Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the Nature of the Church: Questions and Answers

Why did Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe understanding the doctrine of the church was so important?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasized that understanding the church's nature was crucial for several reasons. He stated that "it is this trouble with regard to the true understanding of the nature of the church that is one of the greatest hindrances to evangelism." He argued that confusion about the church creates contradictory messages: "How can you evangelize truly unless you are agreed about the evangel? It seems to me to be a sheer impossibility. If the trumpet yield an uncertain sound, who shall prepare him for the battle?" Additionally, he noted that "practically every single New Testament epistle rarely deals with this doctrine of the question of the nature of the Christian church" and that problems in the early church, particularly in Corinth, arose "simply because they were not clear in their minds as to the nature of the doctrine of the Christian church."

What was Dr. Lloyd-Jones's primary criticism of viewing the church as merely a confession of faith?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones strongly opposed defining a church primarily by its written confession, arguing that "a church ultimately is a confession of faith. It's a document. It is something that is written on paper." He warned that this view was dangerous because "the people who are living in these various churches at the present moment generally do not believe the confession of faith of the denomination to which they belong." He emphasized that "what matters is not what fathers may have said in the 16th or the 17th century, what matters is what do the people in that denomination believe today?" He called this discrepancy "a living lie" and warned it could lead to "dead orthodoxy" where "people may have the right belief, but deny it in their lives."

How did Dr. Lloyd-Jones define the essential nature of the church?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the church is fundamentally "a gathering of people" - but not just any gathering. He emphasized it is "a collection of people who've been separated from the world." These people have been "translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son." He stressed that church members are those who are "born again" and have "passed through this same experience." The church consists of people who are "strangers and pilgrims" in this world, whose "citizenship is in heaven." He insisted that "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, leave alone enter it."

What did Dr. Lloyd-Jones mean by the church being separated from the world?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones taught that Christians are separated even from natural loyalties and identities. He explained: "These people have been separated even from the state. They belong to it still in an external sense, and yet their true citizenship is not there. It's elsewhere. It is in heaven." He went further, stating it includes "even a separation from nationality" and "from all the orders of society." Most dramatically, he noted that "these people who constitute the church may even have to be separated from their families and their nearest and dearest," quoting Jesus: "If a man comes after him and doesn't hate...his father and mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life, he cannot be my disciple."

What role did Dr. Lloyd-Jones assign to doctrine in church life?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones placed doctrine as foundational, noting that the early church "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, doctrine before fellowship, doctrine before breaking of bread, doctrine before prayer." He challenged his audience: "Do you enjoy doctrine? Do you enjoy sermons on doctrine? Are you interested in teaching?" He argued that "unless you've got a desire within you to know more of this precious, blessed truth, you cannot be a child of God. It's impossible." He explained that doctrine provides the only objective standard against false teaching: "How do you know that you are right, and the men who are selling you these books at your street door are not right?...There's only one ultimate objective truth, the teaching, the doctrine."

How did Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the unity of the church?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasized that church unity is "an organic unity. It's a vital unity." Using the body metaphor, he asked: "What's a body? Is it a mere collection of fingers and hands and arms and forearms stuck together anyhow loosely? Of course it isn't. It's organic. It's one." He taught that this unity comes from sharing "the same life" through regeneration, making believers "living stones" and "an habitation of God through the Spirit." He stressed that "a church is not a forum for discussion" but rather consists of those who have already undergone the same spiritual transformation. This unity must be visible: "It is to be something that the world can see in order that the world may know."

What characteristics did Dr. Lloyd-Jones say should mark the true church?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones identified several key characteristics of the authentic church. First, he emphasized joy: "they were filled with gladness, with gladness and singleness of heart." He lamented that modern churches often appear miserable, saying "you and I are responsible for the fact that the masses of people are outside the church. We give the impression that to be Christian is to be miserable." Second, he highlighted praise: "Where has the praising gone in our churches?" Third, he described the church as "pneumatic" - "vibrating with life and with power." He noted that in the early church, "they all took part" and "the difficulty was to stop them all praying it together at the same time."

What was Dr. Lloyd-Jones's view on ecumenical movements?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones was deeply critical of the ecumenical movement, seeing it as a compromise of truth. He warned about "the rapidity with which things are happening" toward creating "one great territorial church in this country and one great worldwide church." He criticized the approach of starting "with the church as she is" and trying to "find some magical formula to bring us together or to smooth over difficulties," calling this "the road, it seems to me, to disaster." He particularly opposed the modern strategy of accepting all confessions without change: "They're not going to change the 39 articles...They say, yes, we do, but we'll accept them all, but this is what we believe now."

How did Dr. Lloyd-Jones connect church membership to the new birth?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones made regeneration absolutely central to church membership, stating emphatically: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, leave alone enter it. It's impossible." He explained that church members must be those who have "been born again...born anew, born again, born of the Spirit...regenerated." He argued that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness, and to him neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned." Only those with "new life" and "the mind of Christ" can truly be members of the church. He insisted: "If you have not known conviction of sin, you are not a Christian, and you're not really a member of the church."

What did Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe was the church's impact on the world?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones taught that the church should have a transformative impact through its distinctive character. He noted that the early Christians "turned the world upside down" through "this energy, this ability, this joy, this happiness, this radiance." He argued that the church's witness depends on manifesting "this radiant joy" to give neighbors "the impression that the only way to true and lasting joy and happiness is to become the children of God." He emphasized that despite being "but a handful of people," the early church "shook the ancient world" because "of the life that was in it and the power of the spirit upon it." The church should display such obvious transformation that observers ask, "Who are these people?"