Dr. Lloyd-Jones on Foundational Truths - Part 3

In Dr. Lloyd-Jones' lectures to the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students he outlined several general characteristics of the definition of an evangelical. The following are excerpts regarding foundational and secondary truths necessary in an Evangelical.

Then we must go on to assert that man is spiritually dead, and that he is totally incapable of any spiritual good, `dead in trespasses and sins' not merely slightly defective and that it is not true to say that he has it in him, if he only applies himself, to believe in God and to arrive at God. We must assert, as the Scriptures do, that man is totally dead, that the advances of science make no difference whatsoever to the fact that all men are `by nature the children of wrath, even as others' (Eph. 2:3 ),that `all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God' (Rom. 3:23).

ONE WAY OF SALVATION

When we come to the doctrine of the atonement, we must underline in a very special way the substitutionary aspect and element of the atonement, the penal, piacular aspect. These are things that I find are most indicative of a man's position. An evangelical may say, Well, of course, I'm not a great theologian; I simply accept, I simply repeat the Scriptures' statements. And he does not want to tie himself down to the fact that there is this penal element in the atonement. He may say, All I know is that Christ's work, his sacrifice, puts me right with God. I suggest this is not enough. He is really excluding the whole of the Old Testament teaching with regard to sacrifice if he speaks in that way, let alone the particular and explicit statements made in the teaching of the apostle Paul. So we have to underline and emphasize this substitutionary element.

We must also assert in a very special way justification by faith alone, faith only. We have got to assert that justification is not the result of regeneration, nor does it depend upon our regeneration. That is the Roman Catholic teaching, that we are justified because we have been regenerated as a result of our baptism. This error can come in, and is coning in today in very subtle forms, but we must assert that God `justifieth the ungodly' (Rom. 4:5), that it is entirely a forensic action, a legal pronouncement by God, and that we play no part whatsoever in it. This is the traditional evangelical teaching which we must assert.

THE CHURCH: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

When we come to the church we must again make certain specific statements. I personally would assert that no evangelical can possibly believe in a state or territorial church. We know that these institutions came into being solely as the result of certain events in history. There is no suspicion of a suggestion of it in the New Testament, and how could there be? What is there about being born in a certain country which makes anybody a Christian? Why should the church be merely the spiritual aspect of the life of the state? It is remote from the teaching of Scripture and we know that of all elements in the history of the church, perhaps nothing has been productive of greater confusion than this whole notion of the state or territorial church. We believe in the communion of saints, and a church consists of saints; it is a communion of saints.

.... we must believe in discipline. There is no purpose in having a basis or a confession of faith unless it is applied. So we must assert the element of discipline as being essential to the true life of the church. And what calls itself a church which does not believe in discipline, and does not use it and apply it, is therefore not a true church.

There, as I see things, are the additions and the elaborations which we must make today in view of the situation in which we find ourselves. This present basis of faith, as it is, is not enough; neither is any other. We have got to ask these specific questions. We have got to make sure that we are clear about these particular matters.

From the book, "What Is An Evangelical" by D.M. Lloyd-Jones, publ by Banner of Truth Trust, 1971.

posted by john d.