The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

Daily Readings with Martyn Lloyd-Jones

June 07


The Lion of the Tribe of Judah


Sin ... entered human life from the outside and it attacked even the Son of God. That I am forgiven is glorious, that I have a new nature is wonderful and still better. But still I am left to face this terrible power that is set over against me, and which strives ever to defeat me ... It has defeated the mightiest and the strongest. It has not hesitated to match its strength even with God Himself. Its subtlety and suggestions meet me everywhere. Who am I to confront such a foe? What is man at his best against such an antagonist? ... Man cannot, for all men have failed ... Is all hopeless? Must we continue to strive and strive in vain? No! A David has appeared and smitten this Goliath; a Jonathan has routed the Philistines again. The Man has entered the lists and delivered the enemy a mortal wound from which he can never recover ...

Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, has conquered Satan. Tried and tested to the utmost, He not only emerged unscathed, but hath 'cast out the prince of this world' ... He has conquered death and the grave and every power that is inimical to man and his highest interests. The Lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed — yea, and not only for Himself, but for us. He offers us His own power and promises to clothe us with His own might. Not only need we not be defeated any longer; in Him we can become more than conquerors over any and every power that may raise itself against us.

These are the problems of the world ... They are exposed in the gospel and they are solved by it. Christ satisfies every need and He alone does so. He has 'done all things well'. The message of the gospel is about Him and what He has done. It is not theory. It works, it is a fact as the lives of Christians of all ages testify. Ashamed of Jesus? A thousand times no!

The Plight of Man and the Power of God, pp. 89-91

What is this 'little faith' business?

The good doctor sets us straight on what Christ means in Matthew 6:30 by 'O you of little faith'. Man, this was helpful to me:

What then is this condition which is described by our Lord as being 'little faith'? ... We can say ... in general that it is one which is confined to one sphere of life only. It is faith that is confined solely to the question of the salvation of our souls, and it does not go beyond that. It does not extend to the whole of life and to everything in life. This is a common complaint among us as Christian people. On the question of the salvation of our souls we are perfectly clear ... We have seen ... that the only way of deliverance is in the Lord Jesus Christ ... And we believe on Him, and have that saving faith with regard to the present and to all eternity. That is saving faith, the thing that makes us Christians, and without which we are not Christian at all. Yes; but Christian people often stop at that, and they seem to think that faith is something that applies only to that question of salvation. The result is, of course, that in their daily lives they are often defeated; in their ordinary lives there is very little difference to be seen between them and people who are not Christian. They become worried and anxious, and they conform to the world in so many respects. Their faith is something that is reserved only for their ultimate salvation, and they do not seem to have any faith with regard to the everyday affairs of life and living in this world. Our Lord is concerned about that very thing. These people have come to know God as their heavenly Father, and yet they are worried about food and drink and clothing. Their faith is confined; it is a little faith in that way; its scope is so curtailed and
limited.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, ii, p. 127

On a side note, I am thrilled to have found MLJ's Sermon on the Mount at a Book Sale over the weekend at our church. What a blessing! An 'antique-roadshow-esque' bargain at $2! I don't expect to sell it at auction, but the spiritual treasure is incalculable!

Poor in spirit, rich in His grace - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Poor in spirit - rich in His grace


... what is the [meaning] of being 'poor in spirit' ... ? It is that Isaiah said (57:15): 'For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'

