Sanctification - the Different Views
February 11, 2025
Every Christian still battles with sin. But how should Christians approach this issue? The doctrine of sanctification is filled with hope, and in this sermon on the different views of sanctification, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones guides the listener through the different views of this doctrine. Sanctification means to be set apart for God and His service, to be made holy. Though it doesn’t remove sin, it is the process by which the Holy Spirit removes the pollution of that sin and shifts desires from disobedience to God-honoring behavior. How long does sanctification take, and when in a person’s spiritual journey does it take place? Dr. Lloyd-Jones walks through the various perspectives and aids the believer in reaching a biblical understanding of the answers. Some Christians have asked, “Why does it matter to study a doctrine that doesn’t determine where someone will spend eternity?” Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains it is the Christian duty to search for the truth in all areas of life and study. Without knowing the truth, believers can become vulnerable to believing false doctrine and fall prey to heresies. Studying truth helps believers to avoid this, and it aids in growing them closer to Christ. Praise God that He does not abandon His children after saving them, but rather actively molds them into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.
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Past Episodes
Adoption is a beautiful picture of selflessness and the strong protecting the vulnerable. To be a Christian means to be adopted into God’s family. Christians are chosen by God and brought into His family through no righteousness of their own. In this sermon on adoption, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains through Scripture how God transfers His people from children of wrath to His family as sons and daughters. Christians have been freed from sin’s bondage and are grafted into God’s eternal family. Some teachers have claimed this to be of no effect and instead support a universal fatherhood of God and universal brotherhood of all people— yet, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones proves, that view is unbiblical. Similar to physical adoption, spiritual adoption has beneficial consequences for the believer: namely, the release from a spirit of bondage and fear into a spirit of liberty, unhindered access to the Father, and God’s present protection, consolation, and perfect provision for every need and the promise of a future inheritance.
February 10, 2025
“Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” The author of Hebrews 11 is clear: the path to pleasing God is paved by saving faith. Faith is the channel through which salvation in Jesus Christ is given to a believer. What exactly is faith? Is there a place for reason? In this sermon on saving faith, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones analyzes the two elements of saving faith through the lens of Scripture: an assent to the truth of Christianity, and a firm commitment to living it out. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains, the latter is needed to understand Jesus’s teachings on a life of full surrender. Though faith involves the mind and intellect, it also involves the heart. Additionally, Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents the case for why faith and reason are not at odds with each other, as is commonly claimed today by secularists. Though reason can lead to many conclusions about God and His word, it can only take a person so far— belief in Christ and not one’s works or mental assent is needed. Nothing else in this world will satisfy.
February 9, 2025
What is the difference between repentance and remorse? In this sermon on repentance, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones addresses the incredible weight of these topics that separate eternal life from death. Repentance is a turning from sin to Christ. It is a genuine regret and full confession of sin. But how does it differ from worldly remorse? Dr. Lloyd-Jones carefully explains that while repentance involves feelings of anguish and guilty remorse, it is repentance that results in a change of mind. Worldly remorse will cry, but not forsake and turn away from sinful activities. The gospel message must call others to submit their life to Christ, not just feel bad about their sin. Only once one has been saved can they come to know the joy of discipleship, forgiveness, and move forward in Christian living. For the gospel message to be believable, the world must see transformed lives, lives redeemed from eternal death.
February 8, 2025
False converts are more common than one might think. True conversion is an act of God upon the human heart. But what exactly are characteristics of a true conversion? In this sermon on conversion, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tackles these questions, showing how conversion is the first exercise of the new nature in ceasing from old forms of life and starting a new life. For the new convert, it is the moment at which one passes from spiritual death to eternal life in Christ. Imposters throughout church history claim to accept Jesus and then turn from Him after a period of time. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones points out, it is entirely possible to undergo a counterfeit, temporary conversion if one submits to a false gospel based on feelings or experiences. “Yet,” Lloyd-Jones notes, “the defense of the Christian faith must not rest on something we experience, but on its objectivity.” True salvation is not based on whimsical feelings but on two essential factors of salvation. Believers are less concerned with personal experiences and emotions, and instead yearn to know God Himself.
February 7, 2025
In this sermon on union with Christ, Dr, Martyn Lloyd Jones states that “The union of the believer with Christ is one of the most glorious doctrines of the Christian faith.” What makes this biblical doctrine extremely beautiful and incredibly vital to one’s understanding of Christian living? How does it differ from the false views of eternity and spirituality? In this sermon, Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches what it means to be permanently, irrevocably united with Christ. Christians are now partakers of the divine nature, complete through His priestly work. Their relationship with God is personal and individual. There is no need for Catholicism’s idea of an intermediary as the relationship is not dependent on a church or priest. Beginning with the mystics, a view of eternity and spirituality has emerged that reduces a person after death to no more than a part of the spiritual aura surrounding the universe. Dr. Lloyd-Jones cuts through this false view and demonstrates the beauty of the Christian worldview where Christians maintain a distinct personhood throughout now and eternity, while still enjoying the divine nature due to the union with Christ.
