Dependent on God's Mercy

Romans 11:28-32 — In this sermon on Romans 11:28–32 titled “Dependent on God’s Mercy,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teaches that faith is not merely an intellectual belief; it is an action and an obedience. Even while God frowns, He still loves. Look at the position of a non-believer – blind and disobedient before God. Rejoice in knowing that salvation is entirely a result of God’s mercy looking down upon humanity with pity. It is no result of a person’s doing. These are God's people. Jews and Gentiles alike are found to be disobedient, yet God pours out His mercy to both. God’s object is to show mercy; the concept of “mercy upon all” is not universalism. There is a great distinction between the saved and the lost. He caused the evangelization of the Gentiles to rapidly grow due to the rejection of the Jews to the very same gospel. God used the belief of the Gentiles to stir the Jews and bring them to salvation. God made foolish the things of this world and natural humanity cannot believe the things of God because He has shut them up in unbelief. God shows that nothing matters except for His mercy.

Romans 11:25-32 — In Romans 11:25–32, the apostle Paul is showing a prophecy from the Old Testament. The nation of Israel has been regarded as enemies of the Lord. Through their fall, salvation has now come to the Gentiles. Now Paul is reminding that Israel will once again be reunited with Christ and points out that the gifts and calling of God should not be regretted. All the people of God have been called with an irresistible call. Just as the Gentiles received mercy as a result of their disobedience, the Jews will one day receive mercy because of their disobedience as well. In this sermon on “All Israel Shall be Saved,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones reminds the listener that the Jews were hardened because the Lord wanted to show mercy on the Gentiles so that all could believe and have salvation. Paul is encouraging his listeners that this period will not last forever. The Lord will once again bring the nation of Israel back into His fold in His timing.

Romans 11:25-32 — In this sermon on Romans 11:25–32 titled “Collecting the Evidence (2),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds on Paul’s statement concerning the deliverer that comes out of Zion. He says that Paul, like the other apostles and writers of the New Testament, is not simply retelling the prophecies and teachings of the Old Testament, but revealing new mysteries of God. This is seen in how he uses the Old Testament. According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, when Paul talks about the deliverer out of Zion, he is not talking about physical places but the heavenly dwelling place of God. This is in accordance with the promise that God will send a savior to redeem Israel. Jesus came in faithfulness to God’s covenant with Israel to restore the people of God. Jesus not only saves individuals, but He comes to redeem the whole world and to make a new people of God that all know Him. The fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel are brought about by Christ Jesus who died on the cross in order that all who believe might be saved and freed from sin. This is the glorious message of the new covenant.

Romans 11:25-27 — What is the future of the people of Israel? In this sermon on Romans 11:25–27 titled “Collecting the Evidence (1),” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones examines this most important topic of Israel’s future. Paul is concerned that the Gentile believers may be arrogant towards the Israelites. No one must think they are saved because they are smarter or wiser than anyone else. The Gentiles did not believe in the gospel because they were smarter than the Israelites. They believed because God in His grace was pleased to give mercy to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. While some Israelites rejected the gospel, not all did. Paul gives himself as an example of a faithful Israelite who trusted in the promised Messiah. Furthermore, Paul speaks of the day when many of his fellow Jews will come to worship Jesus and be saved. Listen as Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches on the great day of salvation for all Jewish people who come to know the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. God is faithful to His promises and He has provided salvation for all who believe in Him.

Romans 11:25-27 — God’s sovereignty and humanity’s responsibility can be difficult to reconcile, especially when reading different passages in the Bible that seem to be contradictory. In this sermon on Romans 11:25–27 titled “The Mystery Revealed,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones leads through a phrase-by-phrase analysis of one such passage. The word blindness here, he says, is actually better translated as “hardened.” What does Paul mean by saying that Israel has been hardened? Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides reasons and evidence as to why this most likely refers to the majority of the Israelite nation as a whole, not every individual Israelite, since some of the Jews were indeed saved and thus were shown not to be hardened. As the rest of this passage states, this blindness was only temporary— God established it and God took it off at the fullness of the Gentiles. To better understand this oft-confused phrase, Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents the various views and why it makes sense that Paul is making another broad reference, this time indicating a majority of Gentiles. The passage ends by saying that “all Israel will be saved.” This meaning, too, has been hotly debated throughout church history. Dr. Lloyd-Jones demonstrates his reasoning as to why he believes it is not referencing all the elect Jews as a whole, nor the elect Jews and Gentiles combined, but a different group altogether. Listen as he methodically steps through this difficult passage to help the listener better understand its meaning and application for their lives.

