Cited in sermons
John Gill
1,025 sermons · All people cited
The Darkness of Depression
Proverbs 15:13 identifies the broken spirit as a genuine human affliction, and the broader witness of Scripture — from Elijah under the broom tree to the weeping prophet Jeremiah to the Saviour himself as a man of sorrows — confirms that depression and melancholy are realities in the lives of God's people, not marks of spiritual failure. This sermon works through the reality of depression, its manifold causes (physical, psychological, circumstantial, spiritual, and diabolical), and practical strategies for those who suffer and those who come alongside sufferers. The controlling remedy throughout is the means of grace: rest, diet, exercise, prayer, Scripture, and the gathered worship of God's people — with the warning that singing songs to a heavy heart, after the manner of Job's friends, is a pastoral failure Scripture explicitly condemns.
The Ninth Commandment: Part 2
The Ninth Commandment forbids not only perjury in a criminal court but all forms of lying, backbiting, slander, and gossip — sins Paul identifies as grieving the Holy Spirit within the church. The positive duty of the commandment requires active preservation of a neighbor's good name, charitable restraint of the tongue, and a settled love of truth grounded in the nature of God himself, who is the Lord God of truth, in contrast to the devil, who is a liar from the beginning. The threefold use of the law applies directly: the civil use restrains society from complete moral collapse, the pedagogical use exposes the sinner's need for Christ, and the normative use directs the redeemed — justified freely by grace through faith — in godly conduct toward one another. Every idle word will be accounted for on the day of judgment, making disciplined speech not optional but integral to the Christian life.
The Son of God and His Afflicted People
Matthew 14:22–33 presents Jesus walking on the sea as a revelation of His divine identity — the Son of God who, like Yahweh in Job 9:8 and Psalm 77:19, treads the waves. The disciples' terror, Peter's sinking faith, and the calming of the wind together drive toward the confession of verse 33: 'Truly, You are the Son of God.' The sermon draws out two complementary lessons: the people of God are not immune to prolonged trial and affliction, and the antidote to fear is not stoic resolve but the divinity of Christ — the Great I Am who sees His storm-tossed church and bids it be of good cheer.
The Salvation and Blessing of God
Psalm 3 presents David's threefold movement through affliction, conviction, and petition — not as private biography, but as a typological window onto the Lord Jesus Christ and, in union with him, the whole church. David's flight from Absalom prefigures Christ surrounded by enemies, crucified, raised, and exalted; the same enemies who said 'there is no help for him in God' echo across the centuries to Golgotha. The psalm teaches that affliction does not dissolve confidence in God but sharpens it: the shield, the glory, and the lifter of the head are unchanging realities that produce sleep in the midst of crisis and courage before ten thousands of adversaries. The closing declaration — 'salvation belongs to the LORD, your blessing is upon your people' — is the direct answer to every accusation that God has abandoned his own, and it is the ground on which the church is called to pray, to sing, and to stand without fear.
The Reign of the Son of the Most High
Psalm 2 sets the fallen world's rebellion against God and His Anointed within a framework of divine sovereignty, showing that the rage of nations and rulers against Yahweh and His Christ is both futile and answerable. The psalm unfolds in four movements: the insurrection of mankind against God, the installation of the Son as King on Zion, the revelation of the eternal decree establishing the Son's universal inheritance, and the exhortation to kiss the Son in saving faith. Christ is identified as the eternal, only-begotten Son of the Father whose resurrection vindicates His divine Sonship, and whose worldwide reign is not yet complete but is advancing through the gospel mission entrusted to the church. The psalm closes with both a warning to the impenitent and a promise of blessedness to all who trust in Him.
Who Are the Sons of God?
Galatians 3:26–29 declares that all who believe in Christ are sons of God through faith — not through ethnic descent from Abraham, physical circumcision, or adherence to the Mosaic law. This sermon works through the status, redemptive ground, sign, and unity of that sonship, demonstrating from Matthew 3, John 8, Romans 2 and 9, and Ephesians 2 that children of God are defined by union with Christ rather than by nationality, social condition, or sex. The threefold negation of Galatians 3:28 directly demolishes the Judaizing confidence in Israelite birth, free status, and maleness, and points instead to the covenant of grace in which all believers are equally heirs of the promise. The sermon closes with a call to rest in the alien righteousness of Christ as the sole ground of adopted sonship.
