Understanding Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Teaching on the Wiles of the Devil

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones identify as the final enemy we face in Christian experience?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies self as the final and greatest enemy we face in our Christian experience. He states, "This is the last enemy as regards ourselves we'll ever have to face in this world. The devil in his wiles, playing upon self." He emphasizes that "the greatest saints that have ever adorned the life of the church" testify that self is the greatest and last enemy they had to face. Lloyd-Jones considers this "the universal testimony" found throughout Christian biographies and diaries.

How does the devil attack Christians through pride according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the devil attacks Christians through pride in several ways: - Pride of gifts and abilities (intellect, knowledge, understanding) - Pride of speech or communication abilities - Pride of singing or musical talents - Pride of spiritual experiences (especially dramatic conversion stories) - Pride of position or importance - Pride that leads to desire for preeminence in the church

He warns that the devil will "take the most glorious gift of all" and "twist it in this subtle manner" by bringing self into it, causing the whole gift to be ruined in its effectiveness.

What example does Dr. Lloyd-Jones give of how Christians can boast even about their sinful past?

Lloyd-Jones shares a disturbing example from an open-air meeting where two men were giving their testimonies. The first man boasted about his terrible past as a drunkard before being converted. When the second man stood up, he began by saying about the first speaker, "he doesn't know what sin is. I'll tell you." It became "a competition in sin and crime" with each trying to paint "the blacker picture." Lloyd-Jones observed that "it was all done in a spirit of pride and of boastfulness" and their testimony was "utterly valueless" and possibly "doing much more harm than good."

What is the condition of the Laodicean church that Dr. Lloyd-Jones uses to illustrate self-satisfaction?

Lloyd-Jones references Revelation 3 to illustrate self-satisfaction, citing the Laodicean church who said, "I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing." He explains this represents a spirit of complete self-satisfaction, where people feel "everything is all right" and "entirely fail to realize their true state and condition." Such people never examine themselves because they think they've "arrived" and are perfect. They're "completely ignorant of their real state and condition" which God describes as "wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, what is the biblical answer to the problem of self?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones offers several biblical answers to the problem of self:

1. Honest self-examination: "Face ourselves honestly and realize the full truth about ourselves."
2. Recognize that all gifts are received from God: "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (1 Corinthians 4:7)
3. Consider what we truly deserve if judged by our own merits
4. Acknowledge that we are what we are by God's grace alone
5. See ourselves as part of Christ's body, where every member has value
6. Care only about what God thinks of us, not people's opinions
7. Die to self completely, as George Mueller testified: "I died utterly, absolutely to George Muller"
8. Follow Christ's example of humility: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5)

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain Paul's statement "I judge not mine own self"?

Lloyd-Jones explains that Paul's statement "I judge not mine own self" (1 Corinthians 4:3-4) represents the final stage of freedom from self. He notes that some people reach the point where they can say "with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you" (meaning they no longer care about others' opinions), but they stop there and become cynical. Paul goes further - he doesn't even judge himself. Lloyd-Jones explains: "You've got to stop watching yourself... Self will feed self... We all know it, don't we? How self can feed self, brings out its compliments, praises us, answers the criticism. Now you've got to get to that final stage in which self has stopped feeding self." The only way to achieve this is to realize "nothing matters but the judgment and the estimate and the opinion of the Lord himself."

How does Christ exemplify the ultimate answer to the problem of self according to the sermon?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones points to Christ as the ultimate example of selflessness. He quotes from Philippians 2, showing that Christ, "being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God" but "made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant... humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that Jesus "didn't consider himself at all" but "became a nobody" and endured the worst insults. Christ had "only one controlling thought... to do the Father's will" regardless of the cost. He was rejected by his own people, yet it didn't matter to him because "the master praises, God praises, the Father's delighted." This selfless mindset is what Christians should adopt: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."