The Message for Today
A Sermon on Jeremiah 36:2-3
Originally preached Oct. 22, 1961
Scripture
2Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. 3It may be …
Sermon Description
Turning away from God has terrible consequences. Look no further than the Old Testament to see how the Israelites turned away from God and suffered terrible disaster. In this sermon on Jeremiah 36:2-3, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches on the need for all men to turn to God, and the consequences of not doing so. The Israelites had been delivered out of bondage and were in a special relationship with God, yet they rebelled and turned away from Him. Because of this, God brought judgement upon them as punishment for their sins. You may ask: what does this have to do with me? The answer is that Israel was like all men, living in sin and rebellion against God. Fallen humans naturally love sin more than they love God. Yet God has provided salvation and true forgiveness through Jesus Christ! No one is beyond salvation and redemption from all sin and evil. God has made a way for all the wayward and lost to be found. Do you trust in this Gospel? Or are you like the ancient Israelites, lost and wandering away from God?
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon begins by introducing the passage from Jeremiah 36 which describes King Jehoiakim burning the scroll containing Jeremiah's prophecies.
- The sermon's theme is examining how people confront difficult circumstances and situations in the world. The sermon looks at how people react to God's word and message in the midst of crisis.
- The first point is that God's message to humanity condemns sin and iniquity which is the root cause of humanity's problems. God also threatens punishment for sin.
- However, God calls people to repentance and offers forgiveness. The condition for forgiveness is repentance - acknowledging sin, confessing it and turning to God.
- Jeremiah was the last prophet sent by God to warn Israel before the Babylonian exile. He warned them for 22 years but the king responded by burning the scroll containing the prophecies.
- The king's reaction is a portrayal of the modern world's reaction to God's word. People today ignore, ridicule and reject God's word.
- The message of the Bible is the same today as in Jeremiah's time. It calls people to turn from sin to God.
- The king's reaction was not due to lack of intellect but rather due to pride, hatred of God and love of sin. People today react the same way by rejecting God's authority and word.
- The king's actions were foolish and futile. God and his word remain unchanged. Evil actions still lead to consequences. Death still comes to all. God will still judge the world.
- God's prophecies always come to pass. The king's defiance of God only brought him more trouble. Rejecting God's word today only brings more trouble.
- People should listen to God's word because it is God's message, it is right and true, it offers forgiveness and salvation, and rejecting it is inexcusable.
Sermon Q&A
How Did King Jehoiakim Respond to God's Word and What Does It Teach Us Today?
What was the incident involving King Jehoiakim that Dr. Lloyd-Jones examines in this sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones examines the incident recorded in Jeremiah 36, where King Jehoiakim of Judah was presented with a scroll containing God's warnings through the prophet Jeremiah. Rather than heeding the message, the king cut the scroll with his penknife, piece by piece, and threw it into the fire as it was being read to him, displaying contempt for God's word and refusing to receive the warning of judgment that was coming.
What was God's message through Jeremiah to Judah?
God's message through Jeremiah contained several key elements: 1. A condemnation of sin and iniquity - pointing out their rebellion against God and disobedience to His laws 2. A warning of impending punishment - God warned that disaster would come upon them through the Babylonian invasion 3. A call to repentance - "that they may return every man from his evil way" 4. An offer of forgiveness - "that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin"
The message was essentially calling the people to acknowledge their sin, turn back to God, and receive His forgiveness before judgment came.
Why do people reject God's word according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that people reject God's word not primarily for intellectual reasons but for moral and spiritual ones:
- Pride - People resent the suggestion of a superior authority and have supreme confidence in themselves
- Depravity - They love their sinful lifestyles and resent being told they're wrong
- Dislike of what God asks them to do - They don't want to live holy lives or submit to God's standards
- Bravado and defiance - They exhibit an arrogant disregard for consequences
- Natural enmity against God - "The natural mind is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be"
As Lloyd-Jones puts it: "It's not your great intellect, my friend. It's that it condemns your life."
What was the folly and futility of King Jehoiakim's action?
The king's action was utterly futile because:
- Burning the scroll changed nothing about the reality of God's judgment
- God remained unchanged by the king's rejection - "God is not affected by your opinions"
- God's word could not be destroyed - Jeremiah simply wrote another scroll with all the same words plus additional ones
- The facts remained - evil and sin still lead to trouble regardless of whether one acknowledges God's word
- God's prophecies always come to pass - what God said would happen to Jehoiakim did happen historically
As Lloyd-Jones states: "You can burn the book, you can reject the word of the Lord, but by so doing, you change nothing at all."
How does this ancient incident apply to people today?
This incident perfectly portrays the modern world's response to God's word. People today:
- Still reject and ignore God's message, though they may not literally burn Bibles
- Scorn and ridicule the Bible as outdated and irrelevant
- Are governed by the same pride and love of sin that motivated Jehoiakim
- Face the same inevitable consequences - "What God says, God does"
- Are offered the same gracious invitation to repent and receive forgiveness
Lloyd-Jones warns: "When the calamity comes to the world, as it will come," only those who have turned to God and accepted His offer of forgiveness in Christ will be safe.
Old Testament
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.