Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Spiritual Rebirth: Questions and Answers

What are the key characteristics of someone who is born again according to Martyn Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, those who are born again display several distinct characteristics:

1. They are conscious of being dealt with by God
2. They have been humbled
3. They experience true repentance
4. They possess a fundamental seriousness about spiritual matters
5. They are aware of a new life and nature within them
6. They are surprised at themselves and the spiritual changes they experience
7. They appear different to others, who often notice the change in them
8. They have a spiritual understanding and interest that non-believers lack
9. They accept biblical truth intuitively rather than through argumentation

As Lloyd-Jones states: "When a man is born again, that is the most obvious thing about him, more obvious than anything else, more obvious than his nationality, more obvious than the school he went to, the university he went to or didn't go to."

How does Lloyd-Jones distinguish between conscience and the new nature in a born-again person?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones makes a clear distinction between conscience (which all people have) and the new nature that comes with being born again:

"Conscience is always negative and entirely negative. Conscience never acts in a positive manner. Conscience simply delivers verdicts on what we've done or on what we've thought. It never initiates anything. It never promotes anything."

In contrast, the new nature in the born-again believer is "positive, it is living, it is life. It is active, this is always initiating." The new nature urges, calls, and stimulates the believer toward something better and higher. The conscience merely judges past actions, while the new nature actively works within the believer to produce godly desires and actions. Lloyd-Jones describes it as being aware of "something within us that is urging us and calling us and stimulating us to something better, to something higher."

What happens in the relationship between a born-again Christian and non-believers according to Lloyd-Jones?

According to Lloyd-Jones, when someone is born again, their relationships with non-believers inevitably change. He notes that others will notice the transformation and often resent it:

"Other people let us know that we are born again... they appear different to us. But still more important, I sometimes think, is that we appear different to them, and they let us know it, and they resent it."

Lloyd-Jones explains that the world never persecutes mere religion, but it does persecute Christ-likeness. He cites Jesus' own words that "The more we are like him, the more the world will treat us as it treated him." This tension in relationships becomes one of the proofs of genuine spiritual rebirth. He provides a striking example of a husband who was born again while his wife was not, and how she resented the change despite him becoming a better husband, because she recognized that God now held first place in his life.

How does spiritual understanding differ between a born-again person and a religious person?

Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that spiritual understanding is a defining characteristic that separates the truly born-again from the merely religious:

"The man who is born again is a man who has a belief of the truth. He accepts the truth... He has an understanding of it, an apprehension of it."

While religious people may intellectually grasp religious concepts, the born-again believer has "an instinctive understanding of the truth in general." This understanding isn't based on intellectual capacity but comes from the Spirit of God within them. Lloyd-Jones points out that "unintelligent people [can have] a greater spiritual understanding than great intellects who have not been born again."

He cites 1 Corinthians 2, explaining that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him." The religious person may argue philosophically about Christianity, while the born-again person has moved beyond arguments to an intuitive grasp of spiritual truth. As Lloyd-Jones states: "A man who is born again is a man who sees that revelation is an absolute necessity."

Why does Lloyd-Jones say being surprised at oneself is evidence of being born again?

Lloyd-Jones suggests that self-surprise is perhaps "the most subtle test of all" for determining if one is born again. He explains:

"A Christian is a man who is surprised and amazed at himself... when something of the divine nature enters into a man, when he becomes a partaker of the divine nature... inevitably a man must be amazed at himself, astonished at himself."

This amazement comes from the stark contrast between our fallen human nature and God's divine nature now at work within us. The believer is astounded to find they now have spiritual interests and concerns they never had before. Lloyd-Jones quotes the apostle Paul's words, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me," explaining that the born-again person becomes "an enigma, puzzled to himself."

He asks his listeners: "Are you amazed at the fact that you delight in hearing about these things? Are you enjoying them? And are you amazed at the fact that you're doing so? If so, you are born again."