Iain Murray, The Life of Martyn Lloyd-Jones 1899-1981 (aff.) (Carlisle, PA.: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2013), 476 pages.
I have been curious about Martyn Lloyd-Jones for many years. I have his sets on Romans and Ephesians, but I didn’t know much about his life. His story is fascinating. Born in Wales, his father endured financial catastrophe and suffered the ravages of bankruptcy. Jones prepared to be a physician and showed great promise. Then he left his career to become a pastor despite never having gone to seminary. He began his ministry in Wales but was eventually called to a respectable church in London near Buckingham palace. He was a man of conviction in an age when such beliefs were often viewed as divisive.
Describing his father, Jones claimed he was “the best natural man I’ve ever known and the kindest character I’ve ever met” (5). After finding a pack of cigarettes in Jones’ pocket, his father marched him down to the store and rebuked the shopkeeper for selling cigarettes to a young man (6). When Jones was a child, his house caught on fire, and his father threw him out a second-story window to safety shortly before the house collapsed (13). Afterward, Jones’ father searched for work so he could provide for his family, traveling as far as Winnipeg, Canada, in a desperate quest for employment (20).
Jones began his career preparing to be a physician but experienced a radical conversion. His first public talk caught people’s attention. He was a brilliant, thoughtful man who formed deep convictions from God’s Word. He defined a Christian as “he . . . who, since believing in Christ, feels himself to be the happiest man in the world and longs for everyone to be equally as happy” (53).
When he was called to his first church, it was in disrepair. The congregation had tried using modern methods to attract people, but to no avail. When Jones first began his ministry, he set aside the pageantry and programs and began to teach his congregation truths from the Bible and lead them to pray. He also began working with the men of the church and growing them in their faith. At first, some people felt he was too “negative,” because he spoke of sin and repentance (58). Jones chose not to continue in the medical field, because he did not believe he could be a part-time preacher (62). He noted, “Whatever authority I may have as a preacher is not the result of any decision on my part. It was God’s hand that laid hold of me, and drew me out and separated me to this work. A preacher is not a Christian who decides to preach, he does not just decide to do it. It is God who commands preaching” (67).
Jones, like several prominent pastors through the ages, had no formal theological training. He was educated in medicine, not theology. He was self-taught and an avid reader. His theology grew and matured as he became familiar with various theologians and Christian authors. He had blind spots at times, because his training was somewhat piecemeal.
Jones taught his people faithfully from God’s Word. Initially, his preaching seemed foreign to many who had never sat under such a ministry before. But gradually the solid teaching and pastoral ministry began to have great effect. The author notes, “The church was to advance, not by approximating to the world, but rather by representing in the world the true life and privilege of the children of God. The fundamental need was for the church to recover an understanding of what she truly was” (88). Jones taught that “If you do not stand out in your street and in your neighborhood as an exceptional person then I tell you seriously that you cannot possibly be a Christian” (90).
To nominal members of his church, Jones declared, “All I ask of you is to be consistent. When someone dies in your family, do not come to ask the church in which you do not believe to come to bury him. Go to the seaside for consolation . . .” (91). He also noted, “We may be better men, but before we can face God we must be new men” (92). He continued, “Of everything that is uncertain in life, the most uncertain of all is life itself” (93).
During Jones’ time, politics was a heated issue in the church. He declared, “for I believe that it is causing greater harm in our churches in these days than almost anything else” (94). Jones’ preaching style was often observed and evaluated. He rarely mentioned himself in his sermons (98). He believed preachers should start with the listener and then move to the text (97). He observed, “You will always find that the men whom God has used signally have been those who have studied most, known their Scriptures best, and given time to preparation” (101).
Jones gave great attention to prayer meetings. He claimed that the prayer meeting was the gauge of the spiritual life of the church (105). He read widely, but not to find illustrations (104). He held that the greater the sermon, the easier it was to understand (116). He regularly faced opposition from those who disagreed with his methods or theology, and Murray writes that Jones felt the opposition (117). He complained that “. . . present day preaching does not even annoy men, but leaves them precisely where they were, without a ruffle and without the slightest disturbance. . . The church is regarded as a sort of dispensary where drugs and soothing mixtures are distributed and in which everyone should be eased and comforted” (130).
Murray notes that a close fellowship developed within the church, particularly between Jones and the men of his congregation (145-149). Jones claimed that “The minister should always move amongst the people as one who has been with God” (159). People said Jones rarely smiled but had a subtle sense of humor (166). Jones noted, “It is very easy to make a Welshman cry, but it needs an earthquake to make him change his mind” (169). Eventually, the toll of serving in his first church weighed heavily on Jones. His voice was strained, and he was exhausted. He eventually relocated to Westminster Chapel in London where he had a long and fruitful ministry.
When Jones first arrived at the church made famous by G. Campbell Morgan, he found it cold and uninviting. Liberals within the congregation tried to get rid of him. Yet Jones began to faithfully preach and minister throughout World War Two. It was said that “One felt in his presence that he was a man who obeyed the oft quoted injunction ‘Take time to be holy’” (253). As Jones was praying during a service, a German rocket struck near the church building. After a brief pause, Jones continued praying as if nothing had happened (256). Jones believed the way to restore the church’s health was to raise the standard of church membership, not lower it (260).
