The sermon of this post is from the YouTube site, MLJTrust, linked below video.
I strove to write a brief introduction but couldn’t condense my thoughts on the matter of this sermon. I have to say that after a few years of dealing with my sins (part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to show us our wretchedness and that we are helplessly stuck there without God’s grace…) I began to write some posts about the error of seeing oneself as a ‘good person.’
Studying the beatitudes for a couple of years enabled me to begin to see that Christ had declared one to be blessed who saw that he/she was poor in spirit (spiritually bankrupt). Such people begin to mourn their sin and the other beatitude states unfold thereafter.
Well, to put it briefly, what MLJ does with this sermon is to make such things very clear. He explores the idea of salvation by personal merit sufficiently well to enable hearers to see the fatal error of doing that.
MLJTrust’s description is very good, but if you have had little experience thinking on such things, then you will benefit greatly from listening through the sermon a couple of times.
A sermon by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Matthew 20.1-16 https://www.mljtrust.org/sermons/gosp…
“Oh, may I plead with you in the name of God to examine yourself. What’s your view of salvation? What’s your view of Christianity? What’s your view of being a child of God and a Christian? On what are you basing your hope of heaven and of eternity tonight?”
―Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Scripture Matthew 20.1-16 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw….”
Sermon Description [by MLJTrust]:
Don’t misunderstand the kingdom of God. In an age where people clamor for fairness, it can be hard for Christians to stand strong on the biblical teachings regarding salvation and eternal life.
The parable in this sermon reinforces that all are in grave danger of misunderstanding the kingdom of God. In this sermon on Matthew 20:1–16 titled “The Free Gift of God’s Grace,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that the claims of the kingdom of God oftentimes come as a surprise and against the grain of what people would assume to be true. Yet, it is through these very truths that Scripture also helps them glean crucial truths about God and eternity.
This parable, he explains, shows the difference between a true and a false salvation.
Many misunderstand the kingdom of God and hold to a false salvation that is rooted in the belief that eternal life is a reward for a good life on earth. But besides offering no hope to a sinful person, it misses the entire glory of the free salvation in Christ — everyone justly deserves hell because they have all broken God’s law, yet Christ was offered as an acceptable substitute in their place in the reception of God’s wrath.
Don’t misunderstand the kingdom of God — salvation has been offered.
Repent and believe today.
Video-page link: https://www.youtube.com/@MLJTrust/videos
Playlist-page link: https://www.youtube.com/@MLJTrust/playlists
Playlist: Sermons on the gospel [there are 9 thus far, as they build this playlist]: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvVtziP2bL63MlOA3DRrWqh0UeTv1zJ5P
A sermon by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Matthew 20.1-16 https://www.mljtrust.org/sermons/gosp…
Sermon Breakdown [by MLJTrust]:
- The gospel is surprising and unexpected. If you’ve never been surprised by the gospel, you don’t understand it.
- There is a false view of salvation that regards it as a reward for merit or good works. This view criticizes God and his ways. It has no compassion for failures and sees the gospel as immoral. It misses the glory of salvation and ends in disappointment.
- The true view of salvation recognizes God’s sovereign lordship. God can do as he pleases. We deserve nothing.
- God’s ways are just. He gives people what they ask for – strict justice sends all to hell. But he also honors grace by punishing sin in Jesus.
- God’s salvation shows his generosity. He seeks the lost and gives freely – pardon, new life, sonship. This should melt our hearts.
- We should stop bargaining with God and simply obey his call. He will bless us beyond our expectations.