“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:19-26, NKJV.
We must have the full message… ‘deliver the whole counsel of God’…
It starts with the Law. The Law of God … the demands of a righteous God, the wrath of God. That is the way to bring men and women to conviction; not by modifying the Truth… We must confront them with the fact that they are men and that they are fallible men, that they are dying men, that they are sinful men, and that they will all have to stand before God at the Bar of Eternal Judgement…
And then we must present to them the full-orbed doctrine of the Grace of God in Salvation in Jesus Christ. We must show that no man is saved ‘by the deeds of the Law’, by his own goodness or righteousness, or church membership or anything else, but solely, utterly, entirely by the free gift of God in Jesus Christ His Son…
We must preach the full-orbed doctrine leaving nothing out–conviction of sin, the reality of Judgement and Hell, free grace, justification, sanctification, glorification.
We must also show that there is a world view in the Bible … that here alone you can understand history–past history, present history, future history. Let us show this great world view, and God’s Eternal purpose…
Let us at the same time be very careful that we are giving it to the whole man … the gospel is not only for a man’s heart, that you start with his head and present Truth to it … Let us show that it is a great message given by God which we in turn pass on to the mind, to the heart, to the will. There is ever this danger of leaving out some part or other of man’s personality… Let us be certain that we address the whole man–his mind, his emotions and his will.
[May God use us to be His ambassadors, sharing the balanced, biblical Good News of Jesus.]
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Weapons of our Warfare, pg. 21-22.
For printed and audio resources, see http://www.mlj.org.uk/pg/meet MLJ?opendocument
“David Martyn Lloyd-Jones was responsible for the most vital period in the life of Westminster Chapel. A man of unparalleled intellect and prodigious sermonic output, he left his mark on both sides of the Atlantic—and around the world. Born in Wales in 1899, he grew up during the glow—and afterglow—of the great Welsh Revival, though he would come to spiritual maturity and clarity a bit later in life. The residual influences of that nation-wide awakening cannot be fully measured but were, no doubt, significant…” http://www.preaching.com/resources/past-masters/11597305/
[Biblical allusions by paragraph: Acts 20:27/ Rom 3:19-26/ Gal. 2:16; Rom. 6:23/ Matt. 10:28; Heb. 9:27; Rom. 8:29-30/ 1 Cor. 1:18-24/ See Isaiah 1:18. Title and italics added – JBW]