May 11 Daily Devotional

A First Book of Daily Readings

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (selected by Frank Cumbers)

May 1 One Lord! We must emphasize the fact that there is only "one Lord." This was the very essence of apostolic preaching. Peter states it unequivocally and boldly when he and John were arraigned before the authorities. "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). There is no other! There is no second! You cannot put anybody by His side. He is absolutely unique. He is no mere man, teacher, or prophet. He is the Son of God! He is the Lord of glory who has taken to Himself human nature! "One Lord Jesus Christ"—and there is no other. Paul puts it thus in a memorable statement: "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth ... but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him" (1 Corinthians 8:5, 6). He expresses the same truth again in 1 Timothy 2:5: 'There is one God, and one mediator"—and only one—"between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Now in this matter of Christian unity this is essential. The unity is the unity of those who believe that there is only "one Lord," and that He is so perfect, and His work so perfect, that He needs no assistance. There is no "co-redemptrix," such as the Roman Catholics claim the Virgin Mary to be. There is no assistant needed. The Christian does not need the supereroga­tion of the saints, and does not need to pray to them. There is only one Mediator, and He is enough. He is complete in and of Himself, and nothing must be added to Him and His perfect completed work.... We look to this unique Lord, and we look at no one but Him. He is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end; He is the all and in all... "One Lord"! The Basis of Christian Unity, pp. 28-9 May 2 The Christian and the world [In verse 19 (of Matthew 6)] our Lord introduces . . . this great question of the Christian living his life in this world in relationship to God as his Father, involved in its affairs and feeling its cares, its strains and its stresses. It is, in fact, the whole problem of what is so often called in the Bible, "the world".... Now what do the Scriptures mean by the expression "the world"? It does not mean the physical universe, or merely a collection of people; it means an outlook and a mentality, it means a way of looking at things, a way of looking at the whole of life. One of the most subtle problems with which the Christian ever has to deal is this problem of his relationship to the world. Our Lord frequently emphasizes that it is not an easy thing to be a Christian. He Himself when He was here in this world was tempted of the devil. He was also confronted by the power and subtlety of the world. The Christian is in precisely the same position. There are attacks which come upon him when he is alone, in private. There are others which come when he goes out into the world. You notice our Lord's order. [Matthew 6:17.] How significant it is. You prepare yourself in the secrecy of your own chamber. You pray and do various other things—— fasting and almsgiving and doing your good deeds unobserved. But you also have to live your life in the world. That world will do its best to get you down, it will do its utmost to ruin your spiritual life. So you have to be very wary. It is a fight of faith, and you need the whole armor of God, because if you have not got it, you will be defeated. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood." It is a stern battle, it is a mighty conflict. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, ii, pp. 78-9 May 3 Can the beauty of Jesus be seen in you? In a sense a depressed Christian is a contradiction in terms, and he is a very poor recommendation for the Gospel. We are living in a pragmatic age. People today are not primarily interested in Truth but they are interested in results. The one question they ask is: Does it work ? They are frantically seeking and searching for something that can help them. Now we believe that God extends His Kingdom partly through His people, and we know that He has oftentimes done some of the most notable things in the history of the Church through the simple Christian living of some quite ordinary people. Nothing is more important, therefore, than that we should be delivered from a condition which gives other people, looking at us, the impression that to be a Christian means to be unhappy, to be sad, to be morbid, and that the Christian is one who "scorns delights and lives laborious days." There are many indeed who give this as a reason for not being Christian.... They say: Look at Christian people.... And they are very fond of contrasting us with people out in the world, people who seem to be so thrilled by the things they believe in.... They shout at their football matches, they talk about the films they have seen, they are full of excitement and want everybody to know it; but Christian people too often seem to be perpetually in the doldrums and too often give this appearance of unhappiness and of lack of freedom and of absence of joy.... It behooves us therefore ... for the sake of the kingdom of God and the glory of the Christ in whom we believe, to represent Him and His cause, His message and His power in such a way that men and women, far from being antagonized, will be drawn and attracted as they observe us, whatever our circumstances or condition. We must so live that they will be compelled to say: Would to God I could be like that... and go through this world as that person does. Spiritual Depression, pp. 11-12 May 4 It works! [The gospel] works—it is "the power of God unto salvation." It is not surprising that Paul uses the word 'power' in writing to Rome. That was their great word. And they tended to judge everything in terms of power.... power was to Rome what wisdom was to Athens. They would not consider anything unless it worked and had power ... Paul knew that, and it was because he knew it that he uttered his challenge. Did they test a gospel by its results? Very well, he is ready to meet them. Nay, more; he is ready to challenge them. What had all their learning and culture and their multitude of religions really produced? If they were interested in results—well, let them produce them.... What is the point and the value of all the philosophies if they cannot deal with the problems of life? ... He, Paul himself, had once boasted