Martyn Lloyd-Jones

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (born December 20, 1899 in Cardiff , † March 1, 1981 in Ealing (London) ) was a Welsh Reformed preacher and medicin . In the twentieth century he had a great influence on the Reformed wing of the evangelical movement in Britain through his preaching . He was a preacher at Westminster Chapel in London for nearly 30 years . He expressly opposed liberal theology and called it the wrong path. In addition, he was an opponent of a tolerant, liberal approach to churchliness and encouraged evangelical Christians, especially from the Anglican congregations, to leave their denomination. In his view, true Christian fellowship is only possible among Christians who share common beliefs.

Life

Youth, work as a doctor and vocation as a preacher

Lloyd-Jones grew up in Llangeitho , Ceredigion . His father was a grocer, he had two brothers, one of whom, Harold, died during the Spanish flu in 1918. His brother Vincent became a judge on the High Court of Justice. Llangeitho is associated with the Welsh Methodist revival because Daniel Rowland preached in that town . Lloyd-Jones attended Grammar School between 1914 and 1917 and then started as a medical student at St Bartholomew's Hospital . In 1921 he began as an assistant doctor to the Royal Doctor Sir Thomas Horder (1st Baron Horder). Lloyd-Jones received his PhD from the University of London and continued his studies with the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians . During this time he struggled because he felt a calling to preach. In 1927 he went to Aberavon ( Port Talbot in Wales). He accepted an invitation from a congregation to preach there. In the meantime he had married Bethan Phillips, with whom he later had two daughters, Elizabeth and Ann.

Westminster Chapel

Westminster Chapel 2009

After a decade in Aberavon, he returned to London in 1939, where he had been appointed associate pastor of Westminster Chapel . He worked there alongside G. Campbell Morgan . The day before its introduction, World War II broke out in Europe. In the same year he also became President of the Inter-Varsity Fellowship of Students . During the war, Lloyd-Jones moved his family to Haslemere , Surrey . In 1943 Morgan retired, leaving Lloyd-Jones to pastor at Westminster Chapel.

Lloyd-Jones was famous for his style of interpreting the Bible through its own words ( expository preaching ). His Sunday morning church services and evening sermons drew thousands of listeners, and the Friday evening Bible studies, which were just such sermons, were attended by crowds. Lloyd-Jones took many months, sometimes even years, to interpret individual chapters of the Bible verse by verse. His sermons lasted anywhere from fifty minutes to an hour and were frequented by students at universities and colleges in London. Transcriptions and reprints of his sermons were verbatim published on Westminster Records .

The Evangelical Dispute

Lloyd-Jones sparked heated discussion in 1966 when at the National Assembly of Evangelicals he called on all leaders with evangelical convictions to leave denominations, which include both liberal and evangelical churches. This has been applied primarily to Christians in the Church of England , although it is not clear whether this was its main intention. As an influential figure to the people of free churches , Lloyd-Jones hoped to encourage Christians with evangelical views to withdraw from churches that held other views.

Lloyd-Jones, however, was harshly criticized by the leading Anglican evangelical John Stott . Although Stott was not on the speakers list, he used his position as chairman of the event to publicly contradict Lloyd-Jones. He found that this opinion went against history and biblical tradition. (John Stott admired Lloyd-Jones' work and often quoted him in his own books). This open exchange of blows between two leading British evangelicals became widespread in the Christian press and sparked significant controversy.

The following year, the first National Evangelical Anglican Congress took place, held at Keele University . On the occasion of this conference, evangelical Anglicans committed themselves to full cooperation in the Church of England, largely due to Stott's influence, and rejected Lloyd-Jones' separatist approach.

These two conferences set the course for much of the British evangelical community. Even if the discussion about the exact opinion of Lloyd-Jones continues, it undoubtedly resulted in the split into two groups with opposing views. These positions and the following separation continue to this day.

