Cited in sermons
John Murray
170 sermons · All people cited
The Gracious Invitation of Christ
Matthew 11:25–30 sets before the reader three interlocking realities that ground Christian thanksgiving: the sovereign will of the Father who hides gospel truth from the self-sufficient and reveals it to the humbled, the mediatorial office of the Son who alone has authority and power to reveal the Father to sinners, and the gracious invitation of Christ who calls the weary and sin-laden to come, receive rest, take His yoke, and learn from Him. The sermon works through six observations on verses 28–30 — the exhortation to come, the persons addressed, the promise of rest, the call to submit, the invitation to learn, and the light burden of discipleship — demonstrating that justification precedes sanctification and that the gospel call is issued indiscriminately to all. Hearers are urged to study the law until the weight of sin is felt, to flee to Christ rather than away from Him, and to respond to sovereign grace with daily, unreserved thanksgiving.
Free Grace Baptist Church - October 2, 2019 Bible Study
Genesis 28 records God's sovereign confirmation of the Abrahamic covenant blessing to Jacob at Bethel — a man fleeing for his life after his own deception, yet met by Yahweh in a dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder between heaven and earth. The passage is expounded under three movements: Jacob's relocation to Padanaram, Esau's futile attempt to secure parental blessing through marriage, and Jacob's vow at Bethel. The dream is interpreted on two complementary levels — as a declaration of divine providence over Jacob's solitary journey, and as a messianic anticipation of Christ as the one mediator between heaven and earth, the interpretation Christ himself provides in John 1:51. The chapter marks a turning point in Jacob's life, from grasping deceiver to worshipping covenant-keeper, and sets a paradigm for all Israel of worship, tithing, and trust in Yahweh's faithfulness.
The Justice of God and the Gospel
Proverbs 17:15 declares that justifying the wicked and condemning the just are alike an abomination to God — yet the gospel does precisely both: God condemned the sinless Christ and justifies ungodly sinners. This sermon works through the theological architecture that vindicates God from any charge of self-contradiction in the gospel, tracing the doctrines of covenant representation and imputation from Genesis through the Prophets and into Paul's argument in Romans 3–5. The three acts of imputation — Adam's sin to all mankind, the elect's sin to Christ, and Christ's righteousness to the elect — are shown to be the biblical answer to the problem Proverbs 17:15 raises, grounding assurance in an alien righteousness received by faith alone.
From Alienation to Reconciliation
Colossians 1:21–23 sets the condition of fallen humanity — alienated from God, hostile in mind, and characterised by wicked works — against the sovereign act of divine reconciliation accomplished through the incarnation and substitutionary death of Christ. This sermon works through Paul's three-part description of man's former state before turning to the means and goal of reconciliation: the bodily death of Christ to present his people holy, blameless, and above reproach. The exposition closes with a call to perseverance grounded not in the believer's resolve but in the completed work of the one who reconciles, redeems, and saves to the uttermost.
The Joy of Keeping God's Law
Proverbs 29:18 sets before us two contrasting conditions: the lawlessness that follows the absence of God's revealed word, and the happiness that accompanies obedience to that word. This sermon works through the classic Reformed threefold use of the law — civil/political, pedagogical, and normative — applying the first two uses to the unbeliever and the third to the justified believer. The practical conclusion is that keeping God's law is simultaneously a consequence of justifying faith, a means of promoting assurance of salvation, and an expression of gratitude to God for sovereign grace.
The Ark of God in Philistia
When the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant and placed it beside Dagon in his temple, they intended to display Yahweh's subservience to their god — but twice Dagon fell prostrate before the Ark, and on the second occasion his head and hands broke off. This sermon expounds 1 Samuel 5 in two movements: the humiliation of Dagon in his own house (vv. 1–5), and the heavy hand of Yahweh striking Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron with devastating judgment (vv. 6–12). The text teaches both the self-sufficiency and supremacy of God, who needs no one to prop him up, and the inexcusable folly of every form of idolatry — including the subtler, coercive idolatry of seeking to manipulate God for personal comfort that threatens the professing church today.
