Banners Books

Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 10. Saving Faith. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1997. ISBN 0 85151 737 4. xi, 400 pages. Finely bound hardback with illustrated dustjacket.

The late Welsh evangelical preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones delighted in what he termed the "exposition" of the Scriptures. By that he meant returning week by week to a selected passage and examining it verse by verse, phrase by phrase in order not only to establish the meaning (that would have been mere dry exegesis) but also to apply this meaning to his hearers (and readers). His thirty-five expository sermons on Romans 10 preached from May 1963 to May 1964 and printed here are no exception to the rule: In his first sermon, Lloyd-Jones carefully explains the context of the chapter, seeing it as a kind of extended commentary on the last verses of Romans 9 (which he had expounded previously: see God's Sovereign Purpose, 9:1-33 (Romans Series)). Then he offers an overview of the whole chapter before launching into a detailed analysis. But if that sounds dry and technical, just read on into the next chapter which, in my opinion, is worth the price of the whole book: Lloyd-Jones there examines the whole question of "zeal" and lists a number of extremely valuable tests by which true zeal can be differentiated from false zeal. And so on in the whole book: careful exegesis is combined with powerful application, making this volume both a mine of information and an invaluable source of edification for the Christian believer. Following Paul, Lloyd-Jones goes on to discuss the nature of true righteousness; the content of saving faith (namely the Biblical message about the death, resurrection and Lordship of Christ); the conditions of saving faith (belief from the heart and public confession of salvation); the missionary charter and the position of those who have never heard the Gospel; the calling and the message of the Christian preacher; the relationship between 'hearing' and 'obeying'; reasons for the rejection of the Gospel by the Jews; and last but not least, there is a tremedously important chapter on the danger of dead orthodoxy and resistance to the Holy Spirit among evangelical Christians.

Not all Lloyd-Jones's sermons are equally meaty or of equal value, but I suspect that even his weaker messages contain a good deal more spiritual nourishment than most of what the average Protestant, at least here in Europe, gets to hear on a Sunday morning. And some of the chapters here are real eye-openers. I warmly recommend this book to all who are interested in a thorough acquaintance with the teaching of the New Testament and of the Apostle Paul in particular. It would no doubt be advisable to read the whole series in order, as I am currently doing.
Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 1 : The Gospel of God
Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 2:I-3; 20 the Righteous Judgment of God
Romans: An Exposition of Chapters 3.20-4.25 Atonement and Justification (Romans Series)
Romans: Assurance, Exposition of Chapter 5 (Romans Series)
Romans: Exposition of Chapter 6 : The New Man (Romans Series)
Romans: The Law, Chapter 7: 1 to 8: 4
Romans: An exposition of chapter 8:5-17, the sons of God
Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 8 : 17-39 the Final Perseverance of the Saints (Romans Series)
God's Sovereign Purpose, 9:1-33 (Romans Series)

Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans: An Exposition of Chapter 8:17-39. The Final Perseverance of the Saints. First published in 1975 by the Banner of Truth Trust, Edinburgh, Scotland. xii, 457 pages. Hard-cover with dust-jacket.

This is the eighth volume in Martyn Lloyd-Jones's series of Bible Studies from Paul's Epistle to the Romans. It is also the last volume that Lloyd-Jones himself prepared for publication. These studies were first preached in the form of sermons on Friday evenings between May 1961 and May 1962 (at London's Westminster Chapel, a free evangelical church). It covers the last two-thirds of the eighth chapter of Romans in which the Apostle follows up what he has been saying before, both in chapter 5, in chapters 6 and 7 and at the beginning of chapter 8. After dealing with suffering in the life of the Christian, Paul goes on to examine the basis for assurance and certainty in the Christian life. His conclusions are some of the most wonderful verses in all of Scripture: Verse 28 says, "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose." In verses 29 and 30 Paul goes on to detail the purpose of God, tracing it from "foreknowledge" or "election" through "predestination" to "calling", "justification" and final "glorification." Then, on the basis of what he has so clearly stated, he reaches his climactic statement that "Nothing ... can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus."

