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D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones #1
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The First Forty Years, 1899-1939 v. 1
When Martyn Lloyd-Jones, physician, preacher and Christian Leader, died in 1981, after more then 40 years in London, few knew the remarkable story of his formative earlier years which, in the authorised biography, is now told for the first time. From his rural Welsh background to St Bartholomew’s Hospital (where at the age of 23 he was Chief Clinical Assistant to Sir Thomas Horder, the King’s Physician), then, suddenly at 27, to a struggling Calvinistic Methodist Church in Aberavon, South Wales, he appears successively as schoolboy, dairyman’s assistant, political enthusiast, debater, doctor, and finally Christian preacher.
Some regarded his change of career as romantic, others as foolish. The one thing of which Dr Lloyd-Jones was sure was that his settlement amid the industrial depression of South Wales was no sacrifice: ‘I gave up nothing. I received everything. I count it the highest honour God can confer on any man to call to be herald of the gospel’
This volume traces the unforgettable events of his first pastorate, his wider ministry in Wales (where, by 1933, the press reported, ‘he draws thousands to hear his message in all parts of the Principality’), his first visits to North America, and finally his settlement at Westminster Chapel, London,on the eve of World War II. While some saw him as ‘the modern Moody’, and others as ‘the last of the Calvanistic preachers’, Iain H. Murray’s work makes constant use of the hitherto unpublished material, and is able to present Dr Lloyd-Jones’ own view of his life and ministry.
Some regarded his change of career as romantic, others as foolish. The one thing of which Dr Lloyd-Jones was sure was that his settlement amid the industrial depression of South Wales was no sacrifice: ‘I gave up nothing. I received everything. I count it the highest honour God can confer on any man to call to be herald of the gospel’
This volume traces the unforgettable events of his first pastorate, his wider ministry in Wales (where, by 1933, the press reported, ‘he draws thousands to hear his message in all parts of the Principality’), his first visits to North America, and finally his settlement at Westminster Chapel, London,on the eve of World War II. While some saw him as ‘the modern Moody’, and others as ‘the last of the Calvanistic preachers’, Iain H. Murray’s work makes constant use of the hitherto unpublished material, and is able to present Dr Lloyd-Jones’ own view of his life and ministry.
408 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 1982
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568 people want to read
About the author
Iain H. Murray
60 books240 followersIain Hamish Murray is a British pastor and author. He was educated in the Isle of Man and at the University of Durham before entering ministry in 1955. He served as assistant to Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel (1956–59) and subsequently at Grove Chapel, London (1961–69) and St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Sydney, Australia, (1981–84). In 1957 he and Jack Cullum founded the Reformed publishing house, the Banner of Truth Trust, of which he continues to serve as a trustee.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
October 1, 2017
In case you couldn't tell from its title, this book is volume 1 of 2 of a comprehensive biography of D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. It is well-written, informative, and chock-full of quotations from Lloyd-Jones himself (gathered mostly from letters and sermons). I always love it when a biography gives its subject opportunity to speak for himself or herself. Those are the times when I really feel as if I can get to know the person. And from volume 1 at least, what I have learned most especially about Lloyd-Jones is that he was committed to keeping the church set apart from the world, committed to seeing people come to Christ (whether they grew up inside or outside church life), and committed to standing firm against theological liberalism.
Here are a few of my favorite Lloyd-Jones insights from the first forty years:
-"The great cardinal principles of our belief are scarcely ever mentioned, indeed there is a movement on foot to amend them so as to bring them up-to-date. How on earth can you talk of bringing these eternal truths up to date? They are not only up-to-date, they are and will be ahead of the times to all eternity."
-"The church is no longer distinct from the world, for instead of the church going out into the world we have allowed the world to capture the church from the inside."
-"Our Christianity has the appearance of being an adjunct or an appendix to the rest of our lives instead of being the main theme and the moving force in our existence. . . . We seem to have a real horror of being different. Hence all our attempts and endeavors to popularise the church and make it appeal to people. We seem to be trying to tell people that their joining a church will not make them so very different after all."
-"When, as happened at times, people referred in admiring terms to his self-denial in entering the ministry, he repudiated the intended compliment completely. 'I gave up nothing,' he said on one such occasion, 'I received everything. I count it the highest honour that God can confer on any man to call him to be a herald of the gospel.'"
Looking forward to volume 2!
(Read for the 2017 Tim Challies Christian Reading Challenge: A book by Iain Murray)
Here are a few of my favorite Lloyd-Jones insights from the first forty years:
-"The great cardinal principles of our belief are scarcely ever mentioned, indeed there is a movement on foot to amend them so as to bring them up-to-date. How on earth can you talk of bringing these eternal truths up to date? They are not only up-to-date, they are and will be ahead of the times to all eternity."
-"The church is no longer distinct from the world, for instead of the church going out into the world we have allowed the world to capture the church from the inside."
-"Our Christianity has the appearance of being an adjunct or an appendix to the rest of our lives instead of being the main theme and the moving force in our existence. . . . We seem to have a real horror of being different. Hence all our attempts and endeavors to popularise the church and make it appeal to people. We seem to be trying to tell people that their joining a church will not make them so very different after all."
