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The sermon teaches that fallen humanity has no native spiritual power to begin or complete true goodness, conversion, or salvation. Christ is the source of spiritual life, while the Holy Spirit must illuminate the mind, renew the will, sustain holiness, and empower gospel work. This doctrine is intended not merely to produce despair, but to destroy presumption and direct sinners and believers to God’s grace. Christians are therefore called to humility, prayer, and ministry carried out in dependence on divine strength, with all glory returned to God.
Theological center: Sovereign divine grace is necessary for and sufficient to produce spiritual life, salvation, holiness, and fruitful gospel labor, so that God alone receives the glory.
Applications: Depend on Christ daily · Pray before serving · Labor in God’s strength · Lay down personal glory
Primary texts: John 15:5 · 2 Corinthians 3:5 · Psalm 62:5
“Without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5 CONSCIOUS of this truth in my own case, I would earnestly seek the help of God’s Spirit in preaching as in every other spiritual exercise, for, without Him I can do nothing. It is a remarkable fact that all the heresies which have arisen in the Christian church have had a decided tendency to dishonor God and to flatter man. They have always had for their covert, if not for their open aim, the exaltation of human nature, and the casting down of the sovereignty of divine grace. Robbing God of the glory which is due unto His name, these false prophets would shed a counterfeit luster upon the head of the rebellious and depraved creature. On the other hand, the doctrines of the Gospel, commonly known as the doctrines of grace, are distinguished for this peculiarity above every other, namely, that they sink the creature very low, and present the Lord JEHOVAH before us as sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. So true is this, that the most uneducated Christian may, even if he is incapable of refuting an erroneous discourse, always be able to discover its untruthfulness, if it glorifies man at the expense of God. The merest babe in grace may carry this test with him, in the midst of the diversities of opinion with which he is surrounded, he may always judge, and judge infallibly too, of the truth or falsehood of a doctrine by testing it thus—“Does it glorify God?” If it be so, it is true. “Does it exalt man?” Then it must be false. On the other hand, does it lay man very low, and speak of him in terms which tend to make him feel his degradation? Then doubtless it is full of truth. And does it put the crown upon the head of God, and not upon the head of man’s free will, or free agency, or good works? Then assuredly it is a doctrine according to godliness, for it is the very truth of the Lord our God. My text—the very word of Christ, contains in it a doctrine which belongs to the class of those which speak against the vaunting of humanity, casting down its high hopes—and scorning its proud looks, and to the same degree this sentence honors Christ and lifts Him up in the estimation of all His people. This morning I shall speak of my text thus—Jesus said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” First, this is true of His saints in matters relating to themselves, secondly, this is even more manifestly true of unconverted and unregenerate men, and thirdly it will be found by experience to be equally a fact if we look at saints in relation to sinners, without Christ the most earnest saint can do nothing whatever for the conversio…