Lloyd-Jones preaches 36 times in a row on these verses, explaining practically every nuance and often referring to the Greek text and to translations or comments by modern scholars. However, he does not do this in a way that is at all dry or theoretical; rather, he is at pains to make each sermon speak to the heart and challenge the mind. After the initial section on suffering and on the "eager expectation of the creature", Lloyd-Jones goes on to examine very thoroughly the "ordo salutis" of verses 28 to 30, spending no less than seventeen weeks (seventeen sermons) on these verses. As an intellectual evangelical Calvinist, Lloyd-Jones defends the inspiration of the Apostle and brings out clearly what, if all philosophical considerations are left out, he must have meant. Lloyd-Jones quotes a large number of parallel texts to support his theses and is also careful to show how these verses are a logical continuation of what Paul has already said, as well as preparing the ground for what he will say later in chapters 9 through 11. The doctrinal position that must be drawn from these verses is the one usually known as the "Perseverance of the Saints". Lloyd-Jones defends this doctrine at length, examining a whole battery of Bible verses which are often quoted as disproving the doctrine. His exposition is very clear and logical, although I think, in the end, there is perhaps less difference between his position and that of his evangelical opponents than he would have admitted: The opponents say a born-again Christan can fall away from grace, Lloyd-Jones says (and I must summarize very briefly) that those who do finally fall away were not really born again in the first place (but probably had some kind of psychological experience).

However you stand on this issue, reading Lloyd-Jones should give you a fresh insight into what the Scriptural text is really saying and at the same time challenge you personally on the issue of assurance. This is "meaty" material that can provide ample inspiration for preachers and leaders of home Bible studies.

This book contains sixteen expository sermons preached by Welsh evangelical Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones during Bible study evenings at London's influential Westminster Chapel in 1956/1957. Lloyd-Jones, who died in 1981, preached continuously on Romans for an incredible fourteen years, after which he began with the massive project of preparing his sermons for print. When, finally, the first volume appeared, it contained sermons on Romans 3:20 to the end of chapter 4; the series was continued until chapter 8, and only after Lloyd-Jones' decease did the publishers decide to print everything he had preached on Romans. Thus, this comparatively slim volume on Romans 2:1 to 3:19 (a mere 228 pages!) did not appear until 1989.

In these sermons Lloyd-Jones does what he always did best: He proceeds through his text verse by verse, explaining the context, examining important words and phrases and drawing out lessons for today. The Pauline passage in question is part of a kind of prolegomena to the Gospel. Paul had already, in the second half of his first chapter, proved that the Gentile world was steeped in sin and under the wrath of God. In his mind, he hears Jewish readers cheering him on, so he turns to them and proves that they also are sinners and subject to the judgement of God. In doing so, Paul not only quotes Old Testament Scripture, but also makes some points that he will come back to later, for example, that it is a person's life that matters and not his religious affiliation or his outward respect for religious rites such as circumcision. In this context, Paul makes his famous statement about what it means to be a Jew inwardly, and it is obvious at this point that he is mentally classing Christians from a heathen background as "true Jews".

Lloyd-Jones unravels this rather difficult material in a way that enhances faith and understanding. But he does not spend too long on individual points, thus making it easier to come to grips with what he (and Paul) are saying. I can recommend this volume to anyone who really wants to understand the message of Romans 2 and 3, with the proviso that a reader should probably read the volume on chapter 1 first. Anyone looking for a shorter, more modern, but theologically equally convincing book on Romans should look at John R. W. Stott's "The Message of Romans" (InterVarsity).

The fifth chapter of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans consists of two rather long, complicated paragraphs. In the first of these, the Apostle lists six positive consequences or “blessings” of justification by faith alone and adds two irrefutable reasons why Christians can have assurance of their salvation: the logic of God’s love as manifested on Calvary and the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, “who has been poured out in our hearts” (verse 5). The second paragraph, which many Christians find disconcertingly difficult, contains a comparison and contrast of the consequences of Adam’s sin with those of the obedience of Christ. Adam was our representative and made us all sinners; Christ died as the representative of all who would believe in him and makes them partakers of his rule of grace.

Some fifty years ago, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached all of twenty-six times in a row on this chapter, and in this beautifully bound book his Bible studies are printed word for word. These sermons are very much text-centered and, as interpretations, they evidence an unusual theological depth, without, however, ever seeming to become dry or to retreat into an intellectual “ivory tower”. Anyone who wants to study this chapter of Paul needs no other commentary if he has read Lloyd-Jones, who expounds every word that Paul wrote and expatiates on their meaning not only for the first century but also for today. After reading and re-reading these sermons, I feel as though I have understood Romans 5:12-21 for the first time.

Twenty-six sermons on 380 pages: is that not a little overdone? No, not when everything is as clear and illuminating as in the writings of “the Doctor”, whose Bible studies at Westminster Chapel often used to draw more than a thousand appreciative listeners.

