The Righteous Judgement of God, 2:1, 3:20 (Romans Series)

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Summary: Expository sermons to enhance faith and understanding
Review: This book contains sixteen expository sermons preached by Welsh evangelical Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones during Bible study evenings at London's influential Westminster Chapel in 1956/1957. Lloyd-Jones, who died in 1981, preached continuously on Romans for an incredible fourteen years, after which he began with the massive project of preparing his sermons for print. When, finally, the first volume appeared, it contained sermons on Romans 3:20 to the end of chapter 4; the series was continued until chapter 8, and only after Lloyd-Jones' decease did the publishers decide to print everything he had preached on Romans. Thus, this comparatively slim volume on Romans 2:1 to 3:19 (a mere 228 pages!) did not appear until 1989.

In these sermons Lloyd-Jones does what he always did best: He proceeds through his text verse by verse, explaining the context, examining important words and phrases and drawing out lessons for today. The Pauline passage in question is part of a kind of prolegomena to the Gospel. Paul had already, in the second half of his first chapter, proved that the Gentile world was steeped in sin and under the wrath of God. In his mind, he hears Jewish readers cheering him on, so he turns to them and proves that they also are sinners and subject to the judgement of God. In doing so, Paul not only quotes Old Testament Scripture, but also makes some points that he will come back to later, for example, that it is a person's life that matters and not his religious affiliation or his outward respect for religious rites such as circumcision. In this context, Paul makes his famous statement about what it means to be a Jew inwardly, and it is obvious at this point that he is mentally classing Christians from a heathen background as "true Jews".

Lloyd-Jones unravels this rather difficult material in a way that enhances faith and understanding. But he does not spend too long on individual points, thus making it easier to come to grips with what he (and Paul) are saying. I can recommend this volume to anyone who really wants to understand the message of Romans 2 and 3, with the proviso that a reader should probably read the volume on chapter 1 first. Anyone looking for a shorter, more modern, but theologically equally convincing book on Romans should look at John R. W. Stott's "The Message of Romans" (InterVarsity).