This post aims at helping readers get more out of the next MLJ post which is on assurance. Therein, he recommended a Jonathan Edwards’ book, which I discuss briefly below. I wanted to compare MLJ with Edwards and the apostle John because of a similarity I have discovered since I began listening to MLJ’s sermons a few months ago. Also, I wanted readers to have a little insight into MLJ’s process so they might find his sermons more valuable.
The process I explain below, also applies to his series on Spiritual Depression (no doubt, to all his sermons). I highly recommend that series if you are depressed. He looks at a couple dozen reasons why you could be depressed, some might apply to you?
Parallels among Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Jonathan Edwards and the apostle John that might make them difficult for you to hear and read.
I used to be provoked by 1 John, especially chapter 2, such that I only read it when I was reading through the Bible. I never studied it….
One day, I told that to a preacher who was then preaching through that epistle (whose church I attended for several years). He explained to me how the writings of the apostle john differ from those of the apostle Paul, whose writings I have no problem reading, as the flow of Paul’s writing is more logical.
That is, I easily understand what Paul was doing, his thinking process, when he presented truth and explained how it is supposed to move us to live, how we are to live because of it….
John’s presentation of the truth of God’s doctrine was not comprehensible to me. It is something like the following, according to my preacher friend: figuratively speaking, he held up a truth and walked around it, explaining it from many different angles.
That is, his writing is not linear, from premise to conclusion. I don’t have a word for it.
There is more to it than that, John’s language is also very different…. Anyhow, what that preacher told me helped me because it reduced the sense of confusion I felt when I read John’s epistles.
MLJ is a bit like the apostle John in his consideration of a biblical topic. Based on having heard a couple hundred of his sermons in the past few months, I see the following:
The passage herein under consideration:
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
MLJ’s presentation of biblical truth:
MLJ’s series is titled the Armor of God. So far, MLJTrust has posted around 25 sermons on the phrase “wiles of the Devil.”
In this series, MLJ is like the apostle John in that he is looking at one topic, the wiles of the Devil, from many angles. He walked around it, as he was preparing his sermons in the 1960’s, I believe, and from each angle he sought to understand exactly how the wiles of the Devil impacted the Christian church as a whole and the individual Christian in his / her walk with the Lord.
In the process, he talked about how the wiles of the Devil impact nations and individuals; churches, denominations, doctrine; and how the confusion the Devil generates, created cults, schism, apostasy, heresy….
All those things and more are considered in terms of how they are impacted (brought into confusion) by the wiles of the Devil.
One last point on MLJ, his sermons are very understandable and he used a lot of biblical references in his sermons. You won’t hear any joking and few, if any secular references (things the modern preachers do that I find very distracting).
I’m mentioning Jonathan Edwards because MLJ talked a bit about Edward’s book, Religious Affections, in the next sermon in his series on the Wiles of the Devil – which I will be posting tomorrow.
I tried to read that book several times and could not. One day, I bought it on Audible and read as I listened. Doing that, I was able to get some insight into how Edwards organized and presented his material. Once I saw that, I was thereafter able to read the book.
Edwards has a process similar to the apostle John, in presenting a doctrine then explaining it, he will break it up into very small segments. Those segments must derive from his perspective from a different angle.
I cannot understand how someone can get so much from studying an object…. But learning a bit about how Edwards presented his observations, helped me to take in what he was saying and to get more from it.
I did a few posts on that book in the CATEGORY, Jonathan Edwards.
I hope you will give MLJ, and Edwards a try because they each have much to say that can certainly help you understand the scriptures.
Featured Image: Photo by John-Mark Smith: https://www.pexels.com/photo/pink-pencil-on-open-bible-page-and-pink-272337/