The Judgment of God upon Idolaters
Romans 1:18–32 expounds Paul's indictment of Gentile idolatry as the root of all human unrighteousness, demonstrating that ungodliness — the rejection of the true and living God — inevitably produces the full range of moral disorder catalogued in verses 29–31. General revelation renders every person without excuse before God, yet it is insufficient to save; only the special revelation of the gospel, culminating in the propitiation of Romans 3:21–26, provides the antidote to mankind's idolatrous condition. The sermon traces the descent from suppressed knowledge of God through exchanged glory, divine abandonment, and catalogued vice, and closes by calling hearers to identify their own idols — theological, material, and self-oriented — and to look to Christ alone for justification.
The Bible and Capital Punishment
Capital punishment is not a relic of Old Testament severity but a universal, creation-order ordinance grounded in the image of God and confirmed in the New Testament — and therefore not in tension with a pro-life ethic but demanded by it. Expositing Genesis 9:6 and Romans 13:1-4, this sermon argues that God commissioned the civil magistrate to wield the sword as His appointed agent of retributive justice precisely because human life bears divine dignity. Common objections — from the Sixth Commandment's 'thou shalt not kill,' to Christ's handling of the woman caught in adultery, to the fear that execution forecloses repentance — are examined and answered on biblical grounds. Hearers are called to embrace the full counsel of God's Word on civil ethics, to resist the moralizing of secular humanism, and to see in God's hatred of bloodshed the very reason every sinner needs the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.
The Bible and Abortion
Abortion is not merely a political question but a theological one, demanding that Christians know what Scripture says about the pre-born. Working through Exodus 20:13 and Exodus 21:22–25, this sermon establishes the Sixth Commandment's prohibition of murder, grounds the sanctity of human life in the doctrine of the image of God (traced from creation through the incarnation), and demonstrates from the Mosaic case law that even accidental harm to a pre-born child carried the full force of the lex talionis — life for life. The sermon closes by addressing the church's responsibility to preach both law and gospel, to vote and live consistently with the conviction that abortion is both sin and crime, and to extend the forgiveness of Christ to those who have been party to this particular transgression.
The Murder of Naboth
The murder of Naboth in 1 Kings 21 exposes the converging wickedness of covetousness, false witness, state-sponsored murder, and spineless complicity — and then the righteous judgment of God upon those who perpetrate injustice against the innocent. Ahab's sullen greed and Jezebel's ruthless manipulation demonstrate that when idolatry prevails in a society, the whole second table of the law collapses with the first. God's intervention through Elijah, and his surprising mercy even toward Ahab's outward remorse, grounds both a warning for the wicked and a gospel call to the penitent: if God showed regard to so shallow a humiliation, how much more will he receive in Christ those who come to him with genuine repentance.
The Riches and the Poverty of Christ
Second Corinthians 8:9 packs a vast Christology into a single verse: the eternal Son, rich as the second person of the Trinity and agent of creation and providence, became poor through incarnation, a life of rejection, and death on the cross — not by divesting himself of deity (kenosis is rejected), but by addition, taking on humanity while remaining fully God. The hypostatic union — one person, two natures — is shown to be not academic abstraction but the doctrinal foundation that motivates Christian liberality and sustains joy. Believers are called to count their spiritual riches: justification, sanctification, and glorification secured by Christ's poverty, all received by grace through faith.
Genesis 9:1-7
Genesis 9:1–7 establishes the Noahic Covenant, which mandates capital punishment as a universal and perpetual ordinance rooted in the image of God — not merely an Old Covenant provision for Israel. This study addresses common biblical objections (Exodus 20:13, Matthew 5:38–42, John 8) and pragmatic objections (deterrence, innocence, forgiveness), arguing that none successfully overthrow the divine mandate of Genesis 9:6, which is confirmed and not abrogated by the New Testament. The session urges listeners to think carefully from Scripture rather than from cultural sentiment, trusting that God's law concerning criminal justice reflects his character and serves the stability of the created order.