-"When, as happened at times, people referred in admiring terms to his self-denial in entering the ministry, he repudiated the intended compliment completely. 'I gave up nothing,' he said on one such occasion, 'I received everything. I count it the highest honour that God can confer on any man to call him to be a herald of the gospel.'"
Looking forward to volume 2!
(Read for the 2017 Tim Challies Christian Reading Challenge: A book by Iain Murray)
October 29, 2018
After reading Iain Murray's most recent single-volume on Dr. Lloyd-Jones, I decided to take up the first of his two volume biography of The Doctor. I'm a bit obsessed as the Lord was with him so extraordinarily in both doctrine and power. That's such a rarity in modern men of God and I find it compelling to say the least.
If you've read the single volume edition of Murray's biography, the only reason you should get this one is if you're really really interested. The naritive is the same, but with a bit more sources and anecdotes filled throughout. It's worthwhile if you want to know more about the man that God used to revive reformed doctrine in the West.
If you've read the single volume edition of Murray's biography, the only reason you should get this one is if you're really really interested. The naritive is the same, but with a bit more sources and anecdotes filled throughout. It's worthwhile if you want to know more about the man that God used to revive reformed doctrine in the West.
July 25, 2022
A “must read” for pastors who take seriously the role of preaching. I’ve read many biographies, but none has been so encouraging as this one has been for my soul. Can’t wait to get started on Volume 2…
September 23, 2025
A brilliant first part of a biography. Helped me appreciate where MLJ was coming from and how his convictions were formed.
As others have suggested, I will next read (or re-read!) Preaching and Preachers before reading the second volume.
As others have suggested, I will next read (or re-read!) Preaching and Preachers before reading the second volume.
August 4, 2025
A volume worth reading. (I will follow the advice of a friend who told me to read Preaching and Preachers in between Vol 1 and Vol 2 of Murray’s biography on D. M. Lloyd-Jones.)
June 26, 2017
I have known of Martyn-Lloyd Jones for years, but have never had a chance to be intimately acquainted with his life and ministry. And I must say now, after finishing volume 1, I immensely like the man. What an interesting fellow. Intense, serious, genuine, and passionate. For some reason he doesn't strike me as the typical orator, but he was a God-ordained, anointed preacher nonetheless. I like his focus on the pulpit. He loved to read, learn, and prepare his sermons. He had a logical, tightly reasoned manner of discourse, but lit and animated with the power of the Holy Spirit. And to find out that he worked with G. Campbell Morgan was absolutely fascinating. Morgan represents the last of the great Victorian preachers. And to know Lloyd-Jones was courted and served as his associate is indeed fascinating stuff.
This is the first book I've read of Iain Murray's and I'll have to say I was quite impressed. I like his style. Erudite, yet very readable. Sometimes the narrative would bog down with the weight of detail, but quickly would bounce back with interest and vitality. I've marked the book up pretty good. Murray's a good author. He does a good job of getting out of the way. And to think he worked with Lloyd-Jones, and published the book a year after his death! Is there any greater honor than to have your associate become your biographer? That says something! So there's this interesting line of succession from the consummate Victorian preacher Spurgeon, to Campbell, to Lloyd-Jones, and now to Murray, the scribe (if you will). Murray is still alive, but when he passes he leaves the Banner of Truth publishing company. Now, I'm not reformed in my soteriology, but, I'll have to say, I love learning and gleaning from this tradition. And after this biography I can say with thankfulness, I've met an exciting new friend in ML-J. Can't wait to dive into volume 2! Very satisfying read.
This is the first book I've read of Iain Murray's and I'll have to say I was quite impressed. I like his style. Erudite, yet very readable. Sometimes the narrative would bog down with the weight of detail, but quickly would bounce back with interest and vitality. I've marked the book up pretty good. Murray's a good author. He does a good job of getting out of the way. And to think he worked with Lloyd-Jones, and published the book a year after his death! Is there any greater honor than to have your associate become your biographer? That says something! So there's this interesting line of succession from the consummate Victorian preacher Spurgeon, to Campbell, to Lloyd-Jones, and now to Murray, the scribe (if you will). Murray is still alive, but when he passes he leaves the Banner of Truth publishing company. Now, I'm not reformed in my soteriology, but, I'll have to say, I love learning and gleaning from this tradition. And after this biography I can say with thankfulness, I've met an exciting new friend in ML-J. Can't wait to dive into volume 2! Very satisfying read.
July 15, 2024
In an age that insists churches must spend thousands of dollars on advertising, labor to be culturally relevant, avoid offending at all costs, and make sure that people have fun and leave Sunday mornings with good feelings this book stands out to me as a testimony of hope for another way. If the above formula is the only way for the church to succeed today than the power of the Holy Spirit to convict and draw is all a sham. If preaching Christ crucified is not actually enough anymore than the message was never what I thought it was when I first believed. But praise God, this book strengthens my faith in the foolishness of God being more wise than the “wisdom” of men. Maybe being a godly man that is devoted to prayer and filled with the Holy Spirit proclaiming the truths of God is really enough to build the church and glorify God. I know I intend to find out
Read again 2024
Read again 2024
March 26, 2018
A must read! So looking forward to volume two.
June 23, 2023
Read and listen to Martyn Lloyd-Jones! It is hard to express my respect for the Doctor and his ministry in Wales and beyond during his early years. His impact was even greater after he began serving at Westminster Chapel in London which is covered in volume 2. I am looking forward to beginning it soon.
