Reflections on Iain Murray's, "The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, 1899-1981."
Here are 5 reflections on the book.
"I Gave Up Nothing"
Martyn Lloyd-Jones' original vocation was in medicine. He became a doctor and worked with Sir Thomas Horder who was the physician to the British monarch, which is to say that he was a big deal. MLJ himself was quickly advancing and making a name for himself under Horder. Ironically, it was life at the top of British society that helped Lloyd-Jones make the decision to leave medicine for pastoral ministry. As Murray writes, "What he saw of life 'at the top' killed any ambition to get there" (63). On one occasion, Lloyd-Jones witnessed the legendary Horder, himself, hopelessly grieving the loss of a lady friend. It left an impression on Lloyd-Jones as he remarked, "I saw the vanity of all human greatness. Here was a tragedy, a man without any hope at all" (64).It is remarkable to think of a man who gave up so much to enter the ministry. He gave up legitimate riches and prestige to preach the Word (at first in a small town in Wales before eventually ending up in London). This amazement wasn't lost on people in his day, either, as even newspapers highlighted the unique sacrifice of this doctor-turned-preacher. However, what's more amazing is MLJ's attitude about it. He didn't act as though it was a big deal. Nobody owed him for it nor did he hold it over anyone. Rather, he despised talk of his "great sacrifice." On one occasion, he responded, "I gave up nothing... I received everything. I count it the highest honour that God can confer on any man to call him to be a herald of the gospel" (99).
Although Lloyd-Jones is a remarkable man, he took himself out of the picture to focus on Christ. This was a deliberate decision on his part and is one of the things that stood out to me as I read the book. His high status in society may have given him a platform of sorts, but he was quick to make it about Christ and not himself. How instructive this is for us today.
Some Things Never Change
Before Lloyd-Jones became a preacher, he could see that there was a great difference between the preaching of his day and of the former days when Wales experienced great revival (under men like Daniel Rowland). As he expressed this sentiment, he was regularly confronted with claims that "modern man" was much different now and that's why different preaching was necessary. Churches were trying to accommodate the message of the Bible to better suit modern man: "Present-day religion," said Lloyd-Jones, "far too often soothes the conscience instead of awakening it; and it produces a sense of self-satisfaction and eternal safety rather than a sense of unworthiness and the likelihood of eternal damnation" (130).The arguments Lloyd-Jones faced are all the same things we are told today. None of it is new. Preaching that sought to awaken souls to their lost state so that they might seek salvation in Christ was viewed in Lloyd-Jones' day as being "negative" (130), just as it is today.
Lloyd-Jones bucked against the going wisdom of his day and simply preached the Word. "The business of preaching is not to entertain but to lead people to salvation, to teach them how to find God" (88). This was his pressing concern which resulted in preaching the Word passionately and evangelistically. As it turns out, in contrast to what the spirit of the age suggested, many people were converted under the ministry of Lloyd-Jones. There is much to learn from him on this point.
Christian Unity and Ecumenism
Lloyd-Jones' insights into the nature of true Christian unity and his subsequent criticisms of the ecumenical movement might be the most fascinating aspect of his life to me (chs. 23-27). As evangelicals had begun sharing platforms with outright liberals who denied fundamental doctrines, Lloyd-Jones stood firm in a way that so few did. He could see the issues with crystal clarity when other men (including JI Packer, John Stott, and Billy Graham) could not.There was immense pressure to put a form of external unity ahead of all else, especially doctrine and theology. In Graham's crusades, for example, men who denied core Christian doctrines (such as the Trinity) were being given the stage. Additionally, the crusades cooperated with all manner of churches regardless of their theology. A new attitude arose in Britain in which evangelicals adopted a policy of "cooperation [with the liberals] without compromise." However, this forced them into trying to walk a line that Lloyd-Jones could see was impossible to toe: somehow they had to "cooperate" as "Christians" with those who denied what evangelicals considered to be core Christian beliefs! MLJ could see that the real question they should be asking was, "What is a Christian?" If a Christian is one who, among other things, affirms certain doctrinal truths (as evangelicals claimed), then they cannot possibly have real Christian unity with people who denied these truths!
In some ways, I don't think evangelicalism has ever recovered from this (the same thing has happened in North America). Many evangelicals still long to place external unity above doctrinal unity and the compromise has only increased. A better place to start a discussion of unity is by answering the question, "What is a Christian?"
Encouraging Younger Pastors in Old Age
After Lloyd-Jones resigned from Westminster Chapel he spent his time turning his sermons and some lectures into books. However, his chief concern was meeting with and encouraging younger ministers. Murray says that Lloyd-Jones had an "unbounded" affection for pastors who "faced the uphill work of establishing congregations where people would see the Word of God and prayer as foundational to spiritual prosperity" (437). It might be tempting for such men to feel sorry for themselves, but Lloyd-Jones "had no tolerance or sympathy if he ever found self-pity or unbelief among them" (438). I had to laugh when I read that line. Coming from an old battle-hardened shepherd who had nonetheless avoided self-pity in his own heart, this is rebuke lands square.For those ministers wringing their hands that they weren't seeing greater blessings, Lloyd-Jones responded,
We are never promised automatic blessing... Get rid of the idea, 'If I do this, God will give the blessing.' God knows when to give blessing and when not to. We are not fit to have it. He couldn't trust us to have it. There is the sovereignty of God in this."
Dying... He Worshipped
The final chapter of the book covers the last few years of Lloyd-Jones' life and Murray beautifully portrays these days. It's hard for me to write about this because it won't do justice to the chapter. But, I'll try...Despite facing increased health difficulties, through it all, joyfulness at "God's great kindness" was his main theme (449). When asked if he felt it trying that he was unable to preach, he would say, "No! Not at all! I was not living upon preaching" (451). His joy was first and foremost in the Lord himself and not in his own labour and work.
One exchange that Lloyd-Jones had with Iain Murray six weeks before his death is worth reproducing. Lloyd-Jones said to Murray,
When you come to where I am [i.e. the point of death], there is only one thing that matters, that is your relationship to [Christ] and your knowledge of him. Nothing else matters. All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Our best works are tainted. We are sinners saved by grace. We are debtors to mercy alone.Murray then replied that he once thought it was wrong for dying saints to utter the prayer of the tax collector, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." Lloyd-Jones replied,
So did I, but it's rubbish. That's where you will come to. I've been brought to that. Daniel Rowland said at the end, 'I am nothing but an old sinner saved by the grace of God.' I say exactly the same."Then," Murray writes, "after a pause, with profound emotion and broken voice," Lloyd-Jones added,
God is very patient with us and very kind and he suffers our evil manners like he did with the children of Israel... The love of God! (451).He worshipped as he came to the end, affirming the truth of scripture with a glad heart even as his body wasted away. He died in his home on March 1, 1981.
The final chapter is a moving consideration of death through the lens of Lloyd-Jones and those who were with him through the end. When I finished the chapter, I felt like I had lost a good friend. But, it was also moving to see a man finish the race so well! Oh, for grace to finish in such a way!