Genesis 9:1-17
Genesis 9:1–17 records the establishment of the Noahic covenant, a common grace covenant God makes with all flesh — universal in scope and perpetual in duration — to preserve the created order as the stage for the proclamation of the gospel. The passage divides into the covenant's stipulations (vv. 1–7) and its sign (vv. 8–17), with the stipulations covering the propagation of life, provision through diet, and the protection of life via capital punishment. The theological ground of the death penalty is the image of God: to murder a man is to assault the divine image, and the only commensurate response is execution by the civil magistrate. Romans 13:1–4 confirms that this mandate is not confined to the Mosaic economy but continues wherever civil government wields the sword as God's appointed avenger.
2LCF Chapter 30 - Of the Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is a divinely instituted ordinance of the new covenant, commanded by Christ and belonging to the gathered church until His return. Walking through 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith chapter 30, this study examines the purpose, nature, celebration, elements, and recipients of the Supper — contrasting the Reformed understanding with the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation. The Supper is neither a sacrifice of atonement nor a reward for obedience, but a means of grace through which God confirms and nourishes the faith of believers, binds them to Christ and to one another, and stirs them toward renewed obedience and praise.
The Purpose of the Proverbs
Proverbs 1:2–7 sets out both the purpose and the prerequisite of the entire book of Proverbs. The purpose is comprehensive — to impart wisdom, instruction, and just judgment to the simple, the young, the wise, and every condition of man — while the prerequisite is singular: the fear of the Lord, which is not a natural attainment but a gracious work of God in the soul. The fear of God is shown to be the epistemological foundation of all true knowledge, the animator of righteous conduct, and the preserver of the soul — available only through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one greater than Solomon in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.
Genesis 2:15-17
Genesis 2:15–17 presents Adam not merely as a gardener but as a priest-guardian of a garden-temple, placed under a divine probation that Reformed theology identifies as the Covenant of Works. The study defends the presence of a genuine covenant in this passage despite the absence of the word 'covenant,' marshalling the elements of covenant structure, the covenantal name Yahweh Elohim, and later biblical commentary in Hosea 6:7, Isaiah 24, and Romans 5. The argument presses to a pointed soteriological conclusion: a deficient understanding of the Covenant of Works predictably produces a deficient understanding of the Covenant of Grace, opening the door to the error of faith plus works in justification. The remedy is to see the Covenant of Grace as the Covenant of Works kept for sinners by the Lord Jesus Christ, whose active and passive obedience is imputed to all who believe.
Of Baptism (2LCF29)
Baptism, as confessed in chapter 29 of the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (2LCF), is examined here as a divine and mediatorial ordinance instituted by Jesus Christ for the New Testament church. The exposition grounds the doctrine of baptism in a web of interconnected doctrines — Scripture, the covenant of grace, effectual calling, union with Christ, and the regulative principle of worship — demonstrating that believers' baptism by immersion is the necessary conclusion of consistently applied Reformed theology. The confession's fourfold structure is traced: what baptism is, to whom it is properly administered, in what element, and by what mode, with sustained argument from Romans 6, Galatians 3, Mark 16, and Matthew 28 that only professing believers are lawful recipients of the ordinance.
The Empty Tomb and the Risen Lord
The empty tomb of Matthew 28:1–10 is not merely an absence but a proclamation: Christ was raised bodily from the dead by the Father, vindicating His atoning work and confirming every prophetic word He spoke. The sermon works through the discovery of the empty tomb by the women and the appearance of the risen Lord, attending carefully to the apologetic weight of the narrative details — the guards' terror, the invitation to examine the tomb, the folded graveclothes, and the physical feet of Jesus grasped in worship. The message closes with 1 Corinthians 15, pressing the stakes of the resurrection: without it, faith is futile and sin remains unatoned; because Christ is risen, justification, sanctification, and glorification are secured for all His brethren.