April 13, 2013
I love biographies, Iain Murray is one of my favorite writers of biographies and I especially love comprehensive biographies so I was destined to enjoy this first volume of what will be 1200 pages on Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones. I was not disappointed... though neither can I say that I was wowed. While I love comprehensive biographies they are by their very nature a bit on the dull side at times and even my favorite biography writer could not completely counteract that tendency.
One thing that sets this biography apart from other comprehensive biographies of other great preachers is how well acquainted the author was with his subject. Iain Murray had known Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones for years, had worked with him closely and shared his most important passions and persuasions. It is rare that a man who knows his subject and understands his subject so well is also a great writer and able to write an engaging and perceptive biography of his subject. This book does not just deal with the surface facts of Lloyd Jones's life but shows what he had a heart for and why. This is a great service to the church because we need more people with a heart like Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones and perhaps in reading about what made him tick, our own hearts will begin to tick a little more in sync with his... and with the Savior whom he loved.
One thing that sets this biography apart from other comprehensive biographies of other great preachers is how well acquainted the author was with his subject. Iain Murray had known Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones for years, had worked with him closely and shared his most important passions and persuasions. It is rare that a man who knows his subject and understands his subject so well is also a great writer and able to write an engaging and perceptive biography of his subject. This book does not just deal with the surface facts of Lloyd Jones's life but shows what he had a heart for and why. This is a great service to the church because we need more people with a heart like Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones and perhaps in reading about what made him tick, our own hearts will begin to tick a little more in sync with his... and with the Savior whom he loved.
August 14, 2024
Good. Helpful and very quotable but the start is laboursome on details about his upbringing which I think could have been done in a single chapter. I often find this with biography.
The description of his leaving a very profitable role as a Doctor for the Christian ministry is interesting and there is much to be learned from him.
One paraphrased quote that has particularly helped me: "you cannot accept Jesus as your justification but not as your sanctification. You cannot accept him as your saviour but not your Lord. You cannot have him as your friend but not your King".
I would recommend this, but I suspect the concise version by the same author is more profitable to read.
The description of his leaving a very profitable role as a Doctor for the Christian ministry is interesting and there is much to be learned from him.
One paraphrased quote that has particularly helped me: "you cannot accept Jesus as your justification but not as your sanctification. You cannot accept him as your saviour but not your Lord. You cannot have him as your friend but not your King".
I would recommend this, but I suspect the concise version by the same author is more profitable to read.
April 5, 2013
The definitive bio of the Doctor. This is the first in a two volume set about one of the great heroes of evangelicalism in the 20th century. To truly understood MLJ, I think one has to have a healthy diet of his works, Preaching & Preachers, and this biography. I look forward to reading more about ML-J's time in Westminster in book 2.
February 20, 2022
This is an excellent biography, and I heartily commend it. However, I think it is best to listen to the Doctor's preaching before reading this book. The testimonies from those who heard him resonate strongly with my own experience of his preaching. I will say that I'm quite biased because I came into the biography an admirer of Lloyd-Jones, and I leave it with a strong affirmation of my prejudice. It can often be a cliche, but this man truly was a man of conviction. His sense of the call of God and subsequent departure from medical practice, where he would have assuredly led a comfortable and "successful" life, for the ministry of obscurity (at least initially) at Aberavon is truly remarkable. His contemporaries had no idea what to do with him—it was indeed the call of God. Moreover, his love for the people there and his indefatigable labors there earned him their love in return. I appreciated that the biography gave many of the reports of the reception of his sermons (also, why can't our newspapers have this?), because it really shows the power to be found in the foolishness of preaching. His convictions made him a strong opponent to emotionalism, because the power lies in the Word and not in the machinations of man to produce sentiment. On many points of his personality I find a kindred spirit, though I wish I had a portion of his intense zeal for the glory of God.
In a surprising way, I find Bethan Lloyd-Jones to be almost as fascinating as the Doctor himself. Not much attention is given to her in the book so far, but she is a remarkable woman and I admire her so much. She too gave up a promising career in medicine in order to support her husband in ministry wholeheartedly. She raised her children, participated in ministry to women at the church, and supported her husband with what seems like great humility from what I can gather. She reminds me a lot of my grandma, which is probably why I'm so drawn to her character. Anyway, I'm glad for Bethan Lloyd-Jones, and I hope Volume 2 has more about her.
I've heard that Volume 2 is better than Volume 1, so I'm really excited to keep going because I really enjoyed this one.
In a surprising way, I find Bethan Lloyd-Jones to be almost as fascinating as the Doctor himself. Not much attention is given to her in the book so far, but she is a remarkable woman and I admire her so much. She too gave up a promising career in medicine in order to support her husband in ministry wholeheartedly. She raised her children, participated in ministry to women at the church, and supported her husband with what seems like great humility from what I can gather. She reminds me a lot of my grandma, which is probably why I'm so drawn to her character. Anyway, I'm glad for Bethan Lloyd-Jones, and I hope Volume 2 has more about her.
I've heard that Volume 2 is better than Volume 1, so I'm really excited to keep going because I really enjoyed this one.
March 15, 2020
I bought this volume, along with its companion volume, many years ago, but have only decided to read it now ... and I'm so glad I have read it!
