Lloyd-Jones on the Christian Life

First of all, any book in this series has been a treat. This one especially has a special place in my heart. One of the reasons why is that I didn't know much about Lloyd-Jones before this reading. Secondly, his passion around the Word of the Lord is contagious. My goodness gracious, how this man love to speak about Jesus. I have already made a decision to purchase his writings on Romans, but let me tell you, if you desire to be a man or woman who communicates God's Word effectively, pick up this book and hang out with a man who does that very thing with his life and actions. This was a well written resource for both pastors and people who are on a journey to understand and embrace the heart of God. This book did not disappoint at all.

First sentence: Doctrine and life are fuel and fire, not oil and water. The combustible combination of doctrinal precision and experiential power creates an explosion called the Christian life. No theologian explains the explosion better than Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The thesis of this book is that according to LloydJones, the Christian life is doctrine on fire.

This book is one of the books in Crossway's Theologians on the Christian Life series. I have read a good many books in the series. This one is a GREAT addition to the series. I loved, loved, LOVED it. It wasn't a surprise I loved it. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is one of my favorite-and-best theologians.

Lloyd-Jones on the Christian Life would be an EXCELLENT introduction to his life and work. I can't sing its praises enough. I think what I loved most about this biography was how it lets Lloyd-Jones speak for himself. So many quotes!!!!!

Not that the author had nothing to do but cut and paste, I imagine it takes a lot of work--a good amount of wisdom--to organize, arrange, select, and layout everything so that it flows perfectly and does justice to the subject. His observations are also worth noting. "If Sherlock Holmes had been a pastor instead of a private investigator, he would have looked a lot like Martyn Lloyd-Jones... Both Sherlock Holmes and Martyn Lloyd-Jones exhibit fine-tuned diagnostic acumen. In fact, the preaching ministry of the one affectionately known as the Doctor reflected all the marks of a medical cast of mind. His preaching would start with symptoms in society and then diagnose the root disease (i.e., the sin) and prescribe a gospel cure."

The premise of the book is simple yet profound: Doctrine should start in the head, catch fire in the heart, and create a life aflame with true obedience in the will. The Christian life as doctrine on fire must have all three realities. The abundant life comes only from a fully baked “both–and” combination of head and heart, light and heat, doctrine and life.

How Lloyd-Jones defines doctrine: Biblical doctrines are “particular truths” that the Bible “wants to emphasize and to impress upon the minds of us all.

Why is doctrine so important? He writes, "Divorcing doctrine and life is not a minor misstep but a deadly departure from the Bible. There is nothing which I know of which is more unscriptural, and which is more dangerous to the soul, than to divide doctrine from life...Impure living flows downstream from polluted doctrine."

Five dangers of 'the great divorce' of life and doctrine:
1. We dishonor God. The great divorce of doctrine and life means we deny him with our lives and insult the living God. “There is nothing which is more insulting to the holy Name of God than to profess Him with your lips and deny Him in your life.”
2. We quench the Spirit and hinder the work of God. The great divorce of doctrine and life leads to a situation in which “the Spirit is always quenched” and the work of God “is always hindered.”
3. We destroy holiness and joy. The great divorce of doctrine and life not only dishonors God; it destroys holiness and joy. It destroys holiness because it removes the direct association of doctrine to life. Holiness is like a cut flower apart from the soil of doctrine. Lloyd-Jones says that there “is no holiness teaching in the New Testament apart from this direct association with doctrine; it is a deduction from the doctrine.”
4. We become flimsy and shaky. If only those who endure to the end are saved (Matt. 24:13), then Christians will put a premium on a pattern of life that will last and stand the test of time. The whole purpose of doctrine is to help us endure by making us unmovable and unshakable; “not merely to give us intellectual understanding or satisfaction, but to establish us, to make us firm, to make us solid Christians, to make us unmovable, to give us such a foundation that nothing can shake us.”
5. We are highly susceptible to disaster. A shaky Christian life is susceptible to disaster because of the high winds of false teaching and temptation. You cannot separate what a man believes from what he is.
The book first gives a brief overview or biography of Martyn Lloyd-Jones life. (The book ends by examining his legacy). But the heart of the book focuses on doctrines--specific doctrines essential to the faith--and how to apply them.

Meyer follows the same three-fold format for each chapter: (1) introducing the doctrine, (2) defining the doctrine, and (3) applying the doctrine.

I was excited to read this book as I’ve heard Martyn Lloyd-Jones quoted many times at church. Lloyd Jones believed that the Christian life is “doctrine on fire.” “Doctrine should start in the head, catch fire in the heart, and create a life aflame with true obedience in the will” (location 180). He believed that that order matters and it encouraged me to pray this for my family as we go to church and read our Bibles each week. He goes on to say that trying to separate doctrine and life is disastrous. We are always showing what we believe in how we live our lives.
This book looks at Lloyd-Jones’ life, his doctrine, the Christian life, and his legacy. I appreciated that this book didn’t present only the wonderful things about him. It also included some of his theology that the Meyer feels was wrong as well as a controversy that Jones was involved in.
Martyn was a medical doctor who became troubled as he realized he was “helping people get well so that they could simply go back to sinning with more abandon” (location 383). He later switched to his preaching ministry so he could treat the soul.
I was blessed and encouraged by Martyn’s high view of the gospel. This man LOVED Jesus and what Jesus did for us. He talked of people who wish they had been saved from terrible thing so that they’d have a more exciting testimony. He reminds us that, “the doctrine of regeneration proves that you do not have a boring testimony, because being raised from the dead is not boring” (location 1276). Amen.
This is a helpful, encouraging, insightful book. I would recommend it. Thank you to Crossway for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Jason Meyer has written a fabulous book on Lloyd-Jones' view of the Christian life! He begins his book with the thesis that according to Lloyd-Jones, "the Christian life is doctrine on fire." As Meyer says, "Doctrine and life are fuel and fire, not oil and water." I absolutely love the dual emphasis on doctrine and life that is so often missing in most Christian works today. Lloyd-Jones was a master at combining both of these emphases in his life and preaching. After a brief biographical introduction to MLJ, Meyer goes over the Doctor's doctrine. Those chapters cover each person of the Trinity, Justification, Sanctification, the Church, and Last Things. Meyer then focuses on MLJ's teaching on Christian living. These chapters highlight teaching on the Word, Prayer, Faith & Love, Home/Work, Spiritual Depression, and the Hope of Glory. The content is rich and life-giving, and peppered generously with great quotes from the Doctor himself. One of my favorites is on the topic of the promise of forgiveness: "So let us be clear about this. It is no sign of humility, no mark of saintliness, to go into the presence of God doubting whether God is forgiving you." Meyer adds, "It is not humble but audacious to suggest that the God who promises forgiveness may in fact be a liar!" This book is full of gems and 24k nuggets. You will find yourself enriched in the gospel of the Father, Son, and Spirit by reading this! The Christian Life truly is doctrine on fire!

Lloyd-Jones is a powerhouse and this book by Jason Meyer is fantastic! I completely agree with Lloyd=Jones that robust doctrine creates the obedience that Christians live in, out of love for God. This book will inspire your walk and refuel your fire!