Of the Civil Magistrate (2LCF24)
The civil magistrate exists by divine appointment, not by social contract or popular consent, and this confession-study exposition of 2LCF Chapter 24 establishes the theological ground for that claim from Romans 13, 1 Peter 2, Proverbs 8, and Genesis 9. Three questions are addressed in sequence: the divine origin of civil government, the lawfulness of Christian participation in public office, and the Christian's duty of submission to governing authorities. The power of the sword — including capital punishment and just war — is shown to belong to the magistrate's God-given office, rooted in the Noahic covenant and confirmed in the New Testament. Christians are called to submit to all lawful civil commands, to refuse only what requires disobedience to God, and to pray persistently for those in authority.
The Sixth Commandment
The sixth commandment, 'You shall not murder' (Deuteronomy 5:17), rests upon the foundation of the imago Dei — the conviction that every human being, from the pre-born to the elderly, bears the image of the Creator, and that to assault an image-bearer is to assault God himself. The sermon distinguishes murder from lawful killing, arguing from Genesis 9, Exodus 22, and Romans 13 that capital punishment, self-defense, and just war are not violations of the commandment but are grounded in the same principle that makes murder heinous: the sanctity of human life. Modern applications — abortion, euthanasia, and the neglect of capital punishment — are examined in light of both Old and New Testament texts, and the sermon closes by directing those who have participated in these sins to the pardoning grace of Christ.
Redemption Accomplished
The sixth word from the cross — 'It is finished' (John 19:30) — is a single Greek verb carrying the full weight of accomplished redemption. This sermon works through the explanation and then the application of that cry, showing that Christ's tetelestai declares the fulfillment of messianic Scripture, the termination of Old Covenant types and shadows, the completion of the Father's redemptive plan, and the full accomplishment of redemption: active righteousness secured, divine wrath exhausted, the devil defeated, sin finished, every spiritual blessing purchased, and death itself marked for destruction. The application presses the church to rest her comfort and security not in her own performance but in the finished work of Christ alone, the only ground of justification by faith.
2 Kings 8
2 Kings 8 traces three interlocking narrative threads — the restoration of the Shunammite woman's land, the assassination of Syria's king Ben-Hadad by Hazael, and the moral defection of Judah's kings Jehoram and Ahaziah — all set within the larger context of God's prophesied judgment against the house of Omri announced in 1 Kings 19. The chapter demonstrates God's comprehensive, unrivaled sovereignty over individual lives, foreign nations, and royal dynasties alike, as every piece moves toward the purge of Jehu. A recurring application drives the exposition: the knowledge of God must issue in worship and obedience, not mere fascination, and ungodly alliances — whether political or marital — carry devastating consequences across generations.
The Righteousness of David
Romans 4:5–8 announces that God justifies the ungodly, and the Apostle Paul calls David as a witness to that doctrine. This sermon works through the theology of David in 2 Samuel 22, Psalms 2, 18, 32, 51, 110, and 130 to show that David's celebrated righteousness is not his own moral achievement but the imputed righteousness of Christ, received by faith. David's recognition of his own sin, his understanding of atonement, his grasp of the doctrine of imputation, and his personal faith in the coming Messiah together resolve the apparent tension between his notorious moral failures and his claim to cleanness of hands. The sermon calls hearers to approach the Lord's Supper not in mere introspection over sin but in joyful confidence in the righteousness of David's greater Son.
2LCF Chapter 19 - Of the Law of God
God's moral law — first written on Adam's heart in the covenant of works, codified in the Ten Commandments at Sinai, and distinguished from the temporary ceremonial and judicial laws of Moses — remains perpetually binding on all humanity because it perfectly expresses the unchangeable holy character of its divine Author. This study works through chapter 19 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, examining the original revelation of the law, its survival after the fall, the threefold distinction of moral, ceremonial, and judicial law, and the abiding obligation of the Decalogue across all covenants. The threefold use of the moral law is treated in sequence: its civil use in restraining sin, its pedagogical use in exposing sin and driving the conscience to Christ, and its normative use in directing the regenerate life of the believer. Believers are called to embrace the moral law not as a covenant of works but in gratitude, enabled by the Spirit through the ordinary means of grace, standing in Christ's righteousness alone before the holy lawgiver.