The Mission and Ministry of the Church
What is the mission and ministry of the church, and how does the apostolic pattern in Acts 2 define both? This sermon works through Acts 2:22–42, showing that the church's mission is the proclamation of Christ — his life, atoning death, resurrection, and exaltation — accompanied by the killing work of God's law that convicts sinners of their guilt and drives them to the Savior. The ministry that follows is shaped by the four marks of the early church in verse 42: steadfast continuance in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer — the simple means by which God feeds his blood-bought people.
The Citizenship of the Believer
The enemies of the cross of Christ are not merely mistaken but are heading toward eternal destruction — and the Apostle Paul warns of them with tears. Expounding Philippians 3:18–21, this sermon identifies the Judaizers as those enemies: their god is their belly, their glory is in their shame, and their minds are set on earthly things. Against that dark backdrop, the believer's citizenship in heaven is a present legal possession that demands an eager anticipation of Christ's return, a purifying of life in light of that coming, and a deliberate seeking out of godly examples to follow rather than the many who walk the broad road to destruction.
The Third Appearance of Christ to the Disciples, Part 3
John 21:20–25 closes the fourth gospel with two interlocking concerns: the sovereign headship of Christ over His church and the divine authority of Holy Scripture. Peter's question about John's fate draws a sharp rebuke — 'What is that to you? You follow me' — which exposes the temptation to play the victim of providence rather than the contented subject of Christ's will. The passage then grounds the church's authority in the eyewitness testimony of the beloved disciple, written by the Spirit for one declared purpose: that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ and have life in His name. The sermon closes with John's doxological acknowledgment that the infinite Word made flesh exceeds all possible description, and calls every hearer to follow Christ in their appointed station rather than fixate on the lot of others.
The Pattern for the Christian Life
Philippians 3:17 calls believers to join in following the Apostle Paul's example and to identify others in the local church who walk the same way. The sermon argues that faithful Christian examples are not found among social-media influencers but among ordinary, persevering saints whose lives are grounded in justification by faith alone, followed by sanctification, perseverance, and glorification. Paul's example is examined across four dimensions — his conversion, his life as a believer, his ministry, and his suffering — with particular attention to the courage and gospel-centrality displayed throughout Acts. The sermon's application presses the responsibility squarely on individual believers: they must actively seek out faithful examples in the congregation rather than waiting for examples to come to them.
The Refuge for God's People
Psalm 46 sets an axiomatic foundation — God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble — from which the necessary inference follows: therefore we will not fear. This sermon works through the psalm's four movements: the affirmation of God's presence (vv. 1, 7, 11), the demonstration of God's power amid cosmic and political chaos (vv. 2–6), the contemplation of God's proven works in history (vv. 8–9), and the sovereign command of verse 10. The titles 'Lord of hosts' and 'God of Jacob' ground the psalm's confidence in both the divine warrior who fights for his people and the covenant Lord who cannot be separated from them — a comfort the New Covenant believer holds with even greater fullness in Christ.
2LCF Chapter 12 - Of Adoption
The twelfth chapter of the 1689 London Baptist Confession treats adoption as a distinct benefit of the gospel, flowing necessarily from justification and grounded solely in God's sovereign grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. This study traces the basis of adoption — its recipients (the justified), its source (God's free vouchsafing), and its ground (the merit of Christ alone) — before working through the four categories of benefit the confession enumerates: inclusion in the family of God, reception of privileges (the divine name, the Spirit of adoption, bold access to the throne of grace), fatherly treatment (pity, protection, provision, and chastening), and the inheritance of everlasting salvation. A sustained contrast between Paul's juridical language of adoption and John's language of new birth demonstrates that both apostles teach the same doctrine from different vantage points, while an extended excursus on Hebrews 9–10 applies the Old Covenant / New Covenant contrast to rebut the paedobaptist argument for an internal-external continuity between the covenants. The children of God are called to live out their adoption by walking in love, light, and wisdom as Ephesians 5 commands.