February 6, 2025
What is regeneration, and how can one know if it has taken place in their life? In this sermon on regeneration titled “A Child of God in Christ,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tackles these questions as he leads through key passages in 1 John and Galatians. Dr. Lloyd-Jones systematically shows how salvation is proven in the life of a believer. Regeneration occurs when God implants spiritual life into people. Authentic regeneration proves itself in those who are living under the lordship of Jesus Christ as they outwardly demonstrate His holiness. But what does it look like? A genuine believer will show this regeneration in their love of other believers, conviction over sin, and desire for spiritual things. No one can produce this on their own. Regeneration means union with Christ. As Jesus taught in the gospels, a believer’s relationship with Him is similar to the interaction of a vine and its branches—just as a branch cannot thrive or survive without the support from the vine, change in the life of a believer cannot take place apart from that person’s union with Christ.
February 5, 2025
Why do some believe in Christ’s message while others do not? In this sermon titled on the new birth, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones answers this by appealing to the biblical doctrine of the new birth. This new birth is an act of God by which He regenerates the hearts and minds of fallen people. From this act of regeneration comes the new life with new desires and dispositions. This new person lives a Spirit-empowered life that evidences the supernatural work of Christ. In this it is seen that regeneration does not merely change one’s standing with God, but it transforms their very hearts and minds. Because this new life is brought about by the work of the Spirit, it is kept by the work of the Spirit so that once a person has been born again they cannot lose this new nature. The new person cannot become old again, for it is the Spirit that forms and keeps them. Once the Spirit transforms the believer, they will seek a life that honors Christ. This seeking of Christ and His kingdom do not make a person new, but it is the result of the Spirit regenerating them and making them a new creation in Christ Jesus the Savior.
February 4, 2025
How does God remove sin and make a person new? In this sermon on regeneration, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that it is the result of the work of God’s Holy Spirit applying the work of Christ to the hearts and minds of those that are called according to His will. When people are granted the gift of God’s grace by the work of the Spirit, they are transformed and renewed. They are new creatures and part of the new creation that Christ has brought and will bring. The transformation that is brought about by regeneration does not change the substance of people, but it renews their minds and gives them new desires. These new Spirit-gifted dispositions result in a new life. This is the life of the Christian who seeks to love God and their neighbor. It causes them to love new things that they once despised, and it causes them to hate old things that they once loved. This is brought about by the sovereign work of God in the life of sinners that He chooses to renew and adopt into His family. This work cannot be directly perceived, nor can it be understood fully, but it is the beginning of the new life. It is a rebirth that wholly and completely reorients the will and desires of a once sinful people. It is the fountainhead of the new life in Christ.
February 3, 2025
The gospel call goes to all, but only some are saved. Some are not saved. What’s the difference? In this sermon titled “Effectual Call,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones examines that while the gospel call goes to all, this effectual calling goes to those who will be saved. On its own, humanity is incapable of any true spiritual activity. No one can know the things of God. How, then, does one ever come to the point of discerning and delighting in the truth of God? Dr. Lloyd-Jones traces the theology of this effectual calling through the Scriptures. In it, he demonstrates that this effectual call is what enables Christians to receive the gospel. It is the internal operation of the Holy Spirit upon the souls of humanity. It produces change. And since this calling is the work of the Spirit, it is absolutely certain. The called person will now desire the truth of God. They are able to know the things of God. This is not something they have done for themselves, but it is the work of God. They are, therefore, debtors to mercy alone. Listen, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones declares, “I am what I am by the grace of God.”
February 2, 2025
What is so unique about Pentecost? Certainly, it was not the first time the Holy Spirit had come upon a believer. Yet, there must be something special about this occurrence. What is the significance of the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 at Pentecost? In this sermon on the significance of Pentecost, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explores the operation of the Spirit throughout the Old Testament, contrasting the Spirit’s work among the Old Testament saints with the Spirit’s work in the New Testament. In Acts, the Spirit is poured out upon all believers in a way which unites the diverse people of God into one body. Listen as he examines this Jerusalem event, followed by similar outpourings in Samaria and Ephesus. What one discovers is that the result of Pentecost is the formation of the church of Christ. The body of Christ is welded together into one. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that this event happened once, never again to be repeated. The church has been established and from that point on, every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit in His fullness. The listener is led to praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells with them and is in them.
February 1, 2025
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FREE Bible Study & Sermons: The Second Coming
The Second Coming of Christ is a dominant theme in the New Testament. In this study, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the doctrine of the Second Coming is one of the most important for the Church to understand, since it is used by the Apostles to encourage Christians to persevere in the face of persecution.
About From the MLJ Archive
From the MLJ Archive is the Oneplace.com hosted ministry of the MLJ Trust. Our mission is to promulgate the audio ministry of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
About Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981) has been described as "a great pillar of the 20th century Evangelical Church". Born in Wales, and educated in London, he was a brilliant student who embarked upon a short, but successful, career as a medical doctor at the famous St Bartholemew's Hospital. However, the call of Gospel ministry was so strong that he left medicine in order to become minister of a mission hall in Port Talbot, South Wales. Eventually he was called to Westminster Chapel in London, where thousands flocked to hear his "full-blooded" Gospel preaching, described by one hearer as "logic on fire". With some 1600 of his sermons recorded and digitally restored, this has left a legacy which is now available for the blessing of another generation of Christians around the world — "Though being dead he still speaks".
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