Sunday Reflection: The Indispensable Christ

David Martyn Lloyd-Jones was easily the greatest preacher of the 20th century in Britain. The Lord used him to preserve orthodox Protestant Christianity in that land, but also to revitalize it in America.

He says this regarding the place of Christ in Christianity:

"There is no such thing as Christianity apart from the Person of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That does not mean that the Lord Jesus Christ is a 'bearer' of good news from God. No! It means that He Himself is the good news. It is the Person and what the Person has done. It is not merely that he is one of a great series of prophets and of teachers who have been raised up by God. No! There is an absolute uniqueness here -- He Himself. And He Himself is absolutely vital, and must always be central and in the most prominent position.

"Now that is what constitutes the uniqueness of the whole Christian gospel. Take any religion that you like; you will generally find a man's name associated with it; but in none of these can it be said that the particular man is absolutely essential. You have Buddhism, but you can have Buddhism without Buddha. You have Confucianism, but you can have Confucianism without Confucius. It is more or less and accident that a particular man happens to put forward the teaching. But here, when you come to the realm of the Christian faith, the whole position is absolutely different. Take away the Person and there is no message at all. There is no teaching. There is nothing. The connection, in other words, between our Lord Himself, as a Person, and Christianity is obviously something which is of central significance."

(Taken from the first volume of Lloyd-Jones's exposition of Paul's Letter to the Romans, pp. 98-99.)