Righteousness by Law

Romans 10:5 — The Jews have continued to believe that their actions, mainly their dedication to keeping the law, is what justifies them. The Jews have misunderstood the law and its purpose. Because of this, Paul is laying to rest this foolish thinking once again. In this sermon on Romans 10:5 titled “Righteousness by Law,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shares how Paul is essentially saying that even Moses said that those who attempt to live by their actions will also be judged by their actions. He points out that the Jews were ignorant of God’s righteousness, ignorant of their own abilities, and thus have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. Paul continues to emphasize the doctrine of justification by faith only. There is not one thing in the process of salvation that has to do with a person; it is entirely a matter of God’s free sovereign choice. If the Jews want to live by their actions to the law, then Paul says they must keep the whole law. One is not able to only keep certain laws. If even one law is broken, they have failed completely. Dr. Lloyd-Jones reminds that no one wants to live under that kind of rule and reign and Christians should be thankful of the Lord’s work in them, breaking them free from the law.

Romans 10:4 — In this sermon on Romans 10:4 titled “Christ, the End of the Law,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that this Scripture is the charter for all Christians and it sets them free. In this verse, Paul proclaims that Christ is the fulfillment of the law for righteousness. He means that the law was not temporary but it is eternal. God is not doing away with the law but rather upholding the law. It is an expression of God’s holy character and what He expects of the human race. So how is Christ the end of the law? Christ has fulfilled the law and done this for all who believe in Him. He came into the world as a God-man born under the law, lived a life of perfect obedience to the law, and died to satisfy the punishment of the law. The fulfillment is true because God raised Him from the dead. No one else was able to do this. Christ is the end of the law for all who believe. The moment a Christian believes in Christ, all that Christ has done for them becomes true of them since they have been united with Christ.

Romans 10:1-3 — Since the inception of the church, Christianity has battled the false belief of justification by works. In its modern Western form, many wrongly understand the gospel to mean going to church, doing good, or being a “nice” person. In this sermon on Romans 10:1–3 titled “Submit to God’s Righteousness,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones proclaims that the current Christian culture continues to preach self-righteousness, self-reliance, and self-dependence. In its primitive form, the apostle Paul holds up the Pharisees as the prime example of those who are zealous for doing good works and yet are ignorant of what God’s righteousness requires in the gospel. Their lack of knowledge has set them against the God they claim to serve. They would rather construct their own righteousness than submit to the righteousness of God found in the gospel of Christ. The Pharisees, and many today as well, are trapped in believing they can save themselves. The problem, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, is that the last people to believe the gospel and be saved are always those who think that they can save themselves. What is needed is the gospel of grace. What needs to be known and heard is the truth of what the Scriptures say God’s righteousness requires. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones speaks of the tendency towards justification by works and the remedy, submitting to the gospel of grace.

Romans 10:3 — What was the main trouble with the Jews that Paul is speaking about in Romans 10:3? It is that they did not have a complete and full knowledge of the truth of God. In this sermon on Romans 10:3 titled “Knowledge of the Truth,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that a precise knowledge of the truth is essential to salvation and Paul is praying and longing for the salvation of the Jews because they lack this knowledge. The Jews may have been nice people and very zealous, but this cannot be mistaken for true Christian faith. Truth cannot be based in subjective terms because the gospel is truly objective. The Pharisees had misinterpreted the Old Testament teaching about the righteousness of God and the righteousness that He demands. This was ignorance on their part. Ignorance means that there is not full knowledge and the Jews were ignorant of the full knowledge of God. This stood in between them and their salvation. Dr. Lloyd-Jones urges the listener to have a precise knowledge because ignorant knowledge is the enemy. Without true knowledge, one will be lost, damned, and outside the kingdom of God.

Romans 10:1-2 — Is the Christian zealous for God? If so, is it a true or false sense of zeal? Paul points out that the church does have a zeal for God, but that it is not based on knowledge. In a sermon on Romans 10:1–2 titled “Trust and Zeal,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones outlines the differences between true and false zeal in the Christian life. First, he outlines several tests that can apply to a person’s zeal to determine if it is a false sense of zeal. A few of these arguments include a zeal that has been imposed rather than genuine; a focus on actions rather than just being oneself; a likeness to frivolity and the flesh; and a focus on self and one’s own power rather than the Lord’s. On the other hand, a few arguments for true zeal include a zeal that is put on by the Lord; a result of true knowledge; zeal that is not showy but deep; and a result of genuine behavior. At the end, Dr. Lloyd-Jones charges believers to ensure they have true zeal for the sake of those who are lost. He challenges those who have heard the gospel and know the truth to be zealous and concerned for those who have not heard.

