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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Foundations of Christianity and the Tests of True Grace, August 6, 2007
This review is from: Life in Christ (The Original Five Volumes in One): Studies in 1 John (Paperback)
Here is a God-centered exposition set that does not use any Greek words, nor difficult jargons. It is layman-friendly, but solid, powerful, heart-and-soul-searching by which I have been greatly blessed. Though the audio version of Dr. Jones' sermons are available online through their recording trust website, but due to poor-quality technology, considering these were recorded in the 1930's and 40's, I tend to lean toward the text version for clarity purposes.
The first epistle of John contains some redundancies to emphasize how exceedingly important the points being repeated are to ensure the audience truly understands and embraces them; namely, the doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ, who he is, his nature, his accomplishment on the cross, as well as the goal of Christian life, that is, a joyful "fellowship with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ". It exposes the reality of Christians, who are "of God" living in a fallen world that "lies in wickedness", the reality of spiritual warfare against 'the world', 'the flesh' and 'the devil' within which false doctrines are included. John, often called "The Apostle of Love" also covers exquisitely the test of the existence of true grace in a person by hammering over and over the importance of embracing the right doctrines, keeping the commandments, loving the brothers. Pastor Jones clarifies several times, from the redundant nature of the epistle, the true meaning of the Apostle's exhortations, being aware of the danger of the two extremes resulting from a misinterpretation, whether intentionally or not; namely the antinomianism and legalism or perfectionism, as well as the false doctrines that are still pertinent today, particularly mysticism, which I believe the Pantecostal denominations need to heed. Some verses that Dr. Jones preached are particularly encouraging to me, among which are when he covers what the "world" means in ch.2 v. 15-16, the test of a Christian in ch.5 v.19, idolatry in ch.5 v.21, in addition to the exposition on some parts that I had a hard time understanding, as in ch.3, v.6-9, 20, and ch.5 v. 16.
I can tell Pastor Jones is the kind of preacher I wish I had the privilege sitting under. Though I may not have the preaching experience of what Prof. JI Packer describes as "with the force of electric shock, bringing to at least one of his listeners more of a sense of God than any other man" but I would agree with Pastor John Piper's comment that "many of us have felt this shock even through the written form of Lloyd-Jones' sermons."
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Epistle of 1John Unpacked by "The Doctor", February 23, 2006
This review is from: Life in Christ (The Original Five Volumes in One): Studies in 1 John (Paperback)
There are several tests as to whether one is a Christian, and it would be wise for a person to examine their profession with referance to the true doctrine of Biblical assurance. The Apostle John wrote these things that we may know we have eternal life and a Christian should know how they stand with the Lord, and the style and careful detail of MLJ unfolds the message that was inspired by The Holy Spirit even for us today .
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practical and Thorough Study of 1 John, May 23, 2009
This review is from: Life in Christ (The Original Five Volumes in One): Studies in 1 John (Paperback)
In his book Life in Christ, Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that the theme of 1 John is fellowship with God. Fellowship is most possible when Christians have an assurance of salvation: "There is nothing as vitally important as our certain knowledge that God has loved us in particular in Christ..."
How can Christians have assurance? How can they know that they are living a "life in Christ?" There are certain tests that John repeats throughout his epistle. These tests are the topics most dealt with by Lloyd-Jones in this book.
First, do we love God? If so, our love will show itself in a practical way: we will keep His commandments. "Love is not a sentiment; it is the most active, vital thing in the world. If I love, I want to please--I keep the commandments; and what I may regard as the love of God in my soul is a pure delusion unless it leads me to keep God's commandments and to live life as He wants me to live it."
Next, we must love our Christian brothers and sisters. This is the ultimate proof that we love God. Again, this love is not to be based upon feelings, nor is it to be based upon whether a particular person is lovable or not. Our love should proceed from our new nature, as God's love proceeds from His nature. "We must once and for ever get rid of the idea that God has loved us by way of response either to something that is in us or to something we have done," and so we should love others regardless of how they act or treat us. "That is what salvation is for, to enable us to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves." What is the nature of this love toward the brethren? "It acts, it gives, it expresses itself."
Dr. Lloyd-Jones begins each chapter with an explanation of the theology behind John's passage: "We must start always by realizing the doctrine; always start with truth." After the theology has been dealt with, he moves on to the practical application, giving the reader such things as "Ten tests which you can apply to yourself to know for certain that you know the love of God."
Life in Christ was originally published in five volumes: Fellowship with God, Walking with God, Children of God, the Love of God, and Life in God. Each of these volumes corresponded to a chapter in 1 John, and they are now the main sections of this one-volume, 734 page book published by Crossway.
If you are looking for a book that will make you feel good about yourself, this is not the one. The Doctor is concerned to give true believers reasons for assurance, but he is equally concerned to strip non-believers of false assurance. If you prefer "easy believism," you will not enjoy this book. If, however, you want to honestly examine your claim to Christianity in light of the Word of God, I recommend Life in Christ to you.
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