The Acceptable Year of the Lord

Luke 4:19 — What is the acceptable year of the Lord? In this sermon on Luke 4:19 Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones looks at the year of jubilee in the Old Testament where every seven years slaves were set free and land was returned to its original owners. He shows that this looks forward to the day when God’s chosen would be redeemed in Christ and set free from sin. People in sin are like those in bondage and awaiting the year of jubilee to set them free. It is Christ Jesus who is the ultimate fulfillment of this promise and it is by His death, burial, and resurrection that salvation comes to all who believe. This shows clearly that salvation is not brought about by one’s good works or even initiative, but salvation is wholly something God has done for His people. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains, this is what it means for salvation to be a work of God’s grace apart from human merit. This is why it is a grave error to reduce Jesus Christ to nothing more than a moral example, because Jesus came to die for the sins of many, not simply to provide an example to follow. Christianity is fundamentally about what God has done, is doing, and will do by His grace.