Romans 10:1-21 — Doctrine and practice must not be separated. This seemingly simple truth has a great impact on how Christians live and seek to obey Christ. In this sermon on Romans 10:1–21 titled “Doctrine and Practice,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds on the apostle Paul’s doctrine of the Christian life in all its glory and weightiness. Out of the great truths of justification by faith, predestination, and perseverance comes a view of the life that is grounded in the person and work of Christ. Christians must seek to trust God and His providence. They must be faithful to the command to evangelize and seek to love their neighbors as themselves. They must also be aware of the danger to intellectualize Christianity at the expense of practice. Some say things such as, “If God is sovereign, why pray?” or “If God elects, why evangelize?” However, Dr. Lloyd-Jones warns not to try to use vain logic to understand God, but rather read Scripture faithfully and submit to all of God’s teaching. How then does doctrine relate to practice? The answer is that doctrine informs how God desires His people to live as new creatures in Christ Jesus.

Romans 9:1-33 — In this sermon on Romans 9:1–33 titled “Learning the Lesson,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones gives a bird’s eye view of the entire chapter to show what can be learned. He says that contrary to what many believe, the Old Testament is not done away with or made obsolete for Christians. This can be known because the apostle Paul uses many Old Testament references and examples to explain the nature of the church, the Christian life, and salvation in Christ. Just as God chose the people in Israel in the Old Testament and passed by others, so also in the New Testament God calls out a people, the church, for His own purposes. Paul explains that being a Jew does not mean that one is a Christian, for not all who are born of Israel are true Israel. It is only those that God calls that are truly the children of God. This sermon presents many of the hard truths of Scripture, but it also shows how these hard truths are some of the most comforting. All of God’s truth is good news for those that love Him and who have put their trust in Jesus Christ.

Romans 9:30-33 — Why is Jesus Christ a stumbling stone? In this sermon on Romans 9:30-33 titled “A Rock of Offence,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains what this statement means and how it impacts one’s life. The apostle Paul says that Jesus is a stumbling block to His fellow and beloved Jewish brethren. This is because many of them still seek to justify themselves by the law. Because they seek to justify themselves, they stumble at the teachings of Jesus when He says that He has fulfilled the law and that He is the only way to know God. One’s relationship to God is entirely dependent on whether they know God or not. What does all this mean for today? This teaches that it is only Jesus that saves and all other attempts to make one’s self right, whether it is through the works of the law or any other way, is hopeless. How then can humanity be saved? The answer is found in trusting Jesus Christ and believing that He has been sent from God and died for humanity’s sin. It is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God that has come to take away the sin of the world and that He is the only savior from God.

Romans 9:30-33 — The sovereignty of God in salvation pushes towards humility in a couple of ways. The most obvious is the pride-bursting truth that salvation is completely and totally the work of God’s grace for which no one can take any credit. Second is the reality that people will never understand why God ordains some and not others. It is a profound mystery and all must humble themselves to accept that they will not understand the inscrutable mind of God on the topic. In this sermon on Romans 9:30–33 titled “Choice, not Belief,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones pushes back against those who want to hold onto some level of credit for their own salvation and he presses his own imagined interlocutors in order to show them the futility of their position. He maintains that it is not belief or faith that causes salvation but God’s choice. Listen as he tackles an important but difficult topic in a manner worthy of imitation.

Romans 9:30-33 — Paul is grieving over the standing of the Jews because in the church there are more believing Gentiles than Jews. This fact probably rattled most Jews to the core. The Gentiles, who had not sought after righteousness and lived immoral lives, had received a righteousness by faith. However, the Jews, who were actively pursuing the law and its commands, had not received righteousness. So why is it that God’s chosen people were outside of the church? In this sermon on Romans 9:30–33 titled “Faith, not Works,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that the law demands absolute perfection and if any one statute were broken then there would be no account of righteousness. Paul points out that the gospel of the Lord is for all people and salvation is purely the work of Christ alone. Each person is responsible for their rejection of the gospel but they are not responsible for their acceptance of the gospel. The Bible teaches that election alone accounts for the saved, but non-election does not count for those who are lost. All are in Adam so they are all without excuse, both Jews and Gentiles.