Plagued With Blasphemous & Suicidal Thoughts - Lloyd-Jones' Counsel

"I was saved when I was young. All seemed to go well until my twenties, when I was plagued with blasphemous thoughts, which plagued me day and night for some years. Several ministers advised me to ‘trust the Lord’ or ‘pray about it - but the more I did so, the worse it became! I seriously contemplated suicide. It was at this juncture that I asked Doctor Martyn Lloyd-Jones, for help."
Read transcript: illbehonest.co...
→ The book: banneroftruth....

[@StephenLoney]

I found that the more I talked about my problems, the worse it got. In shifting towards faith in what God has done, his faithful promises, trusting in his Word, growing in knowing his love, I have found real strength. In Psalm 23, God takes his sheep *through* the dark valley. Blessings, brothers and sisters.

[@Ryanjoned163]

10 years clean and sober by the grace of God to God be the glory and honour completely clean amen to that who the son set's free is free indeed

[@DevoJeremiah]

Praise the Lord!

[@iagomota4649]

Ooooooh so IM NOT going insane. Been dealing with this for around 10 years and, welp, seems I just got delivered :D

[@kgosintlatleng2321]

10 years

[@garethifan1034]

Here in Wales we still miss 'Doctor Martyn' so much. He was a gift from God for the 20th C.

[@laurarivera5875]

Thank you so much!!! I have struggled with a "mind problem"-- not the same but just as devastating. I had enormous guilt not realizing that it was Satan playing with my mind! Since listening to this podcast things have changed markedly!! When my mind starts acting up I don't fight it--I go to Jesus and He does for me what I simply could not do on my own!!

[@leenieledejo6849]

It's very Scriptural advice and I'm a living testimony to it: "But seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33) And in Hebrews: "Looking unto Jesus ["fixing our eyes upon Jesus] the author and finisher of our faith..." (Hebrews 12:2) The hymn "Turn your eyes upon Jesus" says it beautifully too...

[@jacquelynedwards4571]

So helpful for all! I let my son listen too.

[@faithijn8338]

I absolutely Believe this is true & valid! One personal experience tells me we give glory to the devil when we focus on him & the evil rather than Christ the Remedy! I also know when Satan pressed me to act against myself & GOD I was not A Born Again genuinely Saved Christian.

[@ken.wyd_]

Scrupulosity or religious OCD is the root

[@claire.morgan]

Seems like good advice, but I'm not sure I fully understand. Especially the analogy of a hospital and barracks. But I also don't understand why after following the advice, it got worse for the man, but then all of a sudden he was delivered? Did it work or not? And how exactly do you change the approach?

[@David-828]

We are not a defeated people (Hospital) Jesus defeated Sin and death on the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Col 2 :15 We are soldiers in his army (barracks) and stand in a position of strength. Satan battles for control of your mind , with lies and false accusations and in this case blasphemous thoughts. Stand on the truth of Gods word rather than the lies of the enemy 🙏

[@claire.morgan]

@David-P45a Ohhh that makes sense now, thank you!

[@thisismonitor4099]

I feel blessed to have heard this even though I am pretty useless for the kingdom :(

[@justinbrentwood1299]

Useless? Your very salvation is useful, or at least useful enough for Jesus to willingly die for you. I think that's good enough to be called useful.

[@mishannockpa2008]

Never too late to change for the good. Today you can become "useful" God has called you for a purpose. Ask Him what that is. You can share your faith at any level

[@richardthompson1619]

I've struggled with intrusive thoughts related to OCD including crippling fears of suicide to the point that I couldnt keep knives or chemicals in the house. I tried a Biblical Counsellor; and truthfully it did very little to help, in fact it got worse. A Psychiatrist looked at me and after a few tests concluded that I had a chemical imbalance in my brain and put me on medication as well as starting me on cognitive behavioural therapy and exposure therapy. I'm doing alot better. I'm not saying that every biblical counsellor is a bad person, there are many who are of benefit to Christians, but for me this cookie cutter approach to mental health deeply grieves me, it is at best, ignorant pastors with no qualifications and at worse, spiritual abuse.

[@HowToGetSaved...Love.Taylor]

Whatever you do, don't take benzos, i.e. Klonopin, Valium, Xanax, Ativan, etc. I took Klonopin for years, and it was great but it ultimately wrecked my life and the lives of many, many others.