That is the quality of spirit, and you have endless illustrations of it in the Old Testament. It was the spirit of a man like Gideon, for instance, who, when the Lord sent an angel to tell him the great thing he was to do, said, 'No, no, this is impossible; I belong to the lowest tribe and to the lowest family in the tribe.' That was not Uriah Heep, it was a man who really believed what he said and who shrank from the very thought of greatness and honour, and thought it was incredible. It was the spirit of Moses, who felt deeply unworthy of the task that was
laid upon him and was conscious of his insufficiency and inadequacy. You find it in David, when he said, 'Lord, who am I that thou shouldst come to me? The thing was incredible to him; he was astonished by it. You get it in Isaiah in exactly the same way. Having had a vision, he said, 'I
am a man of unclean lips'. That is to be 'poor in spirit', and it can be seen right through the Old Testament. But let us look at it in the New Testament. You see it perfectly, for instance, in a man like the Apostle Peter who was naturally aggressive, self-assertive and self-confident-a
typical modern man of the world, brimful of this confidence and believing in himself. But look at him when he truly sees the Lord. He says, 'Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' Look at him afterwards as he pays his tribute to the Apostle Paul, in 2 Peter 3:15, 16. But ... he never ceases to be a bold man; he does not become nervous and diffident ... The essential personality remains; and yet he is 'poor in spirit' at the same time.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, i, p. 49-50

God cannot be thwarted - Martyn Lloyd-Jones

This is a good follow up to what we saw yesterday. Here Martyn Lloyd-Jones proclaims the futility of a life without Christ:

How can you plan for life and the world and at the same time exclude God who is the Maker and Sustainer and Controller of all things? God has not only made the world, He is actively concerned in it, and constantly intervenes in its affairs. His laws are absolute and cannot be avoided ... God has decided and ordered and arranged that a life of forgetfulness of Him, and of antagonism to Him, shall not be successful and happy ... That is the whole story of mankind from the very beginning, and it has continued until this day, and it will continue to be so until the end of time. Mankind has refused to recognize this - indeed, has ridiculed it. It has been confident that it could succeed without God. But what of the results? Constant failure. God cannot be thwarted. The facts of life, the story of history, proclaim the wrath of God against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. That is our first problem. We have sinned against God. We are in the wrong relationship to Him. His wrath is upon us. We have made it impossible for Him to bless us ... None can keep the law ... Is there no hope, therefore? Can nothing be done? God be thanked, the gospel of Christ provides the answer ... God has dealt with our sins in Christ. The demands of holiness and justice have been satisfied ... God in Christ is prepared to receive us ... God in Christ offers us pardon and forgiveness, and instead of cursing, blessing. Without God we cannot be happy, 'for there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked'. Try as we will, and as mankind has, we cannot succeed. The first step is to have the favour of God, and in Christ it is gloriously possible-indeed, it is offered us.
The Plight of Man and the Power of God, pp. 85-7

Praying for necessities

A quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Is not this one of the most wonderful things in the whole of Scripture, that the God who is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the God who is forming His eternal kingdom and who will usher it in at the end, the God to whom the nations are but as 'the small dust of the balance' -
that such a God should be prepared to consider your little needs and mine even down to the minutest details in this matter of daily bread?

But that is the teaching of our Lord everywhere. He tells us that even a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without our Father, and that we are of much greater value than many sparrows ... If only we could grasp this fact, that the almighty Lord of the universe is interested in every part
and portion of us! ... the smallest and most trivial details in my little life are known to Him on His everlasting throne ... But that is the way of God, 'the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy'; who nevertheless, as Isaiah tells us, dwells with him also 'that is of a contrite and humble spirit'. That is the whole miracle of redemption; that is the whole meaning of the incarnation which tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ takes hold of us here on earth and links us with the almighty God of glory. The kingdom of God, and my daily bread!

It must be emphasized, of course, that all we pray for must be absolute necessities. We are not told to pray for luxuries or super-abundance, nor are we promised such things. But we are promised that we shall have enough ... The promises of God never fail. But they refer to necessities only, and our idea of necessity is not always God's. But we are told to pray for necessities.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, ii, pp. 70-1

Paul's daring word about propitiation

Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Christ as the Substitute for Sinners

The true Christian realizes ... God's way of salvation in Christ. This is the great good news. 'This is the thing I am preaching,' says Paul, in effect, to the Romans, 'this righteousness that is of God, that is in Jesus Christ, His righteousness.' What is he talking about? It can be put in the form of a question if you like. What is your view of Christ? Why did He come into the world? What has God done in Christ? Is He merely a teacher, an example, and so on? ... No, this is something positive, this righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Salvation is all in Christ, and unless you feel yourself shut up to Christ with everything else having failed, you are not a Christian, and it is not surprising that you are not happy. 'The righteousness of God in Jesus Christ' means that God sent Him into the world in order that He might honour the Law and so men might be forgiven. Here is One who gave perfect obedience to God.

