Questions & Answers (1)
Scripture
Sermon Description
As Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones finishes his lectures on preaching and preachers, he answers student questions. In this first part titled “Questions & Answers (1),” Dr. Lloyd-Jones responds to the following questions: If he is preaching God’s word, why would a preacher ever cease to be gripped by his sermon? Why use illustrations from Scripture as opposed to modern-day situations? Is the preacher synonymous with elder? Reflecting on these questions and more, he warns against the repetition of sermons becoming mechanical. Addressing illustrations, he emphasizes the benefits of using Scripture. On the question of preaching and elders, Dr. Lloyd-Jones appeals to the use of multiple preachers and multiple preaching opportunities within the church. This leads to a question on the modern day use of the term “spirit-filled” and charismatic gifts. The power for preaching, Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains, is the anointing of the Spirit on a person for service and preaching. Spirit-filled preaching, therefore, is preaching that is clear, pointed, and comes with the forcefulness of truth. Listen in as Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones interacts with his students in a winsome and humorous manner, emphasizing and summarizing important points from his “Preaching and Preachers” lecture series.
Sermon Breakdown
- Question: How often should a sermon be preached? Answer: Stop preaching a sermon when it ceases to grip you.
- Clarification: There is a difference between the content (truth) and form (delivery method) of a sermon. The truth does not change but the delivery can become mechanical.
- Question: Would you distinguish or define the infilling of the Spirit, the baptism and the anointing? Answer: The baptism of the Spirit refers to the power given at Pentecost for witnessing. The anointing also refers to power for service and preaching. These terms are interchangeable. They are not the same as sanctification. Sanctification is progressive growth in holiness. The power of the Spirit can influence sanctification but is not the same as it.
- Question: Is the baptism of the Spirit for all Christians? Answer: The command to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18) is for all Christians but the baptism of power is sovereignly given by the Spirit, not under our control. Not all Christians receive this power for preaching.
- Illustration: The relationship between sanctification and the baptism of the Spirit is like a farmer sowing seed and waiting for rain. Sanctification is the gradual growth of the seed. The rain (Spirit's power) causes sudden spurts of growth but is not the growth itself.
- Question: How would you train a theological student to preach? Answer: Preaching ability is a gift that can be developed but not created. It emerges as people discover their gifts. Training helps improve a preacher but does not make them a preacher. The preacher must have a call from God and natural abilities.
- Question: What is the difference between elders and preachers? Answer: The NT refers to pastors, teachers, elders and preachers. Elders and preachers had different roles. Preachers focused on teaching and preaching while elders had a broader leadership role. The one-man ministry developed later but some churches still had multiple teachers and preachers. The ideal is a balance of the one-man ministry and opportunities for others to exercise their gifts.
- Question: How much should we depend on feelings in preaching? Answer: We must be careful with feelings. Pride and the devil can influence feelings of failure or success in preaching. Early on, preachers can be overly concerned with people's opinions. Later, preachers can be overly concerned with their own success. The most mature are unconcerned with themselves and rely on God. However, preachers should aim to be used by God and know when the Spirit is upon them. Feelings are difficult to evaluate but we must avoid extremes.
- Question: What is the connection between the anointing to preach and the gifts of tongues, miracles, etc.? Answer: 1 Cor 12 teaches the gifts are given sovereignly as the Spirit wills. History shows some preachers received power to preach but not tongues or miracles. So the gifts are not necessary evidence of the Spirit's power. However, the Spirit may choose to grant these gifts again. We cannot claim or work up spiritual gifts - they are under the Spirit's control. Speaking in tongues that can be done at will is not consistent with 1 Cor 14:18 and is likely psychological, not spiritual.
- Question: Did the charismatic gifts cease with the apostles? Answer: No, the Spirit may grant these gifts again in His sovereignty. However, they have not been commonly given since the apostles. We cannot claim or work up spiritual gifts. While miracles authenticated the apostles' ministry, the Spirit may still work in exceptional ways according to His will. The Spirit's work did not end with the apostles but we must test claims of His work against Scripture.