Retirement

Lloyd-Jones finished his field service at Westminster Chapel in 1968 after undergoing major surgery. In his Friday night Bible study, he talked about God making him stop preaching about Romans because he personally didn't know enough about the "joy in the Holy Spirit". This would have been the text of his next sermon ( Rom 14:17  ELB ). For the rest of his life he focused on editing his sermons, advising other ministers, answering letters, and attending conferences. One of his most famous publications is a 14-volume commentary on Romans, the first volume of which was published in 1970.

Although he lived most of his life and work in England, Lloyd-Jones was proud of his roots in Wales. He expressed his condolences for his home country most clearly through his support for the Evangelical Movement of Wales : he was a regular speaker at conferences. There he preached in English and Welsh . Since his death, the movement has published various books in English and Welsh with a selection of his works.

Lloyd-Jones last preached on June 8, 1980 at the Barcombe Baptist Chapel . After a busy life, he died peacefully in his sleep in Ealing on March 1, 1981, St. David's Day . He was buried in Newcastle Emlyn , West Wales. A thanksgiving service was held at Westminster Chapel on April 6th.

Various publications about Lloyd-Jones and his work have been published since his death. Best known is a two-volume biography by Iain Murray .

legacy

Martyn Lloyd-Jones' daughter Elizabeth and her husband Fred Catherwood , at Eden Baptist Church , Cambridge, 2012.

Charismatic movement

Martyn Lloyd-Jones has admirers from a wide variety of denominations. A much-discussed aspect of his legacy is his connection to the Charismatic Movement . Respected by many churches in this movement, he taught the baptism of the Spirit as a specific experience as opposed to the idea of ​​conversion and renewal by the Holy Spirit. In fact, towards the end of his life, he pushed his listeners more strongly to seek an experience with the Holy Spirit. In his interpretation of Eph 6: 10-13  ELB , for example, he writes:

Do you know anything about this fire? If you don't know about it, confess it to God and admit it. Repent and ask Him to send His Spirit and pour His love into you until you are melted and moved, until you are filled with His divine love and know His love for you and rejoice in it as His child and look to you Hope of glory to come. 'Do not quench the spirit , but rather be' filled with the spirit 'and' rejoice in Christ Jesus' (Eph. 4:30).

Part of Lloyd-Jones' emphasis on the need for Spirit baptism was based on his belief that it creates an overwhelming assurance of God's love, and thereby enables Christians to openly testify of faith in an unbelieving world.

In addition to emphasizing that baptism with the Holy Spirit is a different work of Jesus Christ from salvation, Lloyd-Jones also contradicted the view that the effects of the Holy Spirit with tongues prayer, prophetic word, and healing died out with the first apostles be. He believed that this claim was not based on the testimony of Scripture. In fact, he decreed that the Banner of Truth Trust , the publisher he co-founded, could not publish his works on the subject until after his death. He believed that people who took the position of cessationism , such as BB Warfield , "quench the mind." He proclaimed that it was necessary for God to be active in the world and that it was necessary for him to miraculously demonstrate his power so that preachers who were generally hostile to true God and Christianity could be heard in the world.

I think it is without any biblical basis to say that all these gifts ended with the apostles or in the apostolic time. I believe there have been undoubted miracles since then. At the same time, most of the miracles invoked by Pentecostals and others certainly do not fall into this category and can be explained psychologically or in other ways. I also believe that most, if not all, of the people who claim to speak in tongues today are certainly under psychological rather than spiritual influence. And yet I would not dare to say that "speaking in tongues" is impossible today.

Sermons

Lloyd-Jones wasn't ready to preach live on television. - Only one or two records are known. His rationale for this was that this type of “controlled” preaching, bound by time limits, fights against freedom of spirit. So he meant that the preacher should be free to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit in terms of the length and time allotted for him. He recorded a scene in which he asked a television officer who asked him to preach on television, “What would happen to your program if the Holy Spirit suddenly came down on the preacher and filled him, what about your program happen? ".