of the Jewish Law and of his success in keeping it. But he came to see that all of which he had boasted was merely something external; when he came to see the real inner spiritual meaning of the law, he discovered that he was an utter failure. He works out that theme in chapter 7 of [Romans]. All man's efforts to solve the problems of life fail, whether they be along purely intellectual lines, or consist in moral effort and striving, or in painful trudging along the mystic way. But the gospel which he, Paul, now preached, works! It had worked in his own life. It had changed and transformed everything. It had brought peace and rest to his soul and given victory in his life. And it had done the same to countless thousands of others. How did it do so? ... the gospel alone faces and exposes, and really deals with, the fundamental problem of man and his needs. ... It alone diagnoses accurately; it alone has the remedy. The Plight of Man and the Power of God, pp. 84-5 May 5 See to the foundations! The whole basis of society today... [is the assumption] that as long as man is put right in this respect and that, the result must be that ultimately he will be entirely right. That is the rationale of the modern belief in what is called the social application of the gospel. It is the basis also of the innumerable societies which clutter the religious ground like mushrooms. It is the background of the belief that by means of greater knowledge and instruction the ills of mankind can be cured. Never has the world been busier in trying to treat itself than it has been during the past hundred years. . . . But there is no question about the persistence of problems.... Leagues and movements against this or that particular sin, organizations to propagate various teachings.... Never was the mechanism for making life happy and enjoyable so elaborate and so perfected. But what of the result?... All the effort seems to have resulted in failure, and that for the good reason ... that the man him­self has been forgotten. He can be put right in many respects and still remain miserable and unhappy in himself. Have we not all known men who are clever, cultured, well-mannered, popular, who, as far as one could see, had everything in their favor, and all that could be desired, but who nevertheless knew themselves to be utter failures in life, and were miserable in themselves? They could manage anyone and anything but themselves. A man may be clever. He may hold idealistic views on most subjects. He may perform many beneficent acts. But the question still is: What are his motives? Is he right at the center? Truth Unchanged, Unchanging, pp. 87-9 May 6 I hunger and I thirst;
Jesus, my manna be:
Ye living waters,
burst Out of the rock for me What does it mean ['to hunger and thirst'] ? ... It means a consciousness of our need, of our deep need ... a conscious­ness of our desperate need; it means a deep consciousness of our great need even to the point of pain. It means something that keeps on until it is satisfied. It does not mean just a passing feeling, a passing desire. You remember how Hosea says to the nation of Israel that she is always, as it were, coming forward to the penitent form and then going back to sin. Her righteousness, he says, is as "a morning cloud"—it is here one minute and gone the next. ... 'Hunger' and 'thirst', these are not passing feelings. Hunger is something deep and profound that goes on until it is satisfied. It hurts, it is painful, it is like actual, physical hunger and thirst. It is something that goes on increasing and makes one feel desperate. It is something that causes suffering and agony.... To hunger and thirst is to be like a man who wants a position. He is restless, he cannot keep still; he is working and plodding; he thinks about it, and dreams about it; his ambition is the controlling passion of his life.... "Hungering and thirsting."... The Psalmist has summed it up perfectly in a classical phrase: 'As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God ...' Let me quote some words of the great J.N. Darby which I think put this exceedingly well. He says, 'To be hungry is not enough; I must be really starving to know what is in His heart towards me.' Then comes the perfect statement of the whole thing. He says, 'When the prodigal son was hungry he went to feed upon husks, but when he was starving, he turned to his father.' Now that is the whole position. To hunger and thirst really means to be desperate, to be starving, to feel life is ebbing out, to realize my urgent need of help. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, i, 80-1 May 7 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death
(Proverbs 14:12) The importance of 'the end' is something which is constantly emphasized in the Bible. Our Lord has put it once and for ever in the Sermon on the Mount. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.' . . . Look at the broad way, how marvelous it seems. You can go in with the crowd, you can do what everybody else is doing, and they are all smiling and joking. Wide and broad are the gate and the way. It all seems so marvellous. And this other seems so miserable—"strait is the gate." One at a time, a per­sonal decision, fighting self, taking up the cross.... And it is because they look only at the beginning that so many people are on the broad way.... They do not look at the end. ... The end of the one is destruction, of the other, life. The trouble in life today is that people look only at the beginning. Their view of life is what we may call the cinema or film-star view of life. It always attracts, and all those who live that life are apparently having a marvelous time. Alas that so many young people are brought up to think that that is life, and that always to live like that must be supreme happiness ... people are attracted by the appearance. They look only at the surface; they look only at the beginning. They do not look at this type of life in its end; they give no thought whatsoever to the ultimate outcome. Nevertheless, it is as true today as it has ever been, and the Bible has always said it, that the end of these things is 'destruction'. Faith on Trial, pp. 50-1 May 8 "This was my life—was it a life? (Augustine) I remember very well the case of a man who was an out­standing surgeon in London and in great prominence. Suddenly to the amazement and astonishment of all who knew him it was