At one point, Jones suffered a period of depression (276). He recalled, “I was brought to the end of myself in a way that had never happened before” (281). Jones made many observations about the Christian life. He said, “The hallmark of a true experience of God . . . is a sense of awe, and accompanying it, a sense of unworthiness” (281). He also claimed, “What an impudence it is . . . for any of us to expel or withdraw from a fellow sinner saved by grace because we believe that his deductions about how grace works are defective as compared to our own deductions” (297). He also declared, “It is not our service; the people do not come there to see us or please us . . . They, and we, are there to worship God, and to meet with God. A minister in a church is not like a man inviting people into his home; he is not in charge here. He is just a servant himself” (302). He added, “Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire” (308). He believed preachers were responsible for making people listen (308). There were periods of silence during his church services (309). Jones discouraged note taking, but many people did anyway (310).
Jones noted that “As soon as a man becomes a Christian . . . the powers of evil are immediately deployed against him with suggestions, innuendos, subtle temptations. They are always battling his soul” (311).
One person who visited Jones’ church and heard him pray later recalled, “Never in my life had I heard a public prayer like that prayer” (313). J.I. Packer as a young man was much influenced by Jones. He noted, “I had never heard another preacher with so much of God about him” (316). Packer went on, “The thrust of Lloyd-Jones’ sermons is always to show man small and God great” (317). It was said of Jones, “You cannot hear him preach for three minutes without realizing that he believes God is speaking in his Word, that the Word is infallible, and that what we do with the Word of God will determine our eternal destiny” (320). Jones’ wife declared, “No one will understand my husband until they realize that he is first of all a man of prayer and then, an evangelist” (321).
Jones faced much criticism in his later ministry. Many opposed his views on the inerrancy of Scripture (323). He declared, “I have always asserted and argued as strongly as I could that evangelicals should not separate on the question of Calvinism and Arminianism” (329). He also asked, “How can you rouse sleeping fellow warriors with smooth words?” (332).
Jones had strong convictions and was unwilling to compromise them. He met and liked Billy Graham but disagreed with his methods and thus refused to publicly support his efforts (337). He disapproved of public altar calls. He also disagreed with Graham’s willingness to work with Catholics and non-evangelicals. He asked, “What is the value of evangelicals affirming a statement of faith if they see no harm in making common cause with those who teach the opposite?” (371-372). Jones was also critical of seminaries. He asked, “Are the men more certain of the truth at the end of their studies than at the beginning? Are they more steadfast? Do they know God better than when they came in? Ah, how many lose this! Have they a greater zeal for God? A greater love for the lost and perishing? What is the purpose of doctrine and knowledge if it is not to know God? You may have more BD’s than any college in the country but only if the result is that your people know God better!” (344).
Jones believed ministers were called to be preachers, not writers (348). Thankfully, he eventually retired and put some of his major thoughts into print. He was always too busy preaching to write books when he was a pastor. He said, “I spend half my time telling Christians to study doctrine and the other half telling them that doctrine is not enough” (363).
Murray notes that in Jones’ day, “alongside a willingness not to insist on Scripture, there came an excessive fear of being thought negative, controversial and belligerent. Criticism of almost any kind had become unpopular, and a ‘loving attitude’ which accepted everyone for what they appeared to be was in vogue” (373).
During Jones’ time, there was a strong movement for ecumenicism. Jones was unwilling to compromise doctrine to achieve unity. He disagreed with Packer’s and John Stott’s belief that evangelicals could work within the Church of England (398).
Jones claimed that “Our chief failure as ministers was the failure to bring people into the presence of God” (440). As he grew older, he stated, “We are not meant to despise this life but we are certainly meant to keep it in proportion” (451). Despite criticism in his latter days, he confessed, “I cannot help believing what I believe. I would be a madman to believe anything else” (457).
Martin Lloyd-Jones is a fascinating character on several levels. He turned his back on a promising medical career to become a pastor. He rejected gimmicks and modern church-growth trends and instead built his church on sound biblical teaching and preaching. He also had the conviction to resist the strong pressures to compromise doctrines for the sake of unity. He was amiable toward those with whom he disagreed, but he didn’t value unity above all else. He was on friendly terms with C.S. Lewis and Billy Graham, yet he refused to work with people if he disagreed with their methods or beliefs. This trait often caused him to be accused of intolerance or being divisive. Yet, in the long run, many of his stances proved to be accurate.
Some of his beliefs could certainly be challenged today. Several of his practices, such as discouraging people from taking notes during sermons or not having an altar call, appear to be more a matter of personal preference rather than biblical conviction. And though it is admirable that he had strong beliefs, it seems, at least on some occasions, he may have been rigid on inconsequential matters.
Nevertheless, Lloyd-Jones stood as a rock in a turbulent and confusing era. Perhaps in such rapidly changing times, one must become more rigid, even in smaller matters. Iain Murray, as always, does a great job of presenting the life of one of God’s effective servants. Lloyd-Jones presents many challenging aspects to modern-day pastors, not the least of which is whether pastors can grow a church today on the basis of sound biblical preaching and teaching. This book leads readers to believe that God continues to bless those who accurately and lovingly present the truth of God’s Word to his people.
Rating: 4