The Third Appearance by Christ to the Disciples
John 21:1–14 operates on two levels simultaneously: the ordinary scene of a fishing trip and breakfast, and the symbolic portrait of the church's mission under the risen Christ. The passage is read as a paradigm for gospel ministry — the disciples' commitment, challenge, and conviction in fishing corresponds to the church's calling to preach the gospel to all nations, while Jesus directing the catch, preparing breakfast, and eating with His disciples illustrates His abiding authority and presence with His church. The sermon applies this to a recovery of ordinary, patient faithfulness in church life against the pressure of 'radical Christianity' performance culture, insisting that Christ is sovereign over the results of gospel proclamation and that the church's task is obedient casting of the net.
The Appearance of Christ to Thomas
John 20:24–31 presents Thomas not merely as a doubter but as an obstinate man who refuses to believe the resurrection unless his own conditions are met — rejecting the Old Testament prophets, the repeated predictions of Christ, and the apostolic testimony of ten eyewitnesses. Christ responds not with rebuke but with sovereign grace, appearing again on the Lord's Day and inviting Thomas to examine the wounds that sealed a finished atonement. The confession that follows — 'My Lord and my God' — is the theological and experiential crown of the fourth gospel, answering John's own stated purpose in verses 30–31: that through the written word, those who have not seen may nevertheless believe and have life in Christ's name.
The Conversion of Paul, Part 4
Philippians 3:10–11 presents sanctification and glorification as necessary and inseparable consequences of justification by faith alone (v.9). The knowledge of Christ described in verse 10 is experiential, practical, theologically correct, and constitutes the very essence of eternal life — but it includes not only the power of Christ's resurrection (newness of life, union with Christ, definitive breach with sin) but also the fellowship of His sufferings and conformity to His death, which are not redemptive but inevitable for all who side with a crucified Savior in a hostile world. Verse 11 then sets forth glorification — the resurrection of the righteous — as the confident hope that sustains perseverance through the difficulties of sanctification. The sermon draws on 1689 LBCF 11.2 and Westminster Larger Catechism 77 to show that faith which justifies is alone as an instrument, yet never alone in the person justified, being ever accompanied by all other saving graces.
The Appearance of Christ to the Disciples
John 20:19–23 presents two interlocking realities: the presence of the risen Christ among His fearful disciples on the first day of the week, and the commission He gives them to carry His gospel into the world. The peace Christ pronounces is not a generic greeting but the fruit of His atoning wounds — the satisfaction of divine justice that reconciles guilty sinners to God. From this the sermon argues that the church's entire mission is delimited by Christ's own sending: not entertainment, social uplift, or political activism, but the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins through the crucified and risen Lord, empowered by the promised Holy Spirit.
The Resurrection of Christ
The resurrection of Christ is the foundation of Christian hope, the confirmation of Old Testament prophecy, and the grounds of both justification and coming judgment. Working through John 20:1–10, this sermon examines the discovery and investigation of the empty tomb by Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the beloved disciple John, noting the eyewitness character of the narrative and the theological significance of the burial cloths. The shift from the seventh-day Sabbath to the first day of the week is grounded in Hebrews 4 and the pattern of new creation. The empty tomb preaches comfort to the believer and the certainty of judgment to the unbeliever, calling all to repent and believe on the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
The Conversion of Paul, Part 2
Philippians 3:8–9 presents the Apostle Paul's radical revaluation of all things in light of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus as Lord. Working through verse 8, this sermon traces three movements: Paul's declaration that he counts all things loss, his motivation in the excellence of the knowledge of Christ, and his conviction that everything else — past religious pedigree, present suffering, future comfort — is rubbish compared to gaining Christ. The sermon argues that justification by faith alone is the sole ground of acceptance with God, the only defense against the devil's accusations, the only source of true peace, and the only sure foundation of assurance — grounding each application in Paul's own apostolic biography and in Romans 8 and Romans 5.