announced that he had given it all up and had become a ship's doctor. What had happened to that man was this. He was a great man in his profession and he had legitimate ambi­tions with respect to certain honours in the profession. But disappointment in that respect suddenly opened his eyes to the whole situation. He arrived at the conclusion that there was no abiding satisfaction in the life he was living. He saw through it all, but he did not become a Christian. He just became cynical and left it all. There have been many other notable examples of men who have given up everything and have gone into some isolated position where they have found a measure of peace and happiness without becoming Christians. That is one possibility. But they may even go further, they may see the excellences of the Christian life as indicated in the Sermon on the Mount. They say, 'There is no question at all about it, the Christian life is the life, if only everyone lived like that!' They may also have read the lives of the saints, and have recognized that these were men who had something wonderful about them. There was a time when they were not interested, but now they have come to see that the life depicted in the Sermon on the Mount is real life and living, and again, seeing life as portrayed in 1 Corin­thians chapter 13, they say, "If only we all lived like that, the world would be Paradise." They have come to see that much very clearly. Spiritual Depression, p. 41 May 9 Questions we must answer . Do you see how essentially different [the Christian] is from the non-Christian? The vital questions which we therefore ask ourselves are these. Do we belong to this kingdom? Are we ruled by Christ? Is He our King and our Lord? Are we mani­festing these qualities in our daily lives? Is it our ambition to do so ? Do we see that this is what we are meant to be ? Are we truly blessed? Are we happy? Have we been filled? Have we got peace ? I ask, as we [consider the Beatitudes], what do we find ourselves to be ? It is only the man who is like that who is truly happy, the man who is truly blessed. It is a simple ques­tion. My immediate reaction to these Beatitudes proclaims exactly what I am. If I feel they are harsh and hard, if I feel that they are against the grain and depict a character and type of life which I dislike, I am afraid it just means I am not a Christian. If I do not want to be like this, I must be "dead in trespasses and sins"; I can never have received new life. But if I feel that I am unworthy and yet I want to be like that, well, however unworthy I may be, if this is my desire and my ambi­tion, there must be new life in me, I must be a child of God, I must be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven and of God's dear Son. Let every man examine himself (1 Corinthians 11:28) Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, i, p. 41 May 10 Come, divine Interpreter, Bring us eyes Thy Book to read It is also the Holy Spirit alone who can give us true spiritual understanding of the Scriptures, an understanding of the doctrine. John puts this clearly (1 John 2:20). He is dealing with the 'anti-Christs', those people who had been in the Church, but who had gone out of the Church because they were not of it. They had thought that they were converted, and had been accepted as such. But they had now gone out. They had never really been true believers. ... The question arises as to how we can differentiate. How were these ignorant first Christians, most of whom were slaves, to discriminate in these matters? John says, 'But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.' He repeats it in verse 27, "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you." There is an anointing and an unction given by the Holy Ghost which gives us understanding. And thus it has often come to pass in the long history of the Church that certain ignorant, more or less illiterate people have been able to dis­criminate between truth and error much better than the great doctors of the Church. They were simple enough to trust to the "anointing," and thus they were able to distinguish between things that differ. The saintly Samuel Rutherford, that mighty man of God who lived three hundred years ago in Scotland, commented one day, "If you would be a deep divine, I recom­mend to you sanctification." Ultimately the way to understand the Scriptures and all theology is to become holy. It is to be under the authority of the Spirit. It is to be led of the Spirit. Authority, pp. 78-9 May 11 Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also [Jesus] says, 'Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth.' What does He mean by this ? First of all we must avoid interpreting this only with respect to money. Many have done that, and have regarded this as a statement addressed only to rich people. That, I suggest, is foolish. It is addressed to all others also. He does not say, "Lay not up for yourselves money," but "Lay not up for yourselves treasures."Treasures" is a very large term and all-inclusive. It includes money, but it is not money only. It means something much more important. Our Lord is concerned here not so much about our possessions as with our attitude towards our possessions.... There is nothing wrong in having wealth in and of itself; what can be very wrong is a man's relationship to his wealth. And the same thing is true about everything that money can buy. Indeed we go further. It is a question of one's whole attitude towards life in this world. Our Lord is dealing here with people who get their main, or even total satisfaction in this life from things that belong to this world only. What He is warning against here ... is that a man should confine his ambition, his interests and his hopes to this life ... it becomes a much bigger subject than the mere possession of money. Poor people need this exhortation ... quite as much as the rich. We all have treasures in some shape or form. It may not be money. It may be husband, wife or children.... To some people their treasure is their house. That whole danger of being house proud, of living for your house and home is dealt with here. No matter what it is ... if it is everything to you, that is your treasure, that is the thing for which you are living. This is the danger against which our Lord is warning us at this particular point. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, ii, pp. 80-1