Required reading
Spiritual Depression by D. M. Lloyd-Jones (available from Amazon) - Read Chapter 4.
My notes and thoughts
Today Lloyd-Jones teaches us that spiritual depression results in unbalanced Christians who have failed to realize (i) the greatness of the gospel and (ii) that the whole man must be involved in the gospel (mind, heart and will).
I thought it was helpful how Lloyd-Jones demonstrated that all three components (mind, heart and will) of the man are required to be involved in the Christian experience of the gospel ('The Christian position is threefold; it is the three together, and the three at the same time, and the three always') but then told us at the end that in our evangelism we must go for the mind first: '...I draw my final conclusion, that in this realm we must always realize, when we talk to others, that the heart is never to be approached directly. I go further, the will is never to be approached directly either. This is a most important principle to bear in mind both in personal dealings and in preaching. The heart is always to be influenced through the understanding-the mind, then the heart, then the will...But God forbid that anyone should think that it ends with the intellect. It starts there, but it goes on. It then moves the heart and finally the man yields his will. He obeys, not grudgingly or unwillingly, but the whole heart.'
Do you want spiritually depressed Christians in your church? Neglect the minds or the hearts or the wills of the people and you will produce them.
Do you want balanced, joyful Christians in your church? Start with the mind, then move to the heart, then move to their wills.
Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
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