Baptism of John vs Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Questions from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Sermon

What is the key difference between John's baptism and Christ's baptism according to Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the essential difference between John's baptism and Christ's baptism is that Christ's baptism brings new life, not just an improvement or addition to our existing life. He states: "In Christ there comes new life, not something you add on to your life, not mere religion." John's baptism was preparatory and limited, while Christ baptizes "with the Holy Ghost and with fire." This baptism with the Holy Spirit brings a radical transformation and thoroughness that John's baptism couldn't provide.

Who was Apollos and what was his spiritual condition in Acts 18?

Apollos was a highly educated Jew from Alexandria who was "mighty in the scriptures," "fervent in spirit," and taught "accurately the things concerning the Lord." According to Lloyd-Jones, he was already a Christian, but knew only the baptism of John. Despite his eloquence, learning, and boldness in preaching, there was something lacking in his understanding. Priscilla and Aquila recognized this deficiency and took him aside to explain "the way of God more perfectly/accurately" to him. After receiving this instruction, his ministry was transformed, and he became such a powerful preacher that some Corinthians even preferred him to Paul.

What were the spiritual characteristics of the twelve men at Ephesus in Acts 19?

The twelve men at Ephesus were described as "disciples," which Lloyd-Jones emphasizes means they were Christians. However, when Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed, they replied they hadn't even heard whether there was a Holy Spirit. They had only been baptized with John's baptism. Though they were believers in Christ, their understanding and experience were incomplete. After Paul instructed them and laid hands on them, they received the Holy Spirit, demonstrated by speaking in tongues and prophesying.

What does Lloyd-Jones identify as different stages or grades in the Christian life?

Lloyd-Jones identifies clear stages or grades in the Christian life based on these biblical accounts. He points out that there is an initial stage where one becomes a Christian by believing the truth, but there is a higher level that involves the baptism with the Holy Spirit. He quotes Charles Spurgeon, who said that "the difference between these two stages is, in his opinion, greater than the difference between the non-Christian and the Christian in the first stage." Lloyd-Jones sees this pattern illustrated throughout church history, including in John Wesley's experience and in Christian revivals where people who had been Christians for years received such a powerful experience that they initially doubted whether they had been Christians at all before.

How does Lloyd-Jones explain John Wesley's spiritual journey as an example of these stages?

Lloyd-Jones describes John Wesley's spiritual journey as a perfect example of these stages in Christian life. Wesley was raised in a godly home, was serious about religion, and even went as a missionary to Georgia. However, after observing Moravian believers' fearlessness during a storm at sea, he realized they had something he lacked. Wesley later gained intellectual understanding of justification by faith, but it wasn't until his Aldersgate experience, when his "heart was strangely warmed," that he received full assurance. Initially, Wesley thought he had only then become a Christian, but later realized he had been a Christian before, just with "the faith of a servant, not the faith of a son." Wesley's movement from one level to another illustrates the grades in Christian experience that Lloyd-Jones is describing.

What does Lloyd-Jones identify as essential prerequisites for receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit?

Lloyd-Jones identifies several essential prerequisites for receiving the baptism with the Holy Spirit:

1. Honesty - being truthful about our spiritual condition and needs
2. Willingness to be examined and to listen to instruction
3. Instruction - understanding what the Scriptures teach about the Holy Spirit
4. Humility - being teachable regardless of one's education or status

He particularly highlights Apollos' humility as remarkable - despite being highly educated in Alexandria and an eloquent, mighty speaker, he was willing to be instructed by Priscilla and Aquila, who were simple tent makers. Lloyd-Jones concludes that "no man will ever know this blessing that the Lord Jesus Christ alone can give us unless he is humble, unless he's teachable."

Why does Lloyd-Jones believe this distinction between baptisms is so important for the church today?

Lloyd-Jones believes this distinction between John's baptism and Christ's baptism with the Holy Spirit is crucial for the church today because he sees it as the explanation for the church's impotence and ineffectiveness. He states: "Why is the Christian church so impotent today? Why is she counting for so little? With all the desperate need that is in the world round and about us? Why don't we act in society as these early Christians did?"

He identifies the core problem as many Christians being content with John's baptism (a form of religion) while missing the power of the Holy Spirit. Lloyd-Jones asserts that "the high road to any revival of a true reawakening and repossession of power is to understand this vital and essential difference" between these two baptisms.

How does Lloyd-Jones distinguish between religion and Christianity?

Lloyd-Jones makes a sharp distinction between religion and Christianity. He states: "Religion is the great enemy of Christianity. Religion, you know, is that which people take up in a bag, as it were, on Sunday morning, and put down again and forget all about it. That's not Christianity, that's religion."

According to Lloyd-Jones, religion is something added to life, something external and compartmentalized. In contrast, Christianity is characterized by "this element of life" - an abundant, overflowing life that Christ came to give. The difference lies in whether one merely practices religious observances or has received new life through the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which transforms the person from within.

What historical pattern does Lloyd-Jones observe in church revivals regarding these two stages?

Lloyd-Jones observes that in the great revivals throughout church history, many long-time Christians had experiences that were so powerful they initially doubted whether they had been Christians at all before. He describes how in revivals like the one in 1904-05, people who had been Christians for decades, regularly attending worship and studying the Bible, experienced such a transformation when "the Holy Ghost [came] down upon them in a meeting" that they were completely changed.

He notes that their previous Christian experience had often been "a kind of up and down existence, and perhaps more down than up" that sometimes "seemed a task and almost a burden." The revival experience lifted them to a new level where they were "transformed completely and were never the same afterwards." Lloyd-Jones cites "endless stories of that description in the history of revivals in the church throughout the running centuries."

Why does Lloyd-Jones emphasize the role of instruction in moving from one level to another?

Lloyd-Jones emphasizes the role of instruction in moving from one level to another because he believes this advancement is not just about experience but about understanding biblical truth more accurately. He points out that both Apollos and the Ephesian disciples needed instruction - Priscilla and Aquila "expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly/accurately," and Paul explained to the Ephesians about the Holy Spirit.

Lloyd-Jones states, "It's not just a matter of experience, it's a matter of instruction. What do the scriptures teach?" He explains that "God has appointed preaching" for this purpose, and the goal of Scripture is that we don't say "I've got what I want, and I don't want anymore." Instead, we should ask, "have you received the full instruction?" He insists that moving to the higher level of Christian experience is "fundamentally a matter of teaching and of instruction" combined with the humility to receive it.