model their lives after the One who lived perfectly.

In this sermon on Galatians 6:14 titled “Made in the Likeness of Man,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains the importance of the cross to the birth of Jesus. He argues that one cannot understand the birth and incarnation of Christ—the reason Christmas is celebrated—without the cross. First, the Messiah’s sufferings are prophesied throughout the entire Old Testament in passages such as Isaiah 53 and Genesis 3. Second, the cross was the real object of Jesus’s incarnation. Jesus was born for the express purpose of being the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. In this way He was born to die, and this makes Him unique among any other person who has been born. Third, only the cross explains some of the audacious things that Jesus claimed and were recorded in the gospels as being said about Him. Additionally, the cross was the lowest point for the Son of God. He was enthroned in Heaven, yet He left His rightful place to come to earth and live the life that no one else has—a perfect one. He did all of this with the knowledge that one day He would die an unjust death for the sins of the world so that those who accepted His sacrifice could have forgiveness from their sins. This is the reason Christmas is celebrated and as Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds, why the cross is central to correctly understanding Jesus’s birth.