Sermon Q&A
What did Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones teach about the anointing of the Holy Spirit in preaching?
Based on Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' sermon, he taught that the anointing of the Holy Spirit in preaching is:
- A matter of power for witness rather than sanctification
- Something that happens to a preacher rather than something they can generate themselves
- A sovereign act of God that can be repeated on multiple occasions
- Not universally experienced by all Christians or even all preachers
- Something that cannot be "worked up" through human effort
In his words: "This effusion of power is not within our control at all. It is something that is given to us. It is something that happens to us. You're not commanded to do that because you can't do it. Unfortunately, people don't realize this. We've all been guilty. We've tried to work it up, but it cannot be worked up."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones distinguish between the form and content of a sermon?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones makes an important distinction between the form and content of a sermon:
- Content refers to the biblical truth and message being communicated
- Form refers to the manner and delivery of that truth
- When deciding whether to repeat a sermon, one should consider if the form has become mechanical even if the content remains true
- He advises stopping preaching a particular sermon when "it ceases to grip us" - not because the truth has changed but because the delivery has become mechanical
- This distinction highlights the difference between "the sermon" (content) and "preaching" (the act of delivering it with spiritual power)
He states: "You've always got, in the matter of a sermon or preaching to differentiate between the content and the form... what I mean, there is this. You see that your repetition of this sermon becomes mechanical, and you're aware of that."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the difference between preaching and witnessing?
According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, there's a clear biblical distinction between preaching and witnessing:
- He refers to Acts 8:4-5 where two different Greek words are used
- Verse 4 describes ordinary Christians who "went everywhere preaching the word" using a term that indicates conversational witnessing
- Verse 5 describes Philip who "went down to Samaria and preached Christ" using a term that indicates formal heralding
- Preaching is a public proclamation or heralding of the word
- Witnessing is sharing faith in personal conversation
- Not all Christians are called to be preachers, but all are called to be witnesses
As he explained: "It's the difference between a witness from person to person in conversation and a heralding or a preaching of the message. You see what I mean? So that obviously this is going to affect the witness and the testimony of any Christian, but it doesn't turn them all into preachers."
What is Dr. Lloyd-Jones' view on speaking in tongues and spiritual gifts?
Dr. Lloyd-Jones presents a nuanced view on speaking in tongues and spiritual gifts:
- He believes in the sovereignty of the Spirit in distributing gifts (1 Corinthians 12)
- He disagrees with both cessationism (the view that spiritual gifts ended with the apostles) and with modern charismatic practices
- He argues that genuine speaking in tongues cannot be produced at will, citing 1 Corinthians 14:18
- He believes true spiritual gifts are not under human control to initiate but can be controlled once in operation
- He notes that many great preachers throughout history had powerful Spirit-anointing without speaking in tongues
- He distinguishes between revelation (which ended with the apostles) and empowerment for preaching (which continues)
He states: "When a man comes to me and does it at will, I say, this is psychological. This is a kind of not so much auto suggestion as a kind of auto hypnotism."
How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe preachers should be trained?
On the training of preachers, Dr. Lloyd-Jones believes:
- Natural gifting and divine calling are foundational - "a man is either born a preacher or is not"
- The church should discover and recognize those with natural gifts for preaching
- Theological education can improve and refine existing gifts but cannot create them
- Preaching abilities often emerge in church settings where people are given opportunities to speak
- The "one-man ministry" model is not explicitly taught in the New Testament, but has proven effective throughout church history
- Ideally, churches should have one primary teaching elder while also providing opportunities for others to exercise their speaking gifts
As he explains: "In other words, the church seems to discover this gift in men. This is when the church is truly functioning as the church. If your church is a place in which the minister does everything and the people only listen, this won't happen."
Sermons: Preaching and Preachers
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.