Iain Murray knew Lloyd-Jones very well (they met in the early 1950’s). Murray wrote a wonderful two-volume biography on the good Dr shortly after his death. Murray wrote the following about Pastor Lloyd-Jones; “A lion in the pulpit, he was a lamb out of it, easily approached by anyone, and he must have spent as much time helping individuals as he did in his pulpit ministry.” This is the balance all pastors wish to have. One can be viewed as a lion while preaching God’s Word but as a gentle lamb when counseling, visiting, or discipling.
Murray noted, “Any moderation of fundamental truth in order to gain influence was anathema to him. Here he was stern and unbending. Yet he stressed love as an imperative for all witness, and on secondary issues no one was a stronger believer in the need for Christian unity.” As a pastor’s church grows larger the temptation to compromise grows as well. Mega-churches in my surrounding area (Faith Baptist and College Park) by God’s grace, MUST resist this subtle temptation.
Murray finally adds, “Lloyd-Jones was a Calvinist not simply in belief but through and through. He saw man-centeredness…as the root of modern evangelical weakness.” Nothing humbles man more than a healthy dose of biblical preaching (which of course will include the doctrines of grace).
Maurice Roberts said this of the Dr. “There was an authority in his words and in his whole bearing. It was a combination of both natural and spiritual gifts, blended into sanctified and deeply humble life.” Humility is difficult enough when you’re an oridinary Joe like me. Roberts added, “He was Reformed and also had a passion for the salvation of sinners. He was intensely intellectual and theological but also possessed a burning soul, aflame with the urgency of the gospel of Christ.” Lloyd-Jones’ biblical understanding of divine sovereignty drove him to be a soul-winner (like Spurgeon and Whitefield before him).
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