by the Rev Derek Swann of Cardiff

At the end of his article in the December 1999 issue of Banner of Truth, "Dr Lloyd-Jones as a Leader of Discussions" - Graham Harrison expresses the hope (rather forlornly, I suspect) that it would be useful if it were possible to collate things said by the Doctor along the lines of a modern Luther's "Table Talk." We can only hope! In the meantime, I have a reasonably clear memory of one particular discussion in 1978 which I think reveals the Doctor's approach. It is, of course, a purely personal view.

A member of the Westminster Fellowship had visited the States to attend a conference at Fort Lauderdale in connection with 'Evangelism Explosion'. The Doctor invited him to give his impressions, and afterwards contributions from the floor were received.

After a while came the Doctor's famous drawn-out "Well", followed by, "and what are we to make of this? How do we assess it?" More comments came from the floor.

Then came the decisive and penetrating question from the Doctor: "Where in the New Testament do we have instructions concerning, or examples of, Christians being taught to evangelise?"

Slowly and rather tentatively, various Scriptures were put forward as a possible basis for such a practice. All these were considered and rejected until, in the end, we were forced to admit that the early Christians received no specific instructions in how to evangelise.

Next question from the Doctor: "Did they evangelise?" There was no problem in answering that. "They went everywhere gossiping the gospel" (Acts 8:4).

Next question: 'Why is it that they didn't need help to evangelise, yet twentieth-century Christians do?'

More discussion followed, and the floor was eventually driven (some critics would say bulldozed!) to the only possible conclusion: that the early Christians were so full of the love of Christ and of the Holy Spirit that they could not but speak.

'Very well, then', said the Doctor, and proceeded to sum up the whole day's discussion. In summing up, he helped us to see that the problem we faced was not a mechanical one of methodology, but a spiritual one. In other words, we as pastors must concentrate on helping our people to be more spiritual, to know (experience) the love of Christ in all its fulness (Eph. 3:19). When that happens, the constraint of love will lead them to gossip the gospel, freely; as the early Christians did.

I have heard it said that the Doctor made his contemporaries think like himself. He did nothing of the sort! What he did do was, first of all, to make us think, and then to think biblically. Time and time again, over the years in discussions theological, doctrinal or practical, we were driven to ask and answer the vital question, "what does the Scripture teach?"

That question still needs to be asked.