The Burial of Christ
The burial of Jesus Christ in John 19:38–42 and Matthew 27:62–66 is not a peripheral narrative detail but a theological linchpin between the humiliation of the cross and the triumph of the resurrection. Through the actions of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus — two secret disciples emboldened by the death of Christ — the gospel accounts establish the true humanity of the Son of God, confirm the reality of his death against ancient and modern denials, and set the stage for the empty tomb. The security measures taken by the Sanhedrin, far from suppressing the resurrection, served only to make the miracle undeniable and the wrath of men an instrument of God's glory. Sinners are called to receive the gospel as historical fact: that Christ died for sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day.
The Sixth Commandment, Part 1
The sixth commandment, 'You shall not murder' (Deuteronomy 5:17), forbids not only the external act of unlawful killing but also the internal dispositions of hatred, unwarranted anger, and the assassination of another's character. The sermon establishes that the Hebrew term rendered 'murder' carries the specific sense of premeditated, intentional killing, thereby distinguishing murder from accidental homicide, negligent homicide, and three categories of lawful killing: capital punishment, just war, and self-defense. The bulk of the study undertakes a biblical theology of the death penalty, tracing it from the Noahic covenant in Genesis 9:6 through the Mosaic legislation and into the New Testament witness of Acts 25 and Romans 13:1–4, arguing that capital punishment is a non-abrogated, common-grace ordinance binding on all civil governments. Christians are called to think biblically about civil government, to pray for just magistrates, and to reject the cultural sentimentalism that has displaced God's revealed standard for the punishment of murderers.
The 5th Commandment
The fifth commandment — 'Honor your father and your mother' (Deuteronomy 5:16) — demands far more than a recipe for happy families; it is a covenantal obligation rooted in God's own authority and binding on every generation. This study examines the command under three heads: its explanation (the Hebrew word for 'honor' connoting weightiness and reverence), its scope (extending beyond the family to all superior-inferior relationships in church, workplace, and commonwealth), and its sanction (from the rod of correction in Proverbs to the capital sentence of Deuteronomy 21). The promise appended to the command — long life and general wellbeing — is understood as a principle of divine providence, not an absolute guarantee, and the study closes with the duty of superiors to govern those beneath them in a godly and nurturing way.
The Glorious Curse Bearer
Galatians 3:10–14 presents the law's curse as a judicial sentence of divine condemnation from which no sinner can escape by obedience, since perfect and perpetual law-keeping is universally failed. Christ, the covenant champion, redeemed his elect by becoming a curse in their place — bearing the wrath due them, answering on a mountain at a tree the curse that entered the world on a mountain at a tree. The blessing of Abraham — the imputation of Christ's righteousness received through faith alone — comes not through circumcision, ceremony, or ethnic connection to the covenant community, but through union with the crucified and risen Christ. Those outside Christ remain justly under divine condemnation; those in him are freed from the curse and heirs of all the promises of God.
The Crucifixion of Christ, Part 3
John 19:28–29 records the fifth of the seven sayings of Christ from the cross: 'I thirst.' This exposition examines Christ's sovereign knowledge that all things were accomplished, the fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture — particularly Psalm 69 — in his cry, and the significance of the sour wine offered on hyssop. The sermon argues that Christ's thirst demonstrates both his true humanity and the completion of his redemptive mission, and calls both believers and unbelievers to come boldly to the throne of the sympathetic Savior who drained the cup of divine wrath on behalf of his people.
The Description of Discipleship
Matthew 16:24–27 sets out the terms of Christian discipleship: self-denial, cross-bearing, and the daily following of Christ. The sermon distinguishes a superficial willingness to die for Jesus from the harder, quieter obedience of living for him — reading Scripture, praying, attending the assembly, and ordering family life under the Word. The whole argument is framed by the eschatological contrast between temporal gain and eternal loss, with the coming judgment of the Son of Man serving as the decisive motivation for prioritising Christ over wealth, comfort, and self. Justification by faith alone is never undermined; rather, the life of discipleship is presented as the necessary and inevitable fruit of genuine saving grace.
