Sermons of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Without God, there is no hope, no peace, and no relief from the guilt and stain of sin. In this sermon on life without God from Ephesians 2:1–3 titled “Life Without God,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones thoroughly explains the pervasiveness of the state of sinfulness derived from the absence of God’s presence. The only remedy, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains, is the exceeding greatness of God’s power toward His believers. Christians will only understand how significant God’s grace is when they realize the depths from which God saved them and the heights to which He has raised them. Only then can Christians truly be thankful for Christ’s intervention on their behalf. This sermon is unique in that Dr. Lloyd-Jones shares a personal example of his unbelieving state and his life without Christ. He shares that he used to be consumed with the lust of the flesh in that he desired to debate and sound clever in front of his peers. While preparing this sermon, Dr. Lloyd-Jones shares that he felt an immense hatred for himself and his previous state of existence. This personal story exemplifies the principle Dr. Lloyd-Jones began the sermon with: understanding the depravity of believers’ previous state and contrasting it with God’s immensely merciful treatment of souls is the only way Christians can understand true grace. Without Jesus, people are doomed to perish while pursuing the flesh. With Him, people will be raised to life with God forever.

How can one make sense out of the awful state of the world? In this sermon on Ephesians 2:1–3 titled “Original Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones brings much needed clarity to today’s chaos, showing how humanity’s sinful nature is behind the wickedness seen all around. Since human nature is wholly given over to sin, one is unable to do good and obey all that the law of God requires. Those, like the humanist, that claim sin is simply an outdated religious superstition that can be replaced by modern psychology fundamentally misunderstand the extent of humanity’s sin and corruption. The sinful nature is not something that people lack within, but it is active rebellion against God. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that sin dominates the very will and the orthodox doctrine of original sin accounts for this sinful nature. It says that when the first man, Adam, sinned, all fell into sin and inherited the corrupt nature. This is why moral reform as a way of salvation is hopeless. If people could keep the law then there would be no need for the gospel and death of Christ. It is only by the saving grace found in the death of Christ that anyone can be delivered from sin and made righteous before God.

What’s the fundamental problem with humanity? Is it a lack of education? Poor policies in the public sphere? Why are humans the way they are? In this sermon on Ephesians 2:1–3 titled “Man in Sin,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the problem is much deeper. The problem is this: humanity is dead. Not physically dead––physically, people are very much alive––but in regards to spiritual things, humanity is born dead. Humanity sees no need for God and disregards His word. Spiritual realities are boring to them and they do not find the Bible relevant. As a result, humanity is shaped by the present age under the spiritual realm of darkness and organize their life apart from God. They do not know it because they are dead. The result is eternal death. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that one must know the depths of this problem. As the problem is much deeper than one thought, the solution must be greater than imagined. The delight in the gospel of Jesus Christ comes from understanding this. They were hopeless and dead. Without Christ, there was nothing one could do. Yet God loved them and He has made them alive.

What is the state of a person before Christ? Is the problem with humanity that it needs more morality or is it much deeper? The apostle Paul explains that humanity’s greatest problem is that it is dead in trespasses and sins. In this sermon on Ephesians 2:1 titled “Dead in Trespasses and Sins,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds on Paul’s words and preaches how when the Christian has a strong understanding of the depth of their depravity, it makes the work of Christ all the more glorious. When the Christian sees the severity of their sin and their plight outside of union with Christ, they realize the great power and sovereignty of God in salvation and it inevitably leads to true worship and praise to God for all the grace and mercy that He shows in saving sinners. Because sin is so deadly, only the power of God can save. No one can be unified with Christ by any other means. A true understanding of sin will spur the Christian on to evangelize the lost. They should want others to know of the great salvation that resides in Jesus Christ. The greatest problem with the sinner is not just that they do not come to church on Sunday or that they are not a part of the Christian social club. The greatest problem is that the sinner is alienated from God and under God’s wrath. With this is mind, telling others about Jesus becomes all the more important a task.

Can a Christian ever err by focusing on the future glory too much? Is it possible to spend so much energy looking to the future that they underestimate the present power of Christ? In this sermon on Ephesians 1:19–23 titled “The Final Consummation,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones focuses on these questions. Some evangelical Christians are capable of forgetting the current rule of Christ. Forgetting that the Son of God is at the right hand of God, in honor and authority, can cause hearts to become anxious about their present conditions. The Christian can forget that God the Father has already handed over all authority over the entire cosmos and He is unfolding history. One must balance their anticipation of Christ’s visible rule with His current invisible reign. There also is great assurance for the church when one contemplates Christ’s current rule over the cosmos. They are reminded that the Father gave over all things to Christ for the church. Therefore, what is true of Christ now is true of His church now. There is no need to vie for a position of honor; the church has that through its union with Christ. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones brings together many important themes of Christian doctrine in order to encourage the saints.