Romans 11:23-24 — In Romans 11:23–24, Paul continues his arguments to prove that the Lord is not done with the nation of Israel. In this sermon on Romans 11:23–24 titled “Regrafting of the Jews,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out the three previous arguments in the beginning of the chapter for review and explains two more arguments in these verses. The first is based on the power of God; He is able to do anything. This means that the Lord is able to regraft the Jews back into His fold. Paul is continuing his illustration of the branches and roots of a tree. The Lord may have chosen to cut off the nation of Israel, but that does not mean that He cannot once again restore them. The second argument is in light of what God has done to the Gentiles. Because the Lord chose to bring salvation to the Gentiles, this is proof that He can also restore the Jews once again. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that it was even harder to graft in the Gentiles, so how much more would the Lord be willing and able to once again regraft His chosen people. As a final reminder, the Christian should always be aware that they are part of the branches that are growing and fruitful, lest they also are cut off.

Romans 11:18-22 — The history of Christianity has witnessed the decline of many churches. In this sermon on Romans 11:18-22, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones attributes such declines to the drift away from true Christianity's vital principle, justification by faith alone. Dr. Lloyd-Jones urges listeners to learn the lessons from history and guard themselves and their churches against falling back into a system of justification by works. Regarding the churches that hold firm to the principle of justification by faith alone, be prepared to be persecuted by those who don’t. This tendency has been borne out in church history as evidenced by the persecution inflicted on the true church by the Jews and the also the apostate church. Please note that in a rare departure from customary practice, the original editor of the MLJ Trust recordings decided to include the tail end of the last hymn prior to the commencement of the sermon. This was presumably in order to make sense of Dr Lloyd-Jones's opening admonition to his congregation as to the quality of their singing on that particular Friday evening at Westminster chapel!

Romans 11:16-22 — Can Christians lose their salvation? There are few more contested and more important theological questions in Christianity. Many believers are plagued by doubts because they fear that they may fail to work out their own salvation and be eternally lost in hell. In this sermon on Romans 11:16–22 titled “Final Perseverance,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones offers solace to any fearful Christians. He says that the Bible never teaches that true believers can lose salvation. This is for the simple reason that it is God through His Son Jesus Christ who saves. Christians are not even saved by faith, first and foremost, but ultimately by Christ who grants them their faith. Jesus loves His people and He is both able and willing to guard them from ever falling away. What about those passages that speak of the need to persevere? The Holy Spirit uses many means to build up Christians in faith and joy and these passages that warn Christians not to fall away are one of these means that God uses to preserve those He loves. What about people who say they are Christians and stop believing? There are many who are self-deceived and think that they are saved, but their life shows that this is not a true work of God. The glorious truth of the gospel is that Jesus saves all those that He loves and He will lose no one.

Romans 11:18-22 — In previous passages, Paul has explained that because of the Jews’ unbelief, the Gentiles were granted belief through Christ. In Romans 11:18–22, Paul now warns the Gentiles against any boasting because of their new standing and salvation. There is no place for pride in a Christian’s life and Paul warns that any such feelings would cause one to suffer. In this sermon on Romans 11:18–22 titled “God’s Goodness and Severity,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the best corrective against pride is to know God, and the truth and character of God. The greatest lack would be a lack of the knowledge of God. This lack would show in one’s doctrine and view of sin, and would lead to a lack of fear of the Lord. In his closing, Dr. Lloyd-Jones also pauses to reflect on the goodness and severity of God in Romans 11:22. God is true in all of His characteristics and He is fully known in each of those character traits. One cannot say that God is good without acknowledging His severity. One cannot dwell only on the wrath of God without showing the love of God. The truest example of this is Christ on the cross. May the Christian never boast in themselves, but instead boast in Christ and all that He has done for them.

Romans 11:18-22 — Why is pride so dangerous? What about pride undermines the gospel and leads people into self-deception and deceit? In this sermon on Romans 11:18–22 titled “Pride,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on the need to learn God’s word so as to fight against pride. Pride undermines the gospel because it makes people focus on themselves and their own works, justifying themselves. According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the great sin of many of the Jewish people who wanted to return to the law was the sin of pride. They sought to find salvation in their own identity and works but this is wholly opposed to the message of Jesus. Jesus Christ tells that one must forsake any chance of saving themselves. He tells that no works can makes one right before God. Pride makes the person look at what they do for their worth; Jesus makes them look to Him to find worth. Paul warns the church of his day about the danger of falling away from the gospel and looking to works to justify oneself. This is still a temptation for many Christians and for this reason, believers must always flee from self-righteousness and look to Jesus Christ and what He has done as Jesus alone saves.