[@Travtop]

I do not think this is a cookie cutter approach at all. On the contrary, many of today's mental health physicians use the cookie cutter approach of prescribing medicine to every situation. As a pastor, I have been left to clean up the mess they have made by this one way approach. It is obvious that some folks do need medication if it is a physical problem and no one knew that better than Dr. Lloyd-Jones who was a physician and was completely qualified to give medical counsel if need be. What this clip is speaking of is what the Western world ignores and that is the spiritual realm. For the Christian there is a battle for his mind according to 2 Cor. 10:3-5 and believing the truth of God's word is what makes free...if it is a spiritual attack. Obviously, this is not a one size fits all solution and the Doctor's counsel was perfectly fitted for this man's case. He was helped. This was not spiritual abuse.

[@springflowerblosomnorris9721]

FAITH is necessary for salvation because people have to EXPRESS their own FREE WILL to have a RELATIONSHIP with Lord God Almighty. FAITH is our part, SALVATION is God's part. We are TOTALY HOPELESS to accomplish our salvation. Lord God Almighty is TOTALLY ABLE to accomplish our salvation. All glory to Lord God Almighty and Jesus Christ my savior, blessed be his NAME forever and ever Numbers 6:24-27 Revelation 22:4-5

[@lewcehjitl3282]

I thought Satan isn’t omnipresent? How can he be in our minds all around the world at the same time??

[@marius-9333]

Through his demons

[@JustifiedByHisShedBlood]

Amen!

[@Lonesoul9791]

Okay… I don’t follow this at all. Can anyone elaborate? What actually solved the problem?

[@CalebPendergast]

Not thinking about it I guess.

[@justinbrentwood1299]

It was a change in mindset, where the person went from thinking about depression and hoping for some emotion or feeling, to battling depression with the truth of God's word.

[@garyleuba3036]

Not exactly sure what is meant by “He added a warning not to let Satan do so with any other problem whatsoever.” ? Can someone clarify that? Thanks!

[@TheRealBarrettWood]

I am not sure about this advice. I think that by God's grace that God used it to benefit the man, but I think that it is kind of just ignoring his problem and saying "it's just the devil bothering you; focus on serving God and ignore your problem." Is that the answer to the problem? Just ignore it and serve God and it will go away? Did it leave because Satan was exposed?

[@justinbrentwood1299]

It was a change in mindset, where the person went from thinking about depression and hoping for some emotion or feeling, to battling depression with the truth of God's word.

[@TheRealBarrettWood]

​@@justinbrentwood1299 Except that's not what he told the man. He said don't think or pray about it.

[@justinbrentwood1299]

@@TheRealBarrettWood It's better explained throughout the video.

[@matthewhodges8540]

Is there a boil that explains more about this idea

[@ken.wyd_]

Scrupulosity

[@matthewhodges8540]

@@ken.wyd_ thank you for the recommendation. It appears this is written by a Catholic, no? I understood that this ministry I’ll be honest is protestant. Let me know if I am missing it on this. Thank you.

[@th6252]

@@matthewhodges8540 I’m not sure about “I’ll be honest” but Martin Lloyd Jones was a well known reformed pastor(originally a MD), so no, definitely NOT catholic.

[@matthewhodges8540]

@@th6252 Thank you, I was referring to the author of the book recommendation “Scrupulosity”. It appeared possibly catholic.

[@th6252]

@@matthewhodges8540 ah, gotcha, sorry for the misunderstanding Also, it appears “scrupulosity” is a catholic teaching and sounds heretical/anti-biblical to its core

[@AdamLoSuccess]

Excellent

[@hudsonkim-sh9px]

