DM Lloyd-Jones was one of the best preachers of the twentieth century. His sermons are timeless as they pierce right to the heart of matters concerning faith and life. His sermons are filled with the call for men to turn their hearts toward God and the practical wisdom that only can be matched by our Puritan forefathers.Here Lloyd-Jones calls on preachers to be honest with themselves as they preach. Preachers are not pulpiteers of psychology, or promoters of self-help. Preachers are men who are called to show humanity that they are dead-men who can only be healed by Christ, the physician of the soul.
There are so many people trying to diagnose the human situation; and they come to the conclusion that man is sick, man is unhappy, man is the victim of circumstances. They believe therefore that his primary need is to have these things dealt with, that he must be delivered from them. But I suggest that is too superficial a diagnosis of the condition of man, and man's real trouble is that he is a rebel against God and consequently under the wrath of God.
-Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers.
3 comments:
Preachers are men who are called to show humanity that they are dead men who can only be healed by Christ...
A preacher or an evangelist/missionary?
Typically, preachers are "preaching to the choir": people who have already made a profession of faith and are alive in Christ (not dead men). Unless, of course, you are a proponent of "seeker services."
The quote, though, certainly drives to the heart of man's condition without Christ and society's fruitless search for a "cure"; even more so in the 21st century.
DMLJ is speaking of one aspect of preaching which happens to be quite important.
One must preach to different hearers. There are many kinds of people in the pews, and sadly, the unconverted are amongst us.
Good, good stuff.
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