As biographies go, it is right up there with any other one that I have read. It has detailed background, character insight, contemporaneous records and a readable style.
However, it is not just a literary work; no! It is an insight into a time in the providence of God that he raised up a man, who like John Baptist, was 'sent from God.' That man was Dr D Martyn Lloyd-Jones!
The things about him, evidenced in this volume, that are worth every Christian paying close attention to are:
1. A deep and personal consciousness of the person, holiness and purposes of God;
2. A clear understanding of the gospel as God's means of saving sinful men and women.
3. The primacy in spiritual renewal and the work of God of the exegetical, expository and experimental application of Scripture.
4. An awareness of how God leads and guides his people for His glory, their service and others' blessing.
5. The need to be unassuming in our service for God, real.ising that the battle is His and the glory is His alone!
I wholeheartedly recommend this volume to all.
As biographies go, it is right up there with any other one that I have read. It has detailed background, character insight, contemporaneous records and a readable style.
However, it is not just a literary work; no! It is an insight into a time in the providence of God that he raised up a man, who like John Baptist, was 'sent from God.' That man was Dr D Martyn Lloyd-Jones!
The things about him, evidenced in this volume, that are worth every Christian paying close attention to are:
1. A deep and personal consciousness of the person, holiness and purposes of God;
2. A clear understanding of the gospel as God's means of saving sinful men and women.
3. The primacy in spiritual renewal and the work of God of the exegetical, expository and experimental application of Scripture.
4. An awareness of how God leads and guides his people for His glory, their service and others' blessing.
5. The need to be unassuming in our service for God, real.ising that the battle is His and the glory is His alone!
I wholeheartedly recommend this volume to all.
January 13, 2013
Martyn Lloyd-Jones was one of the key figures in the course of Evangelical history in the twentieth century, particularly in Great Britain but also worldwide. His legacy is primarily the restoration of Calvinistic preaching in a nation that had largely forgotten it since the voice of C.H. Spurgeon had been stilled late in the nineteenth century. His impact cannot really be overstated, and elsewhere historian Michael Haykin has stated that "if there was one man who, under God, spearheaded the renewal of an evangelical, Biblical Calvinisim in the last fifty years, it is this man." Though his influence was international, he is largely forgotten by many today, so that this book, the first of a two-volume biography by Iain Murray, does the church a service with his detailed, moving account.
I see two ways in which it could be said of Martyn Lloyd-Jones that he was instrumental in the tearing down of strongholds, the destroying of arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). The first emerged from the unique perspective of his early career that allowed him to see things far differently from the prevailing thought of his day. As a young man, he distinguished himself as a brilliant rising star in the world of medicine and actually became the chief assistant to Lord Horder, who was the Royal Physician at St. Bartholomew's in London.
But he was soon to become increasingly dissatisfied with his chosen profession. One of the things that struck him was the spiritual sickness of many of the aristocratic patients who came to see Horder. ML-J was raised on the tepid faith of a liberal Christianity that focussed on the betterment of society through social policies. The conventional wisdom was that the problems in society, particularly among the so-called "lower classes", could be solved by education and politics. But as he began to look at those who were considered to be the cream of English society, he was shocked to discover that their problems were identical to those in the "lower classes." He began to realize that the problem of many of these people was that they were sinners. As he began to realize this, he began to have the spotlight turned back on to his own heart, and he came to see his own deep-rooted sin.
"I am a Christian," he could later say, "solely and entirely because of the grace of God, not because of anything I have thought, or said, or done. He brought me to know I was dead, 'dead in trespasses and sins,' a slave to the world, and the flesh, and the Devil, that in me 'dwelleth no good thing,' that I was under the wrath of God, heading for eternal punishment. He brought me to see that the real cause of all my troubles and ills, and that of all men, was an evil, fallen nature which hated God and loved sin. My trouble was not only that I did things that were wrong, I myself was wrong at the very center of my being" (p.64).
So his realization and argumentation that the problems of society were not, at root, intellectual but moral, and further that the moral problem was not merely dealing with "sins" but was the problem of sin itself, challenged one modern myth that had been uncritically accepted for some time.
The second instance where he turned on its head the accepted beliefs of his time would be his putting the lie to what was "virtually an axiom of modern thought, that no one could be a scientist and a believer in an authoritative Bible at one and the same time." Science was supposed to have rendered impossible the claim of Scripture to be the Word of God. This was what the liberal seminaries were teaching, and they were producing whole generations of preachers who preached without power because they did not have any confidence in the Scriptures and thus did not preach the gospel. "But here was a man coming from Barts, the citadel of science, and from the consulting rooms of Thomas Horder - one of the most brilliant rationalists of the age" - preaching with confidence and power the old traditional doctrines, including the authority of the Bible. To be sure, liberalism remained widespread, but ML-J gave intellectual respectibility to Biblical, Calvinistic Christianity.
After his conversion, he felt a powerful call to preach the gospel, a call with which he struggled mightily, as all of his close Christian friends told him not to give up medicine because of the influence he could have in his current position. But the call to preach the gospel was something he could not refuse, so he gave up medicine. He went back to his native Wales with his new wife Bethan, to a very small town called Aberavon, where he began preaching in a place called the Bethlehem Forward Movement Mission, a Presbyterian church in a very poor, lower class area. He was there from 1927-1939. In those twelve years he saw God move in the hearts of people who had been hardened to the gospel. Most of the conversions were in people who were in their forties and older, which is very unusual. Though he never used the word "revival", his time there certainly had those features.
