March 31 Daily Devotional

The Gospel—still our only hope

We say [that the only hope for men is to believe the gospel of Christ], knowing full well all the talk about science and learning and culture. We say so knowing that, at the end of this war,* the world, in exactly the same way as at the end of the last war, will announce with confidence its plans and schemes for a new world, without taking any account of what the gospel has to say.

Why do we say so? For precisely the same reasons adduced by St. Paul [Romans 1:16]: ... he is proud of the gospel because it is God's way of salvation.... At once we see that it possesses an authority which is quite unique. For all other ideas with respect to life and its problems are man-made. At their best and highest, they never get beyond the realm of speculation and supposition.... The great minds and the profoundest thinkers ... end by admitting that the ultimate prob­lems of life are shrouded in mystery....

The very fact that there are so many different and differing schools of thought bears eloquent testimony to this uncertainty and inability.... But there was another fact ... which proved how inadequate all the schools were finally. And that was the endless number of religions that were to be found.... We see a perfect picture of this in Acts 17 as regards Athens. The same was true of Rome and all other great cities....

Paul had something essentially different to offer and to preach. He knew of the other systems. But he also knew their limits and their inability to solve the problems. He could not make his boast in men and their systems. Before he could boast of a system, it must have authority; it must have certainty. The gospel Paul preached was not speculation; it was a revelation from God Himself [Gal. 1:11, 12]. There was no need to be ashamed of such a message. And it is precisely the same today.

The Plight of Man and the Power of God, pp. 79-81

* Written in 1942

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“Text reproduced from ‘A First Book of Daily Readings’ by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, published by Epworth Press 1970 & 1977 © Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes. Used with permission.”

Comments on D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, A First Book of Daily Readings

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