Questions About Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon on the Woman of Samaria

What is the key difference between authentic Christian witness and the approach of cults according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the key difference is that genuine Christian witness is spontaneous and comes from within, while cultic witness is mechanical and imposed from outside. He explains: "The difference between the cults and the Christian is the difference of being something that's put on from the outside and something that comes out from inside." Christian witness arises naturally as a response to an encounter with Christ, while cultic approaches rely on "a very definite scheme or system or method which is imposed upon the followers" where "there is a pattern, there is a scheme, there is a training."

How does the Woman of Samaria demonstrate spontaneous Christian witness?

The Woman of Samaria demonstrates spontaneous Christian witness by immediately rushing back to her city to tell others about Jesus without any instruction to do so. As Lloyd-Jones emphasizes: "Nobody told the woman of Samaria to rush to the city and invite the people to come to see the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't. Nobody else did... She did it on her own. Nobody told her. Nobody taught her, nobody instructed her, nobody urged her." Her testimony arose naturally from her encounter with Christ, showing the instinctive Christian response to meeting Jesus.

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the primary focus of genuine Christian witness?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies that the primary focus of genuine Christian witness is Christ himself, not gaining adherents to a cause. He says about the Woman of Samaria: "It is the lord himself who's at the center of her concern. She's not out to get adherence primarily to the cause to which she now is going to belong. No, it is the desire that everybody should come to meet him and to see him." The central motivation is for others to encounter Christ personally, not to grow numbers or join an organization.

What biblical examples does Lloyd-Jones use to show the spontaneity of Christian witness?

Lloyd-Jones uses several biblical examples to demonstrate the spontaneity of Christian witness: 1. Andrew finding his brother Simon Peter: "Having met the Lord and having listened to him, he first finded his own brother Simon" 2. Philip finding Nathaniel after meeting Jesus 3. Peter and John declaring "we cannot but speak of the things that we have seen and heard" 4. The scattered Christians in Acts 8 who "went everywhere preaching [gossiping] the word" 5. Paul's statement that "necessity is laid upon me" and "woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel"

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the inner compulsion that drives Christian witness?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the inner compulsion that drives Christian witness as a divine constraint or necessity. He quotes Paul saying, "The love of Christ constraineth me," explaining this as being like a vice that tightens: "You put something into the Vice, and you screw it up, you tighten it up, and it gets tighter and tighter and tighter, and the pressure from the two sides becomes greater and greater." He also refers to it as a "dynamo" or "dynamic element," an internal power source that drives the believer to speak of Christ. This compulsion makes the Christian feel "I don't decide. I don't get trained. I am, I must. I'm bound to."

What does Lloyd-Jones suggest is wrong with "training people to witness"?

Lloyd-Jones suggests that training people in witnessing techniques is "quite foreign to the New Testament" and belongs "to the realm of the cults, the false, the spurious, the human." He argues that "this whole idea of training people to do this and giving them the formula, the phrases, and telling them to do it in steps and by numbers, and especially when you make them pass an examination afterwards and then give them a certificate and commission them, the thing is really ridiculous." He believes it shows "a failure to rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit" and replaces spiritual reality with mechanical techniques.

According to Lloyd-Jones, what is the true preparation needed for Christian witness?

According to Lloyd-Jones, Christians don't need training in techniques or methods, but rather deeper knowledge of Christ and His truth. He states: "We don't need to be taught methods and techniques. I said, you know what we need to be taught. We need to be taught about him. We need to get to know him. We need to be taught the truth as it is in Christ Jesus." He adds that "the best workers in the Christian church... have always been those who have been best in their knowledge and understanding of the truth," those with the "profoundest experience" of Christ, who are "living the best kind of life," and who are "filled with the Holy Spirit."

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones differentiate between seekers and finders in Christianity?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones strongly rejects the idea that Christians are merely "seekers and searchers after the truth." He states: "The Christian is not a seeker. The Christian is one who's found." He quotes biblical examples where new believers declared "We have found the Messiah" and "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write." Lloyd-Jones argues that only those who have found Christ have something to share with others: "How can you help others if you haven't got it yourself?" This finding of Christ is what creates the dynamic for authentic witness.

What practical test does Lloyd-Jones suggest to determine if someone has truly found Christ?

Lloyd-Jones offers a practical scenario to test whether someone has truly found Christ: imagine a dying friend who has lived a godless life sends for you in his final hours. The test is: "Have you got something you can give him that will make all the difference in the world to him?" He explains that at such a moment, platitudes about seeking truth, living a good life, or religious superiority are worthless. Only someone who has truly met Christ can offer genuine hope by telling the dying person about Jesus and what He has done. This ability to "impart" Christ to someone in desperate need reveals whether we've truly found Him ourselves.

Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones suggest that the modern approach to evangelism is flawed?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones suggests modern approaches to evangelism are flawed because they rely on human techniques rather than spiritual power. He criticizes the psychological, mechanical training that produces immediate but unsustainable results: "Modern methods which get your immediate result, but it doesn't last." He argues these approaches fail to recognize how Christianity actually spread historically - through the Spirit-led testimony of believers who had genuine encounters with Christ. He critiques modern evangelism for attributing "results to particular methods" when "everything that happens in this realm must be attributed solely to the operation of the Holy Spirit of God."