As his reputation spread around Great Britain, he began to receive offers to go elsewhere. One of them was the one that led him out of Wales, to go to Westminster Chapel in London in 1939. His ministry from that point on is chronicled in the second volume.
The opinion was common that ML-J made a great sacrifice by giving up medicine to enter into the ministry. His response was this: "I gave up nothing; I received everything. I count it the highest honour that God can confer on any man, to call him to be a herald of the Gospel" (p.150).
I see two ways in which it could be said of Martyn Lloyd-Jones that he was instrumental in the tearing down of strongholds, the destroying of arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). The first emerged from the unique perspective of his early career that allowed him to see things far differently from the prevailing thought of his day. As a young man, he distinguished himself as a brilliant rising star in the world of medicine and actually became the chief assistant to Lord Horder, who was the Royal Physician at St. Bartholomew's in London.
But he was soon to become increasingly dissatisfied with his chosen profession. One of the things that struck him was the spiritual sickness of many of the aristocratic patients who came to see Horder. ML-J was raised on the tepid faith of a liberal Christianity that focussed on the betterment of society through social policies. The conventional wisdom was that the problems in society, particularly among the so-called "lower classes", could be solved by education and politics. But as he began to look at those who were considered to be the cream of English society, he was shocked to discover that their problems were identical to those in the "lower classes." He began to realize that the problem of many of these people was that they were sinners. As he began to realize this, he began to have the spotlight turned back on to his own heart, and he came to see his own deep-rooted sin.
"I am a Christian," he could later say, "solely and entirely because of the grace of God, not because of anything I have thought, or said, or done. He brought me to know I was dead, 'dead in trespasses and sins,' a slave to the world, and the flesh, and the Devil, that in me 'dwelleth no good thing,' that I was under the wrath of God, heading for eternal punishment. He brought me to see that the real cause of all my troubles and ills, and that of all men, was an evil, fallen nature which hated God and loved sin. My trouble was not only that I did things that were wrong, I myself was wrong at the very center of my being" (p.64).
So his realization and argumentation that the problems of society were not, at root, intellectual but moral, and further that the moral problem was not merely dealing with "sins" but was the problem of sin itself, challenged one modern myth that had been uncritically accepted for some time.
The second instance where he turned on its head the accepted beliefs of his time would be his putting the lie to what was "virtually an axiom of modern thought, that no one could be a scientist and a believer in an authoritative Bible at one and the same time." Science was supposed to have rendered impossible the claim of Scripture to be the Word of God. This was what the liberal seminaries were teaching, and they were producing whole generations of preachers who preached without power because they did not have any confidence in the Scriptures and thus did not preach the gospel. "But here was a man coming from Barts, the citadel of science, and from the consulting rooms of Thomas Horder - one of the most brilliant rationalists of the age" - preaching with confidence and power the old traditional doctrines, including the authority of the Bible. To be sure, liberalism remained widespread, but ML-J gave intellectual respectibility to Biblical, Calvinistic Christianity.
After his conversion, he felt a powerful call to preach the gospel, a call with which he struggled mightily, as all of his close Christian friends told him not to give up medicine because of the influence he could have in his current position. But the call to preach the gospel was something he could not refuse, so he gave up medicine. He went back to his native Wales with his new wife Bethan, to a very small town called Aberavon, where he began preaching in a place called the Bethlehem Forward Movement Mission, a Presbyterian church in a very poor, lower class area. He was there from 1927-1939. In those twelve years he saw God move in the hearts of people who had been hardened to the gospel. Most of the conversions were in people who were in their forties and older, which is very unusual. Though he never used the word "revival", his time there certainly had those features.
As his reputation spread around Great Britain, he began to receive offers to go elsewhere. One of them was the one that led him out of Wales, to go to Westminster Chapel in London in 1939. His ministry from that point on is chronicled in the second volume.
The opinion was common that ML-J made a great sacrifice by giving up medicine to enter into the ministry. His response was this: "I gave up nothing; I received everything. I count it the highest honour that God can confer on any man, to call him to be a herald of the Gospel" (p.150).
August 23, 2020
I don't remember ever enjoying a biography more than this one. This was an incredibly enjoyable read with a lot of fine details about his life and many detailed quotes. I would recommend this book to any Christian, but especially to anyone who has read or listened to Martyn Lloyd-Jones before as I think that makes one appreciate the level of detail in this book. This book has definitely helped to ignite more gospel zeal in my heart!
June 14, 2022
Remarkable. One of the best biographies I’ve ever read.
I loved it so much, I was already thinking about when I could read it again. Thankfully, there’s a Volume 2.
Lloyd-Jones has been a hero of mine for a few years. This biography showed me his life as well as his teaching are instructive for anyone who desires to enter pulpit ministry.
I loved it so much, I was already thinking about when I could read it again. Thankfully, there’s a Volume 2.
Lloyd-Jones has been a hero of mine for a few years. This biography showed me his life as well as his teaching are instructive for anyone who desires to enter pulpit ministry.
