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Was I right to say, in a previous blog , that the question of whether there is such a thing as ‘revival’ should not divide Christians who are experiencing the ‘extraordinary ordinariness’ of the Spirit’s presence and power? I hope that the rest of that blog, my expressed hesitancy, and sympathy for those who have sincere reservations, as well as my personal belief in revival, were enough to show that I intended that statement to be qualified. Let’s explore it a bit more. The strong, clear undercurrent in Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ (MLJ) exposition of the work of the Holy Spirit, was a concern to maintain the Reformed doctrine of regeneration as the only solution to the problem of sin and the state of fallen humanity as completely dead in trespasses and sins. When MLJ speaks about revival he assumes Calvinistic doctrines about the continual presence of the Holy Spirit in the church, and the Spirit’s work in overseeing the preaching of the gospel in terms of both general and effectual calls...

In this blog I want to do two things. First, summarise the main points from my previous (excessively lengthy) blog for anyone who didn’t feel like wading through it all. Secondly, try and set things up to come back and develop the topic a bit more at a later date. The main point buried beneath all the detail was this: you cannot understand Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s (MLJ) teaching on the Holy Spirit’s work inside revival, in isolation from his understanding of the Spirit’s work outside of revival. That is, when you look at what MLJ taught about Pentecost, and the general call and effectual call of the gospel, as well as the work of regeneration and conversion (and, union with Christ, we could also add) it is clear that he recognised the Spirit to be continuously present and active in the church. But he also saw that the Spirit works with different degrees of power, according to His sovereign plans and purposes, at different times and places, and in different people. The simple existen...

It is very hard to estimate the influence of Martyn Lloyd-Jones (MLJ) on non-conformist Christianity in Wales. Leaving a prominent London medical career to minister in a socially deprived locality among the working classes of Sandfields, Port Talbot, his early ministry stood out as tremendously fruitful at a time when many churches were becoming lifeless under the influence of liberal theologies. Later, as minister of Westminster Chapel in central London, he drew large congregations and many people were helped spiritually through his clear, doctrinal preaching. He became a ‘pastor of pastors’ for a generation of Welsh ministers, inspiring many to make a costly stand and leave denominations which had become increasingly hostile to plain, orthodox Bible teaching. In this sense, his impact was clearly substantial. Still I hesitate, and for this reason. MLJ died 40 years ago this March so I never met him or heard him preach ‘in the flesh’. Through close friendships with older ministers...

I heard one of my least favourite Bible verses again last week. It’s not a ‘bad’ verse - no Scripture is bad if it is interpreted rightly.   It’s just one of those verses that tends to be interpreted very badly and very destructively. I don’t ever remember hearing a proper sermon or bible study on it. But I have heard it invoked several times in situations where a church has fallen into some sad degree of disunity or a leader is facing accusations of misconduct. You may have heard it yourself. It looks something like this. There is a difficult meeting. The pastor is facing criticism. The congregation are divided in their assessment of the situation. And then one of the pastor’s closest supporters drops the bomb: “ Touch not the Lord’s anointed! ” The message is clear. This man is God’s man. No disagreement is permitted. No possibility of serious fault can be countenanced. Discontent ends right now. It’s really quite an odd concept to appeal to in such circumstances. The fi...