Probably the greatest influence of Lloyd-Jones has to do with his sermons. Lloyd-Jones was one of the most influential preachers of the 20th century. Many volumes of his sermons have been published by Banner of Truth and other publishers. In his book Preaching and Preachers , Lloyd-Jones describes his views on preaching and homiletics . In this book he defines preaching as "logic on fire".

This definition can be applied to his sermons from different angles: On the one hand, he believed that logic was vital for the preacher. But his perspective on logic was different from that of the Enlightenment . That is also the reason why he called his homiletics logic "on fire" . The fire comes from the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Lloyd-Jones assumed that preaching was the logical demonstration of the truth of any given passage in Scripture with the help or anointing of the Holy Spirit. This view can best be described in terms of his own sermons. True preaching was always explanatory to him. The main purpose of the sermon for him was to expose and unfold the main message of the passage. Once the main message was outlined, he would logically unfold the subject and demonstrate that it is a biblical teaching using other passages of the Bible and using logic to show the practical implications for the listener. With this hermeneutical approach he tried in his book Preaching and Preachers to warn young preachers against preaching in a "commentary-style" or a "topical style".

Lloyd-Jones' style of preaching was therefore characterized by a thorough interpretation of biblical teaching and his fire and passion in execution. It stood in the Puritan tradition of experimental preaching . A famous quote about the effects of Lloyd-Jones' preaching comes from James Innell Packer , who wrote that he "would never have heard such preaching". It seemed to him like the "power of an electric shock that brought at least one of his listeners more experience of God than anyone else".

In one of his sermons, Lloyd-Jones himself shared the work of the Holy Spirit as he experienced it while preaching.

I repeat for the glory of God, this pulpit is the most romantic place in the universe as far as I'm concerned for the reason that I never know what will happen when I get here. No way. My pre-feelings are often destroyed by both sides. That's wonderful. You see, the temptation for the preacher is to think that what he has prepared as a sermon and what he considers to be a good sermon makes a beautiful service; however, this can sometimes be a very bad one. On the other hand, the poor man may have had a very difficult and challenging week. It may be that he was very sick, a thousand and one things happened to him and perhaps he went into the pulpit with fear and trembling, feeling that he had not done his job; He has nothing. And yet it can be one of the most glorious services he has ever had the privilege of performing. Why? Because he doesn't control the power in the Holy Spirit. It is different. And not just in preaching, but also in daily life and experience. It is the source of water that is within us and that we do not control. She controls us.

Lloyd-Jones was also a major supporter of the Evangelical Library in London.

Recordings Trust

Shortly after his death, a voluntary association was formed to continue his ministry by making records of his sermons available. Today, 1,600 sermons are available from the organization and a weekly radio program is broadcast with the material.