March 10, 2023
One of the greatest preachers and men in the last century, written by an author who seems to write with a silk pen. Pure joy to read about the Lord using this man for His glory, and pure delight to enjoy such a form of writing.
December 8, 2021
Very good! It will go on my reread shelf.
May 24, 2024
One of the most inspiring biographies I've ever read.
February 21, 2025
Remarkable.
November 29, 2018
Inspirational
April 5, 2021
Couldn’t put it down. Brilliant read
November 24, 2025
Great book! Ian Murray does a great job at writing such a detailed and massive biography of just the first 40 years. This includes many stories from the doctor, members of his church and the climate of the times that help illustrate who exactly Lloyd Jones was. Not to mention the great story, character, and encouragement Lloyd Jones brings from his faithfulness in Jesus and in the great doctrine of regeneration in a world of the lacking.
July 12, 2017
I first read this book soon after it was published over thirty years ago. My Mother used to get up early on Sunday mornings to read one of Dr Lloyd-Jones' sermons and saved birthday money to buy his books as they were published.
It was interesting to come back to this book after many years and now, as someone who, like Dr Lloyd-Jones has left a career as a physician.
Dr Lloyd-Jones was a successful young physician when in the late 1920s, he left Barts Hospital for a poor South Wales church. South Wales was in the midst of the Great Depression and was also a hot bed of the Labour movement. Lloyd-Jones (L-J) church was in Ramsay MacDonald's constituency. Yet, L-J resolutely avoided politics and preached the Gospel. Soon, there were results, initially amongst church goers: the church secretary, L-J's wife and a member of the church committee were converted. Yes, they had been going to church for years but they had never experienced a change of heart. The church grew and people who would have never darkened the door came to know the Lord. The book has some amazing testimonies: people with drink problems, those who couldn't open their mouths without swearing and a spiritualist amongst others. In this poor church where many were unemployed, it was possible to pay off the church debt.
Of course, L-J was called on to preach at the many special services that then characterised chapel life in Wales. People thronged to hear him and the social media of his day, the newspapers reported. However, many of the liberal ministers didn't approve.
After eleven years, of church growth, extensive preaching elsewhere and being called upon for medical opinions L-J was exhausted and felt that his ministry in South Wales was over. After a complex few months, he was called initially part-time, and on a temporary basis, to assist with the ministry at Westminster Chapel. Indeed, he spent the rest of his pastoral ministry there although this is mainly covered in volume 2.
What do I think?
-this book is definitely worth reading because of the wonderful growth at Sandfields, the South Wales church.
-L-J is less known today for his evangelistic preaching than for his expository ministry. Actually, the emphasis of his ministry in South Wales was on preaching the Gospel.
-Lloyd-Jones thoughts on giving up medicine are worth reading. He gave up medicine because he wanted to help people's souls not just make them well to carry on as before. He didn't think that giving up medicine for the ministry was giving up a superior career for an inferior but changing to something far greater. Would that more men thought like this.
-as a more recent medical leaver, I think that L-J would have benefited from more modern rules. He became overloaded with requests for medical opinions. This isn't an issue for me as a more recent leaver as rules now state that to continue in practice, it is necessary to do 50 hours of continuing professional development per year. I can't give the occasional opinion as I don't have time to do the training.
-L-J wasn't trained in a liberal divinity school. We don't seem to have learned this lesson. Much decline in church doctrine has come in through Bible colleges. The Bible did have schools of the prophets but in the New Testament, a more apprenticeship model seems more common.
-in some ways, the book is rather uncritical. This is probably because it was written soon after L-J's death by someone who had been his assistant. Thirty years on, a more critical approach would be helpful. Some of the descriptions, remind me of old style physicians: I guess that L-J could be quite abrupt and didn't suffer fools gladly. More important, I have always wondered and still wonder, whether L-J would have had a greater work if he had remained at Sandfields. Yes, he felt that his work there was over but this was the judgement of a man who was burned out. Sandfields comes over as a warm, evangelistic church in a way that I don't recall from the volume 2 descriptions of Westminster Chapel. Perhaps, I ought to reread volume 2!
It was interesting to come back to this book after many years and now, as someone who, like Dr Lloyd-Jones has left a career as a physician.
Dr Lloyd-Jones was a successful young physician when in the late 1920s, he left Barts Hospital for a poor South Wales church. South Wales was in the midst of the Great Depression and was also a hot bed of the Labour movement. Lloyd-Jones (L-J) church was in Ramsay MacDonald's constituency. Yet, L-J resolutely avoided politics and preached the Gospel. Soon, there were results, initially amongst church goers: the church secretary, L-J's wife and a member of the church committee were converted. Yes, they had been going to church for years but they had never experienced a change of heart. The church grew and people who would have never darkened the door came to know the Lord. The book has some amazing testimonies: people with drink problems, those who couldn't open their mouths without swearing and a spiritualist amongst others. In this poor church where many were unemployed, it was possible to pay off the church debt.
Of course, L-J was called on to preach at the many special services that then characterised chapel life in Wales. People thronged to hear him and the social media of his day, the newspapers reported. However, many of the liberal ministers didn't approve.