Here is One, God in the flesh, who has taken human nature unto Himself, and, as man, has rendered perfect homage to God, perfect allegiance, perfect obedience. God's law He kept fully and absolutely without a failure. But not only that ...

Before man can be reconciled to God ... this sin of his must be removed. God has said that He will punish sin, and that the punishment of sin is death and banishment from the face of God ... God has set Him forth as a propitiation . . . [this] means that God has made Him responsible for our sins. They have been placed upon Him and God has dealt with them and punished them there, and therefore ... He can justly forgive us.... It is a daring thing for the Apostle to say, but it has to be said ... God, because He is righteous and holy and eternal, could not forgive the sin of man without punishing it. He said He would punish it, so He must punish it, and, blessed be His Name, He has punished it.

He is just, therefore, and the justifier of them that believe in Jesus.
Spiritual Depression, pp. 32-3

Good works: public or private?

Martyn Lloyd Jones settles an apparent contradiction between Matthew 5:16 and Matthew 6:1 ...

The Christian life is always a matter of balance and poise. It is a life that gives the impression of being self-contradictory. ... We read the Sermon on the Mount and we come across something like this: 'Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.' Then we read, 'Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men, to be seen of them: else ye have no reward with your Father which is in heaven.' And a man looking at that says, 'Well, what am I to do? If I am to do all these things in secret ... how can men know I am doing these things, and how can they possibly see this light which is shining in me?'

But, of course, this is only a superficial contradiction ... we are called to do both these things at one and the same time. The Christian is to live in such a way that men looking at him, and seeing the quality of his life, will glorify God. He must always remember at the same time that he is not to do things in order that he may attract attention to himself. He must not desire to be seen of men, he is never to be self-conscious. But, clearly, this balance is a fine and delicate one; so often we tend to go to one extreme or the other. ... But here we are called to avoid both extremes. It is a delicate life, it is a sensitive life; but if we approach it in the right way, and under the leading of the Holy Spirit, the balance can be maintained. ... Let us never forget this, the Christian at one and the same time is to be attracting attention to himself, and yet not attracting attention to himself.

From Daily Readings with Martyn Lloyd Jones (Jan 19th)

Am I a true believer?

From Martyn Lloyd-Jones devotional.

Picture of a true believer
... he faces the whole of [the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount]. He does not pick and choose, he allows every part of the Bible to speak to him. He is not impatient. He takes time to read it, he does not rush to a few favourite Psalms and use them as a kind of hypnotic when he cannot sleep at night; he allows the whole Word to examine him and to search him. Far from resenting this searching, he welcomes it. He knows it is good for him, so he does not object to the pain ... the true Christian humbles himself under the Word. He agrees that what it says of him is true. Indeed, he says, 'it has not said enough about me'. He does not resent its criticism, nor that of other people, but rather he says to himself, 'They do not say the half, they do not know me' ... He immediately conforms to the Beatitudes because of the effect of the Word upon him, and then, because of that, he desires to conform to the type and pattern set before him. Here is a very good test. Would you like to live the Sermon on the Mount? Is that your true desire? Is that your ambition? If it is, it is a very good and healthy sign. Any man who desires to live this type and kind of life is a Christian. He hungers and thirsts after righteousness; that is the big thing in his life. He is not content with what he is. He says, 'O that I might be like the saints I have read about, like Hudson Taylor, or Brainerd, or Calvin. If only I were like the men who lived in caves and dens and sacrificed and suffered everything for His sake. If only I were like Paul. O that I were more like my blessed Lord Himself.' The man who can say that honestly is a man who is building on the rock. He is conforming to the Beatitudes. Observe the nature of the test. It is not asking whether you are sinless or perfect; it is asking what you would like to be, what you desire to be.

Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, ii, pp. 312-13

Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones on OnePlace.com

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