Thanks to Terry Delaney for filling in this week.
In this sixth lecture/chapter, the Doctor transitions from the importance and the actual act of preaching to the man who is called by God to preach. He begins by laying out an important first principle: not every Christian is called to be a preacher. Yes, we are all called to be ready to offer the reason for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15), but that does not mean everyone who is a Christian is called of God to preach.
Those who are called, however, must be conscious of this call on their life. The Doctor states emphatically, “preaching is never something that a man decides to do” (p. 116). Further, the preacher must, of necessity, lead to a concern for others in addition to a yearning to preach the glories of Christ. ML-J argues that the man called of God can do nothing else though he may try to run from God’s call like Jonah.
There remains a tension, though. The man who is called to preach feels, much like Moses, completely inadequate to the task. Not only is Lloyd-Jones extremely clear on this issue of feeling inadequate, he states at length on page 119
“A man who feels that he is competent, and that he can do this easily, and so rushes to preach without any sense of fear or trembling, or any hesitation whatsoever, is a man who is proclaiming that he has never been ‘called’ to be a preacher. The man who is called by God is a man who realizes what he is called to do, and he realizes the awfulness of the task that he shrinks from it. Nothing but this overwhelming sense of being called, and of compulsion, should ever lead anyone to preach.”
Once the call to preach is confirmed, the preacher must seek to develop his character as a Christian through the power of the Holy Spirit. As his character develops, he seeks opportunities to teach where he might discover he has the ability to teach. If he is unable to teach, then he may need to question his calling for preaching and teaching go hand in hand.
Finally, the one who is to be the preacher must, like a deacon (1 Timothy 3:10) only more so, must be tested and tried. If he is confirmed both externally and internally, he continues his work toward becoming a preacher and a pastor. He must, again of necessity, seek to further his education in Scripture. This will look different for many, but must include nothing less than biblical and theological studies as well as a study in church history.
Personal Reflections
When I first read this book back in 2006, this chapter ministered to me as the one who wanted more than anything to be a preacher. I was serving as a youth pastor, but that was not enough. I wanted to preach. It was this chapter that actually was one of those external confirmations that Lloyd-Jones talks about and it has remained a very important chapter in one of the more influential books in my life.
Tweet Note
The only man who is called to preach is the man who cannot do anything else, in the sense that he is not satisfied with anything else.
Quotables
Preaching is never something that a man decides to do.
Before you can be quite sure that a man is called to be a preacher, his personal call must be confirmed by the Church, it must be attested by the Church.
The preacher must be a godly man. But he must also have wisdom. And not only that, he must also have patience and forbearance.
The chief thing is the love of God, the love of souls, a knowledge of the Truth, and the Holy Spirit within you. These are the things that make the preacher.
Questions
What are your thoughts on the feeling of the inadequacy of the preacher? If you are a preacher, do you struggle with this? How do you battle against this tendency?
Explain the difference between an internal and an external call.
Education is extremely important to Martyn Lloyd-Jones. What are your views on the education of the minister? Do you think he needs seminary training or will local church training suffice? What about self-directed study?
