Sermons of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Hardly anyone claiming the title “Christian” would deny the need for God’s power in salvation. There is, however, a fundamental difference between the person who says salvation is the power of God in addition to something they do, and those who say salvation is God’s power working in them and through them. The latter has roots in the apostolic testimony but the former does not. Neither is this a mere linguistic quibble, says Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, but one’s very assurance is at stake. In this sermon on Ephesians 1:19–23 titled “Power to Us-ward Who Believe,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones says Paul is not simply concerned with God’s power towards His people, but His power in them. This is ultimately the final grounds of the Christian’s assurance. When they consider all that glory entails, especially standing before a holy God and seeing Him face-to-face, how can they ever have confidence that they will be fit to stand? Given that the world, sin, and the devil are constantly at war against the Christian, how will they ever overcome? Dr. Lloyd-Jones shows how the apostle Paul’s prayer calls minds to the resurrection power of God in order to assure that glory will be attained by God’s saints. It is God and by His power alone Christians are made and not even death will keep them from glory.

Are Christians guilty of underestimating the need for God’s power? At first it may sound like a silly question. After all, any Christian will rightly affirm their daily need of God’s power. But while Christians may correctly affirm the continual need of God’s power in their lives, many times they will assume initial belief in the gospel is easy. Conversations among some Christians often assume anybody who wants to believe the gospel can do so. In this sermon on the greatness of God’s power from Ephesians 1:19–20 titled “The Greatness of His Power,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says this is a grave mistake. To do so tragically misunderstands the need for God’s power to believe. It misunderstands the consequences of sin and the power of the new birth. With its darkened mind, proud heart, and deadly prejudices against the gospel, humanity must experience regeneration if there is any chance of coming to faith in Christ. Do unregenerate people need God’s power? Given these theological truths, it is foolish to think otherwise. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones expands on this topic and explains the desperate need of God’s grace.

There are common objections to Christianity. Christianity is only for the weak. It is of no consequence today because it does not care about what is happening in the “real” world. Christianity is a waste of time because it is caught-up in other-worldly matters. These objections are as common today as they were in Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s day. In this sermon on inheritance from Ephesians 1:18 titled “Riches of His Inheritance,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones meets the objections head on and points to the reality that the Bible does call Christians to fix their minds on the world to come. What is important is that this is a good thing for this world. Looking to the list of faithful men and women of Scripture and of history, Dr. Lloyd-Jones argues that the ones who did the most for this world had their eyes set on the world to come. The greatest benefactors of this world are those men and women of God who were concerned about the inheritance of the saints. If humanity forgets the next world, everything goes wrong for this world. To be uninterested in the glory to be revealed in heaven is to be unlike the Lord Jesus Christ himself. The Christian must be fixed on the glory to come when they will be with God.

Christians can often feel distant from God. What is their response when coldness towards spiritual matters creeps into their heart? Does their assurance waver? How can they have a steady anchor for their Christian life? Rather than wait for another experience, the prayer of the apostle Paul for Christians is that they may know the hope of their calling. This is not a general hopefulness, but hope in God. More specifically, hope in God’s calling of them. This will have a profound effect on the assurance says Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. In this sermon on Ephesians 1:18 titled “The Hope of His Calling,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones expounds this great prayer of Paul and carefully navigates between the general call of God in the gospel for all and the effectual call of the Holy Spirit for believers. To find assurance, one must look to the covenant-keeping God and Scripture. The Christian must look to the God in whom there is no variation or change, to the Father who will keep His children by His grace until the very end. Dr. Lloyd-Jones challenges Christians to consider these wonderful truths of Scripture and pray this for themselves.

Where does one begin in describing their knowledge of God? Do they begin with propositional or theoretical knowledge? While propositional knowledge of God is good and necessary for the Christian life, there is another knowledge that is just as important. As a matter of fact, it is a knowledge which the apostle Paul prays for in Ephesians. It is the kind of knowledge which is immediate and intimate. It is a personal knowledge of God the Father. Such knowledge is at the heart of the evangelical message. The Christian can have personal fellowship with God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. In the new covenant, the Holy Spirit comes into hearts so that the Christian can have direct knowledge of the love of God and the glory of God. In this sermon on Ephesians 1:17 titled “The Christian’s Knowledge of God,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones follows Paul’s prayer for ordinary Christians to have this exact and experiential knowledge of the true and living God. Listen to this passionate appeal to know Him.