After eleven years, of church growth, extensive preaching elsewhere and being called upon for medical opinions L-J was exhausted and felt that his ministry in South Wales was over. After a complex few months, he was called initially part-time, and on a temporary basis, to assist with the ministry at Westminster Chapel. Indeed, he spent the rest of his pastoral ministry there although this is mainly covered in volume 2.
What do I think?
-this book is definitely worth reading because of the wonderful growth at Sandfields, the South Wales church.
-L-J is less known today for his evangelistic preaching than for his expository ministry. Actually, the emphasis of his ministry in South Wales was on preaching the Gospel.
-Lloyd-Jones thoughts on giving up medicine are worth reading. He gave up medicine because he wanted to help people's souls not just make them well to carry on as before. He didn't think that giving up medicine for the ministry was giving up a superior career for an inferior but changing to something far greater. Would that more men thought like this.
-as a more recent medical leaver, I think that L-J would have benefited from more modern rules. He became overloaded with requests for medical opinions. This isn't an issue for me as a more recent leaver as rules now state that to continue in practice, it is necessary to do 50 hours of continuing professional development per year. I can't give the occasional opinion as I don't have time to do the training.
-L-J wasn't trained in a liberal divinity school. We don't seem to have learned this lesson. Much decline in church doctrine has come in through Bible colleges. The Bible did have schools of the prophets but in the New Testament, a more apprenticeship model seems more common.
-in some ways, the book is rather uncritical. This is probably because it was written soon after L-J's death by someone who had been his assistant. Thirty years on, a more critical approach would be helpful. Some of the descriptions, remind me of old style physicians: I guess that L-J could be quite abrupt and didn't suffer fools gladly. More important, I have always wondered and still wonder, whether L-J would have had a greater work if he had remained at Sandfields. Yes, he felt that his work there was over but this was the judgement of a man who was burned out. Sandfields comes over as a warm, evangelistic church in a way that I don't recall from the volume 2 descriptions of Westminster Chapel. Perhaps, I ought to reread volume 2!
August 17, 2010
I actually didn't know much about D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones before my friend Mark lent me this book. I'd heard his name attached to Christian quotes here and there, but I didn't really know much about him, his ministry, or his legacy as a pastor and preacher in England.
Well, Iain Murray has opened my eyes to the treasury of wisdom contained in the words of Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
Murray is a faithful biographer who actually had the privilege and blessing of working for the subject of his biography. He presents a faithful telling of Lloyd-Jones' early life, upbringing, conversion, early medical genius, and sacrifice of that genius for the sake of God's call to a pulpit ministry.
Lloyd-Jones loved the Word of God. God gave him a special gift to understand and teach the Scriptures to people. He also had a special gift for evangelism. God used his gifts many times to convict people of their sinfulness and need for a Savior: Jesus Christ. God used him to bring about a sweeping spiritual revival in England.
Murray includes excerpts from Lloyd-Jones' sermons that really drive that point home. I wish I'd written down the passages in the book that impacted me most; he had such a clarity when it came to the Word of God.
And Murray is, in my opinion, the most talented Christian biographer of our generation. I was first introduced to his biographies when Cornerstone Bible Church's pastor James recommended his Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography.
His account of Lloyd-Jones' early ministry is a gripping read, and a testament to God's faithfulness in the life of one man. One of my biggest takeaways from reading both of these biographies is that the same God who used Edwards to spark the Great Awakening of the 1700s and the same God who used Lloyd-Jones to bring revival to England in the 1900s can bring revival to us today.
I pray that this would start with Cornerstone Bible Church, and in my own heart.
Well, Iain Murray has opened my eyes to the treasury of wisdom contained in the words of Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.
Murray is a faithful biographer who actually had the privilege and blessing of working for the subject of his biography. He presents a faithful telling of Lloyd-Jones' early life, upbringing, conversion, early medical genius, and sacrifice of that genius for the sake of God's call to a pulpit ministry.
Lloyd-Jones loved the Word of God. God gave him a special gift to understand and teach the Scriptures to people. He also had a special gift for evangelism. God used his gifts many times to convict people of their sinfulness and need for a Savior: Jesus Christ. God used him to bring about a sweeping spiritual revival in England.
Murray includes excerpts from Lloyd-Jones' sermons that really drive that point home. I wish I'd written down the passages in the book that impacted me most; he had such a clarity when it came to the Word of God.
And Murray is, in my opinion, the most talented Christian biographer of our generation. I was first introduced to his biographies when Cornerstone Bible Church's pastor James recommended his Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography.
His account of Lloyd-Jones' early ministry is a gripping read, and a testament to God's faithfulness in the life of one man. One of my biggest takeaways from reading both of these biographies is that the same God who used Edwards to spark the Great Awakening of the 1700s and the same God who used Lloyd-Jones to bring revival to England in the 1900s can bring revival to us today.
I pray that this would start with Cornerstone Bible Church, and in my own heart.
March 27, 2018
Late summer 2017 I heard a sermon delivered by Paul Washer titled "Four Pillars of Walking With God" https://youtu.be/7gVDRhzE8nw (an excellent message with +373,000 views on YouTube as of this writing). At some point during his sermon, Washer highly recommends Iain Murray's 2-volume biography of David Martyn Lloyd-Jones. As much as I respect Washer and what he has to say, I knew that Murray's biography would be a worthwhile read, so I ordered it from Amazon. I'm not an avid reader of biographies - I read them once in a while, but it's not a genre I typically reach for. Although I anticipated this to be a good read, the book managed to have surpassed my already high expectations.