Works

• (2003) [1939], Why Does God Allow War? A General Justification of the Ways of God , Crossway (originally Hodder & Stoughton), ISBN 978-1-58134-469-1 .
• (1973) [1942], The Plight of Man and The Power of God , Marshall Pickering (originally Abingdon), ISBN 978-0-7208-0097-5 .
• (1956) [1951], Truth Unchanged, Unchanging , James Clarke (originally Revell).
• (2011) [1953], From Fear to Faith: Studies in the Book of Habakuk , IVP, ISBN 978-1-84474-500-5 .
• (1984) [1958], Authority, The Banner of Truth Trust (originally IVP), ISBN 978-0-8515-1386-7 .
• (1976) [1958], Studies in the Sermon on the Mount , Eerdmans, ISBN 978-0-8028-0036-7 .
• (2008) [1963], Faith on Trial: Studies in Psalm 73 , Christian Focus (originally IVP), ISBN 978-1-84550-375-8 .
• (1998) [1964], Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures (2nd revised ed.), Marshall Pickering (originally Eerdmans), ISBN 978-0-5510-3165-4 .
• (1971) Preaching & Preachers , Hodder & Stoughton; Zondervan.
• (1971a) [1970], Romans, An Exposition of Chapters 3: 20-4: 25 - Atonement and Justification , Zondervan (originally Banner of Truth), ISBN 978-0-310-27880-1 .
• (1971b), Romans, An Exposition of Chapter 5 - Assurance , Banner of Truth.
• (1972), Romans, An Exposition of Chapter 6 - The New Man , Banner of Truth.
• (1981) [1972], God's Way of Reconciliation: An Exposition of Ephesians 2 , Banner of Truth (originally Baker), ISBN 978-0-85151-299-0 .
• (1973), Life in the Spirit in Marriage, Home and Work: An Exposition of Ephesians 5: 18-6: 9 , Baker.
• (1973), Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 1 - The Gospel of God , Banner of Truth.
• (1974) Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 7: 1-8: 4 - The Law: Its Functions and Limits , Banner of Truth.
• (1974), Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 8: 5-17 - The Sons of God , Banner of Truth.
• (1975) Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 8: 17-39 - The Final Perseverance of the Saints , Banner of Truth.
• (1976), The Christian Warfare: An Exposition of Ephesians 6: 10-13 , Grand Rapids: Baker.
• (1977), The Christian Soldier: An Exposition of Ephesians 6: 10-20 , Baker.
• (1978), God's Ultimate Purpose: An Exposition of Ephesians 1 , Baker.
• (1979) The Unsearchable Riches of Christ: An Exposition of Ephesians 3 , Baker.
• (1980), Christian Unity: An Exposition of Ephesians 4: 1-16 , Baker.
• (1982) Darkness and Light: An Exposition of Ephesians 4: 17-5: 17 , Baker.
• (1983), Evangelistic Sermons at Aberavon , Banner of Truth.
• (1983), Expository Sermons on 2 Peter , Banner of Truth.
• (1984) Joy Unspeakable: Power and Renewal in the Holy Spirit , Kingsway.
• (1986) The Cross: God's Way of Salvation , Crossway.
• (1987), The Puritans: Their Origins and Successors , Banner of Truth
• (1987) Revival , Crossway.
• (1989) Knowing the Times: Addresses Delivered on Various Occasions, 1942-77 , Banner of Truth.
• (1989) Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 2: 1–3: 20 - The Righteous Judgment of God , Banner of Truth.
• (1992), What Is an Evangelical? , Banner of Truth.
• (2002) [1993], Catherwood, Christopher, ed., The Life in Christ: Studies in 1 John, 1 - Fellowship with God , Crossway, ISBN 978-1-58134-439-4
• (1993), Life in Christ: Studies in 1 John, 2 - Walking with God , Crossway.
• (1994), Life in Christ: Studies in 1 John, 3 - Children of God , Crossway.
• (1994), Life in Christ: Studies in 1 John, 4 - The Love of God , Crossway.
• (1994), Life in Christ: Studies in 1 John, 5 - Life of God , Crossway.
• (1994) Letters: 1919-1981 , Banner of Truth.
• (1995) Out of the Depths: Restoring Fellowship with God , Crossway.
• (1996), Old Testament Evangelistic Sermons , Banner of Truth.
• (1997), Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 10 - Saving Faith , Banner of Truth.
• (1997), True Happiness: An Exposition of Psalm One , Bryntirion.
• (1996), Great Doctrines of the Bible, 1: God the Father, God the Son , Crossway.
• (1997), Great Doctrines of the Bible, 2: God the Holy Spirit , Crossway.
• (1998), Great Doctrines of the Bible, 3: The Church and the Last Things , Crossway.
• (1999), The Life of Joy and Peace: An Exposition of Philippians , Baker Books, ISBN 978-0-8010-5816-5 .
• (1999), God's Way Not Ours: Sermons on Isaiah 1: 1-18 , Banner of Truth.
• (1999), Let Everybody Praise the Lord: An Exposition of Psalm 107 , Bryntirion.
• (1999), Authentic Christianity: Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, 1: Acts 1-3 , Banner of Truth.
• (1999), Romans, An Exposition of Chapter 11 - To God's Glory , Banner of Truth.
• (2000), Romans, An Exposition of Chapter 12 - Christian Conduct , Banner of Truth.
• (2000), The Assurance of Our Salvation: Exploring the Depth of Jesus Prayer for His Own (Studies in John 17) , Crossway.
• (2000), Heirs of Salvation: Studies in Biblical Assurance , Bryntirion.
• (2000), Studies in the Book of Acts, 1: Authentic Christianity , Crossway.
• (2001), Studies in the Book of Acts, 2: Courageous Christianity , Crossway.
• (2001), Authentic Christianity: Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, 2: Acts 4-5 , Banner of Truth.
• (2001), True Happiness: Psalms 1 and 107 , Crossway.
• (2002), Life in Christ: Studies in 1 John (The Original Five Volumes in One), Crossway.
• (2003), Authentic Christianity: Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, 3: Acts 5: 17–6: 8 , Banner of Truth.
• (2003) Great Doctrines of the Bible 1-3 , Crossway.
• (2003), Romans, An Exposition of Chapter 13 - Life in Two Kingdoms , Banner of Truth.
• (2003), Romans, An Exposition of Chapter 14: 1-17 - Liberty And Conscience , Banner of Truth.
• (2003), Studies in the Book of Acts, 3: Victorious Christianity , Crossway.
• (2004), Studies in the Book of Acts, 4: Glorious Christianity , Crossway.
• (2004), Authentic Christianity: Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, 4: Acts 7: 1-29 , Banner of Truth.
• (2005), The All-Sufficient God: Sermons on Isaiah 40 , Banner of Truth.
• (2005) Seeking the Face of God: Nine Reflections on the Psalms .
• (2006), Authentic Christianity: Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, 5: Acts 7: 30-60 , Banner of Truth.
• (2006), Authentic Christianity: Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles, 6: Acts 8: 1-35 , Banner of Truth.
• (2007), Raising Children God's Way , Banner of Truth.
• (2008), The Christian in an Age of Terror: Sermons for a Time of War , Kregel.
• (2009), The Gospel in Genesis: From Fig Leaves to Faith , Crossway.
• (2009), Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled , Crossway.
• (2009), Living Water: Studies in John 4 , Crossway.
• (2010) The Kingdom of God , Crossway.
• (2011), Out of the Depths: Psalm 51 , Christian Focus.
• The Power Within (AUDIO, sermon), MLJ trust.

