The sermon of this post is from the YouTube site, MLJTrust, linked below:
My intro:
This post contains sermon #48 in MLJ’s series, The Armor of God. He is traveling very slowly through this passage from Ephesians 6, teaching its doctrines very carefully. If you desire to learn what the Armor of God is, as it was identified by the apostle Paul, and how to put it on, then I certainly recommend hearing the series; it is no quick study, however.
In my 20 years as a Christian, I have heard a lot of pastors: MacArthur, Sproul and Boice are three of my favorite modern preachers; Calvin and Spurgeon, are pastors from the past that I listen to often. By studying topics from the Bible, I’ve found other pastors, many are posted herein.
If a person is familiar with the Bible, then it is not hard to identify a biblical pastor.
I have noticed that modern Christians seek a lot of different things in their worship experience. It seems that, based on numbers, the Pentecostal and Roman Catholic denominations are the most attended.
The Pentecostal churches provide a lot of excitement, to state the most obvious quality about those churches; and the RCC provides a lot of sensory stimulation. However, they both err from the Bible. All you have to do to know that is to prayerfully read through the New Testament once. My own first read through the whole Bible took about 7 months and I immediately noticed a half-dozen unbiblical teachings in the Protestant church I was attending….
In the Conversion Testimony CATEGORY of this blog, there are reports of others whose experiences were like mine after reading through the Bible.
However, even though I’ve read through the Bible a couple of dozen times, I am finding that I still haven’t put on the Armor of God. It is not automatic, there are a lot of ways to fall short. MLJ identifies such things in the process of his preaching….
Thus far, this playlist on the Armor of God consists of 67 sermons. The sermon posted today is #48. The following list identifies the verse (s) which are the subject of those sermons:
- Sermons 1-45 Ephesians 6:10-13 The Wiles of the Devil
- Sermons 46-60 Eph 6:14
- Sermons 61-62 Eph 6:15
- Sermon 63 Eph 6:16
- Sermons 64-65 Eph 6:17
- Sermon 66 Eph 6:18
- Sermon 67 (the last posted sermon) Eph 6:18-20
A Sermon on Ephesians 6.14 https://www.mljtrust.org/sermons/book…
“Armor of God” playlist: • Introduction ― A Sermon on Ephesians …
“A Christian is not merely to hope that he’s going to be saved. He must know it, he must rejoice in it, he must have great certainty because if you haven’t, the devil will beat you, he’ll get you down every time.” ―Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Ephesians 6.14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness…
Sermon Description [by MLJTrust]:
In Ephesians 6.14, Paul calls believers to have “loins girded by truth.”
What is this truth?
In this sermon on Ephesians 6:14 titled “The Truth Revealed in Scripture,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains it is not subjective feelings or opinions, but doctrine.
Proclamation is a chief means by which Christians are to lay hold of doctrine. A sermon is meant to bring out the doctrine.
There cannot be proclamation without exposition, but one can have expositional analysis without proclamation.
The doctrine of salvation is the great message of truth about which the whole Bible is concerned. This message of salvation, the truth with which one is to gird themselves, is found most clearly in the Epistles.
The main function of the Gospels and the book of Acts is to attest the person of Jesus Christ, not to expound doctrine, though it is implied. All the Reformers have spent most of their time in the Epistles.
The truth Paul refers to begins, but doesn’t stop, with belief in God, worship and Christian living. It is the whole plan and scheme of salvation. How are Christians to be strong and withstand the wiles of the devil, as Paul says? By taking hold of the whole doctrine and the whole message of salvation, not just bits and pieces, and applying it to their lives.
Sermon Breakdown [by MLJTrust]:
- The apostle Paul instructs Christians to “stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.” This means Christians must know the truth in order to stand against the devil.
- The truth is found in the Bible, specifically the New Testament epistles. The gospels and Acts establish who Jesus is, but the epistles explain the meaning and implications of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection.
- The truth is not a vague message of goodness or morality. It is the specific doctrines of salvation explained in the epistles.
- The truth includes doctrines like God’s eternal purpose, the person and work of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, justification by faith alone, the believer’s present position, the possibility of assurance, the church, God’s promises, future hope, the reality of the devil, and how to overcome him.
- The truth forms a coherent system of doctrine. It is not just collecting fragments of comforting verses or appealing to the will. Systematic study of doctrine is required.
- Knowing the truth is required to stand against the devil. When the devil tempts or accuses, the believer can respond with the truth.
- The truth leads to strength, joy, light, and victory. It is essential for the Christian life.
MLJTrust video-page link: https://www.youtube.com/@MLJTrust/videos
Playlist-page link: https://www.youtube.com/@MLJTrust/playlists