A Christian Defined – Page 3

Who Does the Fighting? – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

30 Jan 2025 Michael A

Christians are called to fight a spiritual battle but how are they to fight? What role do they play in this struggle? Are they to be passive, or are they alone to be the ones engaging the enemy? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on spiritual warfare and the responsibility that Christians have to be fighting in their lives. The phrase “Let go and let God” is popular today among many Christians, but is it Biblical? Are they to just surrender to God and let Him fight all of their battles? Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents strong arguments from Scripture that demonstrate otherwise…. [This sermon helped me to see some inconsistencies in my spiritual walk, according to the scriptures; it may help you do the same.]

God’s Battle; not Ours – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

29 Jan 2025 Michael A

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that Christians must remember that Jesus Christ is the captain of their salvation. Salvation is God’s work. Christians are individual soldiers in a great army fighting a great campaign. The ultimate perspective is not the individual’s fight, but God’s. The battle is the Lord’s. God is “leading many sons to glory” according to His scheme. The appointed leader of this plan is Jesus and as the Christian fights, they must remember that God is involved in it all with them. Therefore, they must realize this: this fight cannot fail because God’s honor is in it. This means their salvation is secure. Christians cannot “fall from grace,” because to do so means the power of God fails and the devil wins. [For the first time, I have a clear understanding of the concept of Christ being the captain of our salvation; and of the work with which He and we are busy. As usual, his messages are very illuminating!]

Worldliness – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

27 Jan 2025 Michael A

When someone mentions “worldliness,” what comes to mind? In this sermon on overcoming worldliness from Ephesians 6.10–13, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones helps the listener come to a proper understanding of worldliness and how it affects the Christian walk. Worldliness, says Dr. Lloyd-Jones, is when one allows things that are good in and of themselves to occupy too big of a part in one’s life. Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that this happens when the Christian doesn’t allow their walk with Christ to overlap with the other areas of their life. …We defeat worldliness by purifying ourselves and keeping our hope in Christ

Man’s Greatest Problem – Self – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

19 Jan 2025 Michael A

…Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out that the devil primarily uses pride to refocus people off the things of the Lord. One of his main methods in this is to take a person’s gift— whether it is singing, speech, knowledge, intellect or even conversion experience — and use it to make its possessor feel self-reliant and that they are above the spiritual state of other believers. …We should see ourselves as members of the body of Christ where every part is important. …We should care about what God thinks of us, not what people think. …Self in all its manifestations dishonors God, his grace and the gospel.

Quenching the Spirit Part 1 – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

17 Jan 2025 Michael A

What is quenching the Spirit? In a desire to avoid making Christianity reliant on subjective religious experiences, many Christians leave no room for the work and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in their lives. This is quenching the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells that the Holy Spirit is a person who indwells all who believe. The church of today ought to look at the early church found in Acts to see what it looks like to rely on the Holy Spirit for power and guidance. What are the practical applications of this message on Ephesians 6:10–13?

Worry and Anxiety – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

16 Jan 2025 Michael A

The MLJ sermon of this post is another in his series on the wiles of the Devil. In the process of his teaching herein, he said quite a lot that applies to the word-of-faith, prosperity gospels and the Charismatic church. His words clarified their great claims via biblical passages. The thrust of his message was to show believers yet another way in which the Devil undermines a believer’s walk with the Lord, rendering them ineffective, discouraged…. [A song is attached to the post because in that song, one can hear the kind of process that MLJ discussed, in terms of laying down one’s self-striving and surrendering to Christ; quitting on self-guidance and receiving His.]

Attacks on Assurance Part 2 – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

15 Jan 2025 Michael A

Christians can feel as though the Lord has withdrawn His smile from them and are concerned that their current or difficult state may mean that they are not truly a Christian. …This ought to be a great comfort in hardship. Adversity encourages the Christian not to rely on their good works, but to be encouraged that they are being matured and prepared for future glory with Christ. They should not question their justification when they experience trials and suffering. Instead they should remember that when they confess their sins, God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse His people from all unrighteousness. [I added more detailed points for the initial 19 minutes of the sermon and a brief video about how God purifies the saint via tribulation.]

Attacks on Assurance Part 1 – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

12 Jan 2025 Michael A

The Christian can struggle with assurance of salvation, feel tormented by past sins, or disbelieve that they could truly be saved. …The truth is that only the devil makes one look back at sin—Christ makes them look back to His work on the cross. That is where the Christian must place their confidence. God commands His people to be certain of their salvation and to know the truth that they are saved as seen in 1 John 5. Christians are encouraged to not be so busied with the state of their spiritual health that they make themselves ill but instead lay hold of the promise of salvation and rest in Christ.

True and False Assurance – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

10 Jan 2025 Michael A

The following are a few points from the MLJ sermon of this post: Christians are meant to have assurance of salvation and know the joy of their salvation. The devil tries to rob Christians of the joy of their salvation through his wiles and subtle attacks. The devil first tries to give Christians a false assurance and peace through a hurried and forced conversion without a true change of heart. This results in an artificial and superficial faith. Characteristics of a false assurance include:
No radical change or new life, just a modification of the old life.

Physical – Psychological – Spiritual – Martyn Lloyd-Jones

8 Jan 2025 Michael A

In this sermon on Ephesians 6.10–13 titled “Physical, Psychological, Spiritual,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that the Bible teaches that people are body, mind, and soul. They are more than the matter that they are made of, but the human body also affects its spirit. There is a great danger to turn all sin issues into problems of psychology. They say that a person’s problems are never a result of their sin but are a result of their circumstances. The Bible tells something different. [MLJ says much to help a Christian better assess the difficulties that he/she is encountering in terms of where they are coming from; and he also recommends and illustrates a biblical solution.]

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