@I'll Be Honest Can someone help me? I have the correct doctrine, I have the intellectual belief, and I've watched enough fire and brimstone preaching to completely lose my interest in sin. I have my sights only on Jesus and receiving his gift of eternal life. But there seems to be a glass wall that is keeping me from receiving eternal life. There are so many confusing thoughts running through my head that prevent me from understanding the "simplicity" of the gospel like: What is the difference between lacking assurance and failing to trust in God? If all I have to do to be saved is choose Jesus over sin and trust in his sacrifice, then why is the path to life so narrow? Is it just because God elected a small portion of humanity making it impossible for more than a few to receive forgiveness? What if a man on judgement day is confident in Christ but it turns out subconsciously, he had the tiniest bit of trust in his works because they gave him assurance of his salvation. Will God then credit that to him as self-righteousness and cast him into hell? If a person is assured of their salvation by signs of true faith (1 John) like walking in obedience to God and loving God’s people, is that not trusting in works? I used to say in my mind “I am saved by grace through faith in Christ alone” but then I would end up trying to do works so that I could prove to God that my faith was genuine. Also, making the transition into Calvinism fried my brain because I started to wonder if I was elect or not which greatly discouraged me. Because the road is so narrow, the heart is so deceitful, and eternal torment is so scary, I have a hard time trusting in Christ out of fear. If my salvation depends on the genuineness of my faith, then if my faith is ingenuine I will be cast into hell. It’s not Christ I don’t trust, it’s my ability to have real faith that I don’t trust. But now I learned that trusting in my faith counts as a work because now I am attributing my salvation to my ability to have faith. I am so confused and scared. It is so frustrating. I don’t know when I am going to die and salvation is dangling right above my head. It’s not Christ I don’t trust, it’s my ability to have faith that I don’t trust. Because now I not only have to believe, but I also have to make sure my faith is genuine, I also have to make sure that I am not being self-righteous, and according to Romans 8:13, I have to actively kill sin in my life if I want to go to heaven but that could easily turn into a self-righteous work. I just want to have peace in the fact that I can rest in Jesus’ work, but there are so many damning technicalities that stand in the way. Jesus says to make every effort to enter through the narrow gate because many will try and not be able to. This draws a thin line between putting too much effort in trying to enter the narrow gate which may turn into self-righteousness and becoming too slack so Jesus says "Depart from me, you wicked and lazy servant." or something like "You did not persevere til the end." Having true salvation seems like walking on a tightrope over a volcano. I gotta be Christian, but not just by profession, I have to be a TRUE Christian, but to be a true Christian you have to believe in the true Jesus and not have a speck of your own idolatrous image of Christ. You also need to have genuine faith, but to have genuine faith you can't be self-righteous, you have to trust solely in Jesus. But if a person has too much rest in Christ they will become lazy and not preach the gospel and become a wicked servant. The gospel sounds simple, but it seems the heart and mind are minefields of self-righteousness, deceit, and wickedness which make it near impossible to have true faith. I'm at the mercy of a miracle from God because there are so many ways that my fallen nature can distort the purity of true salvation. I know it is not God preventing me from coming to him because he has convicted me of sin and given me the desire to search for the Son. There is something terribly wrong with ME because failing to trust in Christ is a sin.

[@lionofjudahlambofgod9132]

Have you been born again?

[@hudsonkim-sh9px]

@@lionofjudahlambofgod9132 no. I am trying to though. If the only difference between a true and false believer is the genuine trust and total reliance on Jesus, then once I get it right and force myself into true faith, I’ll immediately receive the Spirit and everything will go well. It seems with many people’s testimonies all they did was listen to the gospel but then something randomly clicked and they get saved just like that. I am doing everything I can to have true faith but it’s not working. Is it just a matter of crying for mercy until God says “alright, take the Spirit, here you go.”

[@pgtips2]

Your problem is you think something depends on your effort or your ability to fully and properly understand God's counsel. That is an insult to God, he has made full provision and a child or a man dying next to Jesus on a cross are able to understand sufficiently God's grace. To not trust Jesus sacrifice for you is to disobey God. Stop disobeying God- you don't need to understand it just trust his Word.

[@rutheli]

Dear friend Don’t give up. God has heard all your prayers and He sees your confusions. He won’t leave you there. Continue to ask the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of your heart, to bring light to the Word and to you. Jesus IS faithful, I believe you know that. I think right now is the time to rest in that faithfulness. He is faithful to bring you through this “dark night of the soul.” HE is the author and FINISHER of our faith - so He is the authority you need to go to. He will help you. He won’t abandon you. The Bible says that “when you seek Him you will find Him” so keep seeking him. Spend time in prayer asking Him these questions. Be patient. Consider fasting. Preach truth to yourself (the Word of God) and when a fearful thought comes or a confusing thought comes immediately bring it to Jesus in prayer and ask Him to address it. Know also that Satan tries everything in his power to pervert the gospel, to make it confusing, to make it complicated, to make God seem unreachable. Focus on the words of Jesus. Verbally (out loud) rebuke the devil and his lies. Light will come. Keep crying out to Jesus and light will come. I will be praying for you