German translations

• United in truth - the true path to unity , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 1998 and 2003, ISBN 978-3-935188-46-3
• Gott - der Sohn , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2001
• Sermon on the Mount - But I tell you, Volume 1 , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2002
• I am certain - sermons on 2 Timothy 1:12 , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2002
• Totally fatal - sermons about Isaiah 5 , Waldems 2002
• God and His Church - From Beginning to End Times , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2003
• Sermon on the Mount - Our Father in Heaven, Volume 2 , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2004
• 365 good prospects - devotions for every day , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2005
• The sermon and the preacher , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2005
• The spiritual battle - Living as a Christian , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2006
• Characteristics of a Christian - Living as a recognizable Christian , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2008
• Step by Step , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2009
• The Christian and the World - Setting an example as a Christian , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2009
• God alone is enough! - Isaiah 40 , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2009
• Step by step - out of resignation , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2009
• Acts of the Apostles - Sermons on the Acts of the Apostles , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2011
• From damnation to forgiveness - God's plan of salvation in the first book of Moses , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2011
• Back to God - Psalm 51 , 3L-Verlag, Waldems 2012

literature

• Andrew Atherstone, David Ceri Jones (Eds.): Engaging with Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The life and legacy of "the Doctor" . Nottingham 2011: IVP / Apollos.
• Philip H. Eveson: Travel With Martyn Lloyd-Jones . Day One 2004
• John Stott: The message of the Sermon on the Mount: Christian counter ‐ culture . The Bible Speaks Today (2nd ed.), Inter-Varsity Press (1992) [1978], ISBN 978-0-85110-970-1 .