Never before have I found myself reaching for a pen & highlighter so often, making notes in the margins and inside the cover of a biography or memoir like I have done with my copy of this book. After somewhat of a slow start as MLJ's childhood years are described, the book becomes a treasure trove of biblical wisdom as his call to ministry and early years ministering in South Wales and later London are expounded upon. Much of the text is spent focusing on the 1930's. It's incredible to be reading of societal and ideological changes that were occurring in the church during the 1930's in the UK, and see how closely many of the big issues of their day parallel the debates that are going on in the church in North America 60-80 years later. The teaching ministry of Dr. Lloyd-Jones is timeless, yet extremely relevant to 21st century American Evangelicalism. History is repeating itself before our eyes. Oh, that there were more men like Martyn Lloyd-Jones today!
Never before have I found myself reaching for a pen & highlighter so often, making notes in the margins and inside the cover of a biography or memoir like I have done with my copy of this book. After somewhat of a slow start as MLJ's childhood years are described, the book becomes a treasure trove of biblical wisdom as his call to ministry and early years ministering in South Wales and later London are expounded upon. Much of the text is spent focusing on the 1930's. It's incredible to be reading of societal and ideological changes that were occurring in the church during the 1930's in the UK, and see how closely many of the big issues of their day parallel the debates that are going on in the church in North America 60-80 years later. The teaching ministry of Dr. Lloyd-Jones is timeless, yet extremely relevant to 21st century American Evangelicalism. History is repeating itself before our eyes. Oh, that there were more men like Martyn Lloyd-Jones today!
January 8, 2010
While Iain Murray and I didn't mesh well, and I almost stopped reading this after chapter 2, I'm glad I pursued the matter awhile longer. David Martyn Lloyd-Jones is well worth reading about, despite a lack of material available on his inner life. Heavy on the state of the church in Great Britain in the early 20th century, Murray relies most on D.M.L-J's sermons for clues to his personal thought-life. (A worthy resource indeed!)
The Doctor is primarily concerned with the glory of God, and out of that follows his great concern for the invisible church and primary emphasis on Biblical, evangelical preaching. This is well worth a read by laymen, church leaders, and preachers.
"The business of preaching is not to entertain, but to lead people to salvation, to teach them how to find God."
"Many people come to listen to the gospel who have been brought up in a religious atmosphere, in religious homes, who have always gone to church and Sunday School, never missed meetings; yet they may be unregenerate. They need the same salvation as the man who may have come to listen, who has never been inside a House of God before. He may have come out of some moral gutter; it does not matter. It is the same way, the same gospel for both, and both must come in in the same way. Religiosity is of no value; morality does not count; nothing matters. We are all reduced to the same level because it is "by faith," because it is "by grace."
The Doctor is primarily concerned with the glory of God, and out of that follows his great concern for the invisible church and primary emphasis on Biblical, evangelical preaching. This is well worth a read by laymen, church leaders, and preachers.
"The business of preaching is not to entertain, but to lead people to salvation, to teach them how to find God."
"Many people come to listen to the gospel who have been brought up in a religious atmosphere, in religious homes, who have always gone to church and Sunday School, never missed meetings; yet they may be unregenerate. They need the same salvation as the man who may have come to listen, who has never been inside a House of God before. He may have come out of some moral gutter; it does not matter. It is the same way, the same gospel for both, and both must come in in the same way. Religiosity is of no value; morality does not count; nothing matters. We are all reduced to the same level because it is "by faith," because it is "by grace."
January 4, 2012
Iain Murray always writes biographies for the purpose of edification. This does not mean that he writes hagiographies or that he tolerates historical inaccuracies. It does mean that his biographies are no mere record of events. He attempts, as much as is possible with external records, to chart not only the life events but also the spiritual and theological growth of his subjects. Lloyd-Jones is without a doubt a worthy subject for such a biography. His growing conviction that the world and the church needs not political triumph, engaging drama to draw in crowds, or a new program to bring in the unchurched but that the world and the church need doctrinal preaching needs special enunciation today. Even in many theologically-conservative Reformed circles the church marketing mood of broader evangelicalism has replaced the conviction that mankind has changed only on the surface and therefore the church need not discover a new method or program to reach the lost. This message is found in many of Lloyd-Jones' sermons, but Murray, in biographical form, contextualizes these convictions so that it becomes plain that they were coupled with loving personal attention to e members of his congregation and community.
February 8, 2015
I really enjoyed getting to know Lloyd-Jones and the godly influence he had during a period of intense liberalization of the church. I liked Murray's writing but I suspect that his more recent one-volume edition is more for a popular level. This volume seemed crammed full of lots of snippets from newspapers and letters and memories of people, as though he wanted to capture as much as he could about the man as possible (his admiration is obvious). And the second volume is twice as long as this one!
It was rather amusing at times to see the difference in humor. The author would often relate a "humorous story" that had my wife and I both wondering what was funny about it. Very, very dry humor apparently, and I typically enjoy British humor :)
It was rather amusing at times to see the difference in humor. The author would often relate a "humorous story" that had my wife and I both wondering what was funny about it. Very, very dry humor apparently, and I typically enjoy British humor :)
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