[@Madison-te9dv]

@Hudson Kim Hi, I just read your comment, and I have to say some of your questions are similar to ones I've asked myself before. The truth is, the path to life is so narrow because it is Jesus Christ, the narrow gate. No one goes to the father except thorugh Him. (John 14:6) God's draws us to Himself. (John 6:44) I think believers at times can have doubts, but they will always keep their trust in Christ because it is the Holy Spirit who has sealed them unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30) The Gospel is truly simple, but us fallen humans tend to make things difficult, and Satan can tempt us to start to think that the gospel isn't enough for us. This is why it's important to remember the simplicity of the Gospel not to complicate it. Christian's are saved by Jesus Christ, He is whom they have placed their faith in. Try not to look at it as a measuring stick to see who has the most faith. Believe in Him whom the Father has sent, Jesus Christ as He paid it all for us, and that is the Will of God. (John 6:29, Matthew 7:21, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4) Don't try to prove if your faith is genuine to God, He already sees who you have trusted in when you're saved. If you have simply trusted in Christ alone for your salvation, then your faith is genuine. Be careful with comparing yourself to other believers as each one's sanctification looks different. Look at our works as fruit of our salvation, not the means to how we are saved nor how we are staying saved. We are only saved once and cannot lose our salvation since God has sealed us by the Holy Spirit. I recommend studying this verse Ephesians 1:13 Pray to God, realizing you are a sinner deserving of His just wrath and that you want Him to have mercy on you and to save you. Take a look at Luke 18:9-14. This is a perfect example of a man humbling himself before God and asking God to be merciful to him. I will be praying for you and I'll leave you with this scripture to read, Psalm 145:18. ❤

[@juggiebonebrain3383]

What was the advice?

[@oophelia46]

Focus on the Lord, not our problem

[@justaguy4888]

How do I get to the point where I see the beauty of Christ? What's the secret to getting him to showing himself?

[@Tyasiaaaa]

Read the gospels and ask God to reveal himself to you and his glory to you.

[@justaguy4888]

@@Tyasiaaaa that will work?

[@martamichniewicz456]

Ask Him to His heart He loves you read the Bible pray talk to God like to a best friend and Father

[@JESUS_Saves3747]

@@martamichniewicz456 not best friend

[@How.To.Get.Saved.]

What I'm wondering about is my anger toward my neighbor, which I've been praying about for a long time. Should I stop praying about it and continually confessing it? I'd love any advice.

[@miyaiun4723]

Hi. Remember that soon everything will be over. Dont waste time with hate. Who knows what each of us has been trough. When you think of the lake of fire would you want to see your neighbour there, burning for who knows how long? I guess not. So, try helping him or her and if you cannot do that pray for them that God might forgive them.

[@How.To.Get.Saved.]

@@miyaiun4723 Thank you for your words. You're right. I pray for them every day, and I do whatever I can for them and send gifts. Meditating on the mercy God has shown me has helped more than anything. Thanks again for your reply. It's much appreciated.🤍

[@How.To.Get.Saved.]

@@miyaiun4723 Thank you so much for your words. I'm grateful. I've really been working on this and praying for my neighbors every day, sending them gifts, and doing whatever I can for them. The thing that has helped the most is meditating on the mercy God has shown me, which is beyond astounding. Thanks again!☺

[@miyaiun4723]

@@How.To.Get.Saved. Oh. I am glad for you. Thats how you should behave towards everyone. I am really glad. Thank you.

[@fightthegoodfightoffaithmi8676]

Psalms 53:1 (To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.) The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. Acts 9:13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:

[@simuljustuset_peccator]

❤️

[@AdamLoSuccess]

Wow

[@AB-ComeLordJesus]

I recommend Neil T. Anderson's Bondage Breakers💜

[@DH-vy8hw]

Hell no!

[@matthewhodges8540]

@@DH-vy8hw why?

[@DH-vy8hw]

@@matthewhodges8540Legalistic remedies

[@lionofjudahlambofgod9132]

Amen. This is a deliverance issue.

[@danielzimmerman4484]

Radical Corruption aka Total Depravity Doctrine found in Genesis 3:16 with supportive cross references Psalm 7:14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said, I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he [Adamic Nature] shall rule over you. James 1:14-15 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Romans 7:5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. Job 15:35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil, and their womb prepares deceit.