Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stirring Account of Evangelical Leader, May 20, 2000
First volume of Murray's substantial biography on Martyn Lloyd-Jones stands head and shoulders above every biography I have ever read. What a great man of God was Lloyd-Jones, and what a great God he served. From the account of his childhood in Wales, to his prominence in Harley Street as a physician, to his conversion and subsequent ministry in Aberavon, this is a wonderful book. Not a story full of dramatic happenings, but rather the quiet obedience of a man who shunned publicity, but was honored by the God of heaven, and saw the mysterious and sovereign movings of the Spirit upon his hearers. Well documented with numerous sermon excerpts, newspaper quotes, and personal interview with the "Doctor" and his wife themselves, this was a fantastic book with which to end 1997. I shall treasure this volume always, and make a point to read it more than once more in the years to come. I thank God for this book and the inspiration it has been to me.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Portrait of a Great Man, July 27, 2003
The First volume of this work by Murray shows the dynamism of a man who strived for Christ-Exalting Power. After reading the is biography I can only ask myself, "Can such men live again?" What made Dr. Lloyd-Jones so used by God?I suggest at least three factors:
1) He placed the origin of revival at the proper source, God. His theology of revival was supremely theocentric. He knew that true revival is when a Sovereign God awakens the hearts of his people. Such a revival proves real conversion.
2) Second to his power was the need for holy study. At a time when the academia in Britain were denying the sacred text, and with no conservative alternative, Lloyd-Jones filled the gap and held high the Scriptural banner. What was said of Edwards could be said of him: "He put fidelity to the Word of God above all else." Also was his constant study of great theologians like the Puritans, Jonathan Edwards, and Warfield.
3) Although this theme is brought out more in the second volume, he was more concerned with pleasing God than appeasing men. This is seen in him giving up a medical career for a pastorate. Would to God that there were more preachers who lived before an audience of one! At times his theology will challenge one. His view on Baptism in the Holy Spirit is worth dialouging and debating. And for some, he will appear odd in that he was a Calvinist evangelist, a model for men to come. His message is desperately relevant for us today.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is the first of a two-volume work by Murray and is surely the definitive biography on the life of the famous Welch preacher, July 4, 2008
This two-volume work by Murray is surely the definitive biography on the life of the famous Welch preacher, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. In nearly 1200 pages of text Murray traces the life and ministry of this man of God, who in many ways was the final link between the modern church and the great eighteenth century English preachers.
Lloyd-Jones' legacy is somewhat uneven. On the positive side, he welded enormous influence in the effort to return evangelical preachers to sound doctrinal and theological preaching. His expositions of the New Testament epistles are legendary. He preached almost 400 sermons on the book of Romans before his health broke while preaching through chapter 14. The Doctor was an enthusiastic Calvinist and a strong supporter of the writings of the Puritans.
On the negative side, MLJ was at times influenced by his Calvinism and Puritanism to go beyond Scripture. This is most evident in his views on revival. He cut his spiritual eyeteeth in the Calvinistic Methodists denomination, which, while being relatively sound doctrinally, takes a highly mystical approach to the Christian life and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Calvinistic Methodist were deeply involved in The Welch Revival of 1904, and although he was too young to be involved there is a sense in which MLJ never "got over" this revival. He spent the rest of his life looking for another such "movement of the Spirit." This pursuit greatly affected his view of the Christian life and the church. MLJ's commentaries on Romans vividly proves this point. Having read the first six commentaries on Romans, covering chapters 1 through 8:4, I was quite impressed with how biblical most of the teaching was. I could not believe that within a few years after his death the very church that MLJ had pastored had become Vineyard. But volume seven which contains MLJ's teachings on revival and the Holy Spirit explained it all. At this point MLJ all but laid his Bible down and turned to the experiences of past revivals of the church. He then developed his pneumatology on the back of these experiences. The result was calamitous. What a lesson for us all. Here was a man who attempted to base his whole ministry on Scripture but he had a blind spot. And unfortunately that blind spot has caused great damage.
Nevertheless, if you are a fan of the Doctor, and want to understand his ministry, these two volumes are without peer.
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