Web links

• The Martyn Lloyd-Jones Recordings Trust .
• Living Grace Radio Program at One place.
• Martyn Lloyd-Jones Online at Mister Richardson.
• Desiring God , John Piper on Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
• Quotes at Lamb Lion Net.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Eveson 2004, pp. 7-8.
2. ↑ Eveson 2004, p. 41.
3. ^ Paul Cook: Evangelicalism in the UK , Evangelical Times . February 2007. Retrieved December 19, 2011. 
4. ↑ Thirty Years of Hurt? Alan Gibson, Evangelicals Now
5. ^ The Living God . In: The Evangelical Magazine of Wales, April 1981
6. ↑ John Piper: A Passion for Christ-Exalting Power , Bethlehem Conference for Pastors: Desiriŋ God (January 30, 1991)
7. ↑ Do you know anything of this fire? If you do not, confess it to God and acknowledge it. Repent, and ask Him to send the Spirit and His love into you until you are melted and moved, until you are filled with his love divine, and know His love to you, and rejoice in it as his child, and look forward to the hope of the coming glory. 'Quench not the Spirit', but rather 'be filled with the Spirit' and 'rejoice in Christ Jesus'. Lloyd ‐ Jones 1976, p. 275
8. ↑ ^{a b c d} John Piper: A Passion for Christ-Exalting Power . January 30, 1991, Bethlehem Conference for Pastors: Desiriŋ God.
9. ^ The Living God ( July 8, 2008 memento in the Internet Archive ) In: The Evangelical Magazine of Wales, April 1981 2008-07-08 ( July 8, 2008 memento in the Internet Archive ); editor's note confirms regular attendance at Ministers' Conferences
10. ↑ I think it is quite without scriptural warrant to say all these gifts ended with the apostles or the apostolic era. I believe there have been undoubted miracles since then. At the same time most of the claimed miracles by the Pentecostalists and others certainly do not belong to that category and can be explained psychologically or in other ways. I am also of the opinion that most, if not all, of the people claiming to speak in tongues at the present time are certainly under a psychological rather than a spiritual influence. But again I would not dare to say that “tongues” are impossible at the present time. Letter to Dr. Gerald Golden ", September 1969.
11. ↑ Lloyd ‐ Jones, p. 248.
12. ↑ "militates against the freedom of the Spirit." Lloyd ‐ Jones, p. 248
13. ↑ "What would happen to your programs if the Holy Spirit suddenly descended upon the preacher and possessed him; what would happen to your programs?" Lloyd ‐ Jones, 1971, p. 248
14. Jump up ↑ The Ten Greatest Preachers of The Twentieth Century , Michael Duduit, Preaching Magazine, (republished by John Mark Ministries).
15. ^ Preaching and Preachers, Zondervan 1971
16. ↑ Lloyd ‐ Jones, 1971, pp. 304-25
17. ↑ Lloyd ‐ Jones 1971, pp. 64-80
18. ↑ "never heard such preaching." It came to him "with the force of electric shock, bringing to at least one of his listeners more of a sense of God than any other man". Piper
19. ↑ I say it again to the glory of God, this pulpit is the most romantic place in the universe as far as I'm concerned, and for this reason, that I never know what's going to happen when I get here. Never. My anticipations are often falsified on both sides. This is wonderful. The temptation for the preacher, you see, is to think that if he has prepared what he regards as a good sermon, it's going to be a wonderful service, and it sometimes can be a very bad one. On the other hand, the poor man may have had a very difficult and a trying week. He may have been very ill, a thousand and one things may have happened to him, and he may go into the pulpit with fear and trembling, feeling that he hasn't done his work; he's got nothing. And it may be one of the most glorious services he has ever had the privilege of conducting. Why? Because he doesn't control the power [within the Holy Spirit]. It varies. And not only in preaching but in daily life and experience. It is the well of water that is within us and we don't control it. It controls us. Lloyd-Jones, The Power Within
20. ^ Murray: D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith . Edinburgh, Banner of Truth 1990. pp. 81-86; 93-97.
21. ^ Martyn Lloyd-Jones trust www.mljtrust.org .