Hello there,
My name is Scott Neely. I drew all the art on this Scooby book based on the latest movie that has come out on video and DVD. It's a five foot banner book! Once you take the staples out, one side is a five foot coloring page, and the other side is a series of different mazes that work out in the end to be one long maze! A lot of thought went in to this book. Lemme tell you it was a hard one to do! Enjoy the fruits of my hard labor! HAHA!
Scott

This timely booklet addresses the contentious issue of images of Jesus, a reoccurring debate that is surfacing afresh with the release of Mel Gibson's controversial movie, The Passion of the Christ.

Barnes helpfully states in overview the historic Early Church and Reformed perspective on the issue, contending that all pictorial representations of any person of the Trinity (but particularly the Incarnate Son) are a breach of the Scriptures, especially the Second Commandment.

Having introduced the issues at stake, the author articulates three Biblical grounds for the rejection of pictures of Christ. First, all pictures of Christ are necessarily inaccurate and dependant upon the imagination; along with this, the contention that pictures are "the books of the unlearned" is addressed. Second, pictures of Christ are not only inaccurate but are a means of introducing much error concerning Him (examples of "recreating Christ in the image of the artist and his culture" are given). Third (and most seriously in the author's view), pictures must of necessity "represent God the Son as far less than He actually is" and thus "detract from His divine glory" (p.6). Here Barnes discusses the sight of Christ that is necessary unto salvation, and how this is neither that of the artist nor movie maker, but the Christ of faith. The image of Christ that is etched in the memory from a picture or a movie will often be the Christ that is in the believer's mind during worship, rather than the Christ of Scripture.

The second half of the booklet contains "the Testimony of the Church"; a most interesting survey of the teachings of church leaders on the subject from the 1st century to the present. The staunch polemics of the early church against images, the icon controversy of the 8th and 9th centuries, the profusion of images and passion plays in the Medieval Roman Catholic Church, the recovery of the historic understanding of the 2nd Commandment by the Reformers and Puritans, and the experience of more recent Christians who object that God has used pictures/movies portraying Christ to speak to them are all addressed and illustrated with plentiful quotations.

This booklet will be a helpful introduction to the important issues surrounding pictures and movies of Christ, and a good springboard to further study on this vital topic. It is highly recommended as a timely brake to the "herd mentality" that characterizes much of the contemporary evangelical scene re. the latest offerings in this area.

These sermons shed great light on the "Good ole preachers of yester year."
When you've finished this book you will understand why so many were converted during this era.
I'm impressed by the way this Servant of God preaches. He cuts right to the heart of the matter and brings your heart into the matter!
You'll see shades of Spurgeon in his sermons. Very effective!

Faith Cook has done an incredible job on Selina, the Countess of Huntingdon, and weaving the characters of the 18th C revival into an understandable history. In doing so, she has not only allowed the realism of each character to be displayed (graces & faults!) but has provided the reader with a real exciting read! In presenting the life of the Countess she has provided a tremendous story of inspiration as we see that even one who experienced deep hardships, was on fire for the gospel, and undivided in her zeal to see men and women come to know Christ through the preaching of his Word. I recommend it highly!!

Calvin's sermons on Job are a marvelous way into the Reformer's exegetical technique, his homiletic skills, and his theology. Clearly enunciating the Reformed perspective on God's sovereignty, and both the human necessity and need for humility in the face of unexplained suffering, Calvin cannot be beaten. Time and again he argues that we are to rely both on Scripture and even more so-- on the Triune God of Scripture when we are struggling with our faith and Christianity in the face of seemingly senseless suffering. Though not everyone will agree with Calvin's theology, here his theology meets the road and offers traveling "mercies" to those who believe, yet want and need help with their unbelief. In addition, the reproduced facsimile of the early English text is interesting to read and helps one to imagine reading it, and reflecting upon it, during the time period in which Calvin lived. Worth the effort if one wants to know Calvin and his theology.

This book will humble anyone who reads it. From start to finish, Venning opens up the dark caverns of the human heart, and reveals how truly sinful and rebellious we are to our Creator. Venning not only shows how man can blatantly and openly sin, but exhaustively describes the hidden things of the heart that cause sin, namely, our selfish attitudes. The author brings the book to a close by directing the reader to the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is our Righteousness, our Savior, and Redeemer. A must read for a young believer who desires to live a holy life in Jesus Christ.