The Clarity of Apostolic Preaching - Galatians 3:1-4
Paul's rebuke in Galatians 3:1–4 confronts the Galatian churches for being 'bewitched' away from a gospel that had been proclaimed to them with unmistakable clarity. The sermon traces three elements: the pastoral severity of Paul's charge of folly, the transparent sufficiency of apostolic preaching that set Christ crucified visibly before the Galatians, and Paul's measured appeal to their own experience of receiving the Spirit through faith rather than works. The central burden is that any addition to the finished work of Christ — however subtle — is not a lesser error but a bewitching delusion that empties the cross of its glory and replaces the peace of the gospel with bondage.
The Power and Wisdom of God
How can God justify the ungodly without compromising his justice, and why does the design of salvation leave no room for human boasting? Expounding 1 Corinthians 1:30–31 against the backdrop of Paul's extended contrast between divine and worldly wisdom, this sermon traces the source, content, and goal of every spiritual blessing the believer possesses. Christ is shown to be the believer's righteousness, sanctification, and redemption not as a description of the Christian's progress but as an objective account of what he accomplished as the covenant head of his people. The sermon concludes that because union with Christ is the sole ground of salvation, all glory belongs to God alone — a truth Paul anchors in Jeremiah's call to glory only in the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
The Cry of Dereliction
What does Christ mean when he cries 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' from the cross? This sermon on Matthew 27:45–46 carefully distinguishes what the cry of dereliction does not mean — no ontological division within the Trinity, no dissolution of the hypostatic union, no suffering of all three persons — before arguing that it expresses Christ's true humanity as our surety bearing the punishment of loss: the withdrawal of the Father's smiling favor and consolatory presence as the Son satisfies divine justice for the sins of his people. The sermon draws extensively on Psalm 22 to show that the forsakenness is covenantal and substitutionary, not metaphysical, and closes with a call to believe on the crucified and risen Christ who cried this cry so that his people never will.
The Crucifixion of Christ
How did it come to pass that the only holy, harmless, and undefiled man who ever lived was led out to be crucified between two criminals? John 19:16–24 answers on two levels: on the surface, the wickedness of men — Pilate's cowardice, the Sanhedrin's envy, the multitudes' manipulation — and beneath it, the sovereign, predetermined purpose of God who sent His Son to be the Lamb of God, the substitute for sinners. The sermon traces the location at Golgotha as the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15, the charge written by Pilate as an unwitting confession of Christ's kingship, and the conversion of the dying thief as the paradigm case of saving faith — seeing nothing but a bloodied, dying man on a cross and confessing Him as Lord of a kingdom.
The Commendation of Epaphroditus
Philippians 2:25–30 presents Epaphroditus as a model of Christian ministry and other-mindedness, embodying the very exhortation Paul gave in Philippians 2:3–4 to esteem others above oneself. The sermon examines the three titles Paul assigns Epaphroditus in relation to himself — brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier — and his two roles in relation to the Philippian church — messenger and minister. The Christian life, and pastoral ministry in particular, is shown to be genuine warfare requiring devotion, discipline, and diligence. The church is called to receive and esteem men who hazard their lives for the work of Christ, recognising that to neglect such men is to demean the ascended Christ who gives them as gifts to his church.
The Decision of Pilate
Pilate's encounter with the condemned Christ in John 19:5–16 exposes three interlocking realities: Pilate's own tension between justice and political cowardice, the divine authority behind all earthly power, and the sovereign verdict that sends the Son of God to the cross. The crowd's cry "Crucify him" and Pilate's capitulation, far from frustrating God's plan, enact it — the last Adam standing in judgment to accomplish what the first Adam forfeited. The sermon calls every hearer to look in faith to the one delivered up by divine appointment, receiving through his blood the forgiveness and imputed righteousness that alone secures acceptance before God.