The Truth Concealed and Revealed
Matthew 11:25–30 presents three interlocking realities that together form the foundation of gospel rest: the sovereign will of the Father in concealing and revealing gospel truth, the exclusive mediatorial office of the Son as the only means of access to the Father, and the gracious invitation of Christ to sinners burdened by sin. The sermon argues that a right understanding of divine sovereignty — including both election and reprobation — should produce not polemical pride but the thankfulness and praise modeled by Christ himself in verse 25. Sinners are called to come to Christ by faith alone, receiving rest from the burden of sin, and to take up his yoke in discipleship, which the Savior himself declares easy and light.
Of Sanctification (2LCF 13)
What does it mean to be sanctified, and how does that work itself out in the Christian life? Working from 2LCF Chapter 13 and Ephesians 4:17–24 as a core text, this teaching distinguishes definitive sanctification — the once-for-all, irreversible breach with the dominion of sin that occurs at union with Christ — from the progressive sanctification that follows as the Spirit applies Christ's death and resurrection to the believer's daily conflict with the flesh, the world, and the devil. The confession's three paragraphs frame the exposition: the inception and source of sanctification in Christ's virtue, the imperfect yet real struggle with indwelling sin, and the certain progress of grace toward evangelical obedience. Believers are called to reckon themselves dead to sin, take up the means of grace daily, and press on toward holiness as those who are already God's special possession.
Of Justification (2LCF 11)
Justification — the forensic declaration by which God accounts and accepts sinners as righteous — is examined through the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, chapter 11. The confession distinguishes justification sharply from sanctification: it is not an infused or imparted righteousness but an imputed one, grounded entirely in Christ's active obedience to the law and passive obedience in His death. Faith, itself a gift of God and not a human contribution, is the sole instrument by which the justified receive and rest on Christ's righteousness. The sermon closes by tracing the ongoing practical realities of the justified life — including fatherly displeasure, confession, and the impossibility of falling from the state of justification — and by drawing on J.C. Ryle to clarify precisely how justification and sanctification are alike yet distinct.
The High Priest of the New Covenant
Hebrews 7:20–28 presents Christ's high priesthood as superior to the Levitical order in three respects: His appointment was confirmed by divine oath rather than hereditary succession, His priesthood is permanent because He lives forever, and His personal sinlessness qualifies Him as the perfect once-for-all sacrifice. The passage presses toward a practical conclusion: believers must actively avail themselves of this High Priest — confessing sin through their Advocate, crying out for aid in temptation, and resting in the unchangeable intercession of the One who always lives to make intercession for them.
The Fear of God
Proverbs 1:7 declares that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, yet this disposition is widely misunderstood and neglected among professing Christians. This topical survey distinguishes slavish fear from filial fear, demonstrates from Romans 3, Jeremiah 32, and the book of Proverbs that true fear of God is a gracious implantation sovereignly worked in the regenerate soul, and traces its necessary effects on the mind, the conduct, and the perseverance of believers. The sermon closes by calling both individual believers and the corporate assembly to cultivate this fear — in personal holiness, in theological engagement, and in God-directed, regulative-principle worship.
The Preeminence of Christ
John 3:22–30 records John the Baptist's final official testimony concerning Christ, and in it the preeminent greatness of a man whose greatness lay entirely in his humility. Confronted by disciples troubled that Jesus was drawing larger crowds, John offers four responses grounded in God's sovereignty: the origin of his ministry was from heaven, its purpose was always to announce the Messiah, his joy was fulfilled precisely when the bridegroom's voice was heard, and Christ must increase while he must decrease. The sermon applies this pattern to every believer, arguing that humility is not directly cultivated but is the byproduct of being increasingly occupied with Christ, and that the cross is the only path to that self-forgetful life.