tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post115071676233919372..comments2024-03-12T03:53:57.725-04:00Comments on Faith and Theology: For the love of God (17): Why I love Martyn Lloyd-JonesBen Myershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03800127501735910966noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-1150751130033450292006-06-19T17:05:00.000-04:002006-06-19T17:05:00.000-04:00Cheers Kim,So, you do think Ll-J was a pretty good...Cheers Kim,<BR/><BR/>So, you do think Ll-J was a pretty good theologian after all! ;-)<BR/><BR/>Yes, he did value theological reading. His daughters fondly remeber him reading Brunner's <I>Divine Imperative</I> while on holiday, sitting on the beach dressed in his customary Bible- black suit. <BR/><BR/>Thanks Celucien & Thunderbeard,<BR/><BR/>While in my early 20's I read through Ll-J on Romans. His expositions gave me a real sense of the glory of God and the wonder of his grace. I was especially helped by his sermons on Romans 8 on the witness of the Spirit. The message on Romans 8:18ff on the renewal of creation and the resurrection of the body helped me to see that Jesus came not just to "save my soul" but to renovate the cosmos. <BR/><BR/>Yours,<BR/><BR/>GuyGuy Davieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09184743462264437085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-1150739631790026482006-06-19T13:53:00.000-04:002006-06-19T13:53:00.000-04:00i have first editions of lloyd-jones' studies on t...i have first editions of lloyd-jones' studies on the sermon on the mount from '59 and '60 respectively. they are pristine, and something i value greatly for more than just looks. i've turned to them many times.thunderbeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07640506159777958075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-1150729457970558132006-06-19T11:04:00.000-04:002006-06-19T11:04:00.000-04:00Thanks, Guy, for your lovepost on DML-J. Great st...Thanks, Guy, for your lovepost on DML-J. Great stuff. <BR/><BR/>As a gift for my ordination (in Swansea - as you know, just down the road from the Doctor's pulpit), my Llanelli-born father-in-law presented me with L-J's <I>Preaching and Preachers</I> (1971). I still treasure it, and occasionally turn to it. Its forward contains a commendation from none other than Emil Brunner: "reformed preaching at its finest" (and there is a blurb on the back cover from John Stott, with whom L-J famously fell out over matters ecclesiological). The book is full of much passionate and prudent advice, though it can be a bit over-earnest at times (e.g. L-J was not keen on humour in the pulpit). The man certainly had no reverse gear! He also libels Barthians, suggesting that they talk <I>about</I> the Word but don't actually <I>preach</I> it.<BR/><BR/>And then there is Bultmann. A colleague tells of the time he went with a friend to Port Talbot to hear the great Doctor preach. The sermon included a tirade against Bultmann. On leaving the chapel, my colleague's friend suggested that Jesus himself would have loved the sermon. "Perhaps," my friend replied, "but at least Jesus would have read Bultmann."<BR/><BR/>I am sure that's not fair. L-J himself emphasised the importance not only of theological and devotional reading, but also of "general reading", even if for the rather grudging reason of "relief for the mind" - and even though the only general reading he specifically advocates is history (that he doesn't mention literature follows, I think, from a general distrust of the imagination).<BR/><BR/>Anyway, sorry to be a bit polemical (though there I am taking a leaf out of the Doctor's own book!). Think of it as praising by faint damn. The thing I value most about L-J is his unrelenting assault on pelagianism. On that, at least, he and Barth are at one!<BR/><BR/>Thanks again.<BR/><BR/>KimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14261952.post-1150719679535941382006-06-19T08:21:00.000-04:002006-06-19T08:21:00.000-04:00These are the books of Martin Lloy-Jones that have...These are the books of Martin Lloy-Jones that have shaped my spiritual life to the understanding of God, his sovereignty , glory and majesty:<BR/>Preaching-Preachers, Spiritual Depression and Sermon on the Mount.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com