Our fragile enivronments
Insights Magazine
Fri, 26th Apr 2024
Martyn Loyd Jones’ sermons downloaded millions of times
Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ sermons have been listened to nearly 20 million times since the late preacher’s Trust shared them for free 10 years ago.
Born in Cardiff, Dr Martyn Loyd-Jones was one of the most influential preachers of the 20th century. Dr Lloyd-Jones worked as the pastor of Westminster Chapel from 1939-1968 after ministering at Port Talbot for over a decade.
Martyn Lloyd Jones’ Trust established in 2013 as a charitable trust to distribute and promote the audio sermons of the late Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
The sermons have been shared on the Trust’s website, app, and YouTube channel.
Greg Jones is President of Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust.
“Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones was used mightily by God during his ministry and his recorded sermons are treasures for the church today,” he said.
“Many believers are unaware of the continued existence of these sermons. Our goal is to keep sharing them as widely as possible so that more people from across the world can hear the life-changing message of the forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ via Dr Lloyd-Jones’ sermons.”
Founded in 2013, the Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust was set up to digitise and distribute the sermons of the late minister (1899-1981) for free online. To mark its 10th anniversary, the Trust is working on a technical project in Dr Lloyd-Jones’ former home in Port Talbot to enhance and modernise the recordings of the doctor’s sermons from 1952.
Alistair Begg is Senior Pastor at Parkside Church in Cleveland.
“Dr Lloyd-Jones was riveting to listen to, he didn’t carry people with the force of his personality, but with the force of his conviction,” he said.
“He was the embodiment of the belief that there was no greater privilege than to serve God, and that there was no ideal place to serve God, except the place he set you down. He was very clever, but his intellect did not intrude upon his preaching, his humility was the key to his sense of authority.”
The goal of the Trust is to share all 1,600 of Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ teachings and sermons for free.
As well as Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust’s website (MLJTrust.org), the sermons – which include Dr Lloyd-Jones’ series on Spiritual Depression, expositional series on Ephesians, and his Magnum Opus series on Romans – can also be listened to for free on the MLJ Trust’s app and YouTube.
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Jonathan Foye
Jonathan Foye is Insights’ Editor
2 thoughts on “Martyn Loyd Jones’ sermons downloaded millions of times”
Martin Lloyd-Jones needs to be read with care and caution. A number of his views conflict with the “informed faith” that the Uniting Church places at the heart of our faith.
Lloyd-Jones believed in the absolute inerrancy of scripture. He provided strongly-Calvinistic readings with a firm literalist understanding of the Bible. He disliked critical approaches to biblical interpretation.
He opposed ecumenical efforts oriented towards unity amongst denominations and refused to work with people with whom he disagreed; he had a very public argument with John Stott about this matter.
He was negative towards colleges training people for ministry, and questioned the need for greater knowledge amongst preachers—even though he had trained as a doctor before becoming a preacher, and held both undergraduate and doctoral degrees in medicine.
He advocated for “the order of creation” in the Bible, maintaining that the husband is the head of the household and wives are called to be submissive.
He criticised people who defined themselves in terms of what he called “the sex instinct” (i.e. attraction to one’s own gender) and said that this left no room for “the soul” in understanding ourselves.
He considered that working to improve the conditions of people in this world (what he called “political activity” seeking to make real “New Society”) does nothing to advance the Gospel.
Read and listen (if you must) with caution—take care!!!
Thanks John S for a timely warning regarding Martyn Lloyd-Jones approach to theology and biblical interpretation. As I teenager – that’s some time ago now, one of Martyn L-J’s books was in the family home, which I read at the time with interest.
I’ve just revisited this book: Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, and it did not take long for me to find the “strongly-Calvinistic readings”. For example:
“The children of God have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life before the foundation of the world. There is nothing contingent about this. . . . His purposes are immutable and changeless, and they envisage our eternal destiny and nothing less” (p.132)
If God’s purposes are largely understood in these narrow, individualistic terms regarding our personal eternal destinies, where on earth is there a place for Jesus’ prophetic ministry, confronting the political powers in Jerusalem, as happened at the first Easter? Apparently, according to Martyn L-J, Jesus should have stayed up in Galilee saving individual souls, and not got distracted with “political activity” seeking to make real “New Society”.
I give thanks to God that Jesus presented a far more expansive, wholistic gospel which, for instance, the NSW.ACT Synod bears witness to in its support of the Yes23 indigenous voice to parliament campaign.