--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I cannot help feeling that the final…" description: "\"“I cannot help feeling that the final explanation of the state of the Church today is a defective sense of sin and it defective doctrine of sin. Couple..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/d-martyn-lloyd-jones-13096_christian-life_i-cannot-help-feeling-that-the-final-exp_2215528.jpg" --- # I cannot help feeling that the final explanation of the… ![“I cannot help feeling that the final explanation of the state of the Church today is a defective sense of sin and it defective doctrine of sin. Coupled with that, of course, is a failure to understand the true nature of Christian joy. There is the double failure. There is not the real, deep…” quote by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/d-martyn-lloyd-jones-13096_christian-life_i-cannot-help-feeling-that-the-final-exp_2215528.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/d-martyn-lloyd-jones-13096_christian-life_i-cannot-help-feeling-that-the-final-exp_2215528.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a5/d-martyn-lloyd-jones-13096_christian-life_i-cannot-help-feeling-that-the-final-exp_2215528.jpg) > ““I cannot help feeling that the final explanation of the state of the Church today is a defective sense of sin and it defective doctrine of sin. Coupled with that, of course, is a failure to understand the true nature of Christian joy. There is the double failure. There is not the real, deep conviction of sin as was once the case; and on the other hand there is this superficial conception of joy and happiness which is very different indeed from that which we find in the New Testament. Thus the defective doctrine of sin and the shallow idea of joy, working together, of necessity produce a superficial kind of person and a very inadequate kind of Christian life.”” [D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A shallow view of sin and joy leads to a superficial Christian life lacking depth and true happiness. **In simple terms:** Superficial doctrine weakens faith. Key Takeaway Seek deeper theological understanding. Themes faith theology authenticity Mood reflective serious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal devotion - church teaching - biblical study - spiritual counseling Key Concepts sin doctrine Christian joy spiritual depth Questions to Reflect On - How do you experience authentic joy? - What does true conviction of sin look like? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on doctrine can ignore lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christian Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-joy/) [Christian life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-life/) [Church today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church-today/) [Doctrine Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctrine-sin-902432/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Joy and happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-and-happiness/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [New testament](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-testament/) [Real deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-deep/) [Sense Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-sin-1129233/) [Sin Defective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin-defective-4923608/) [Sin Shallow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin-shallow-4923607/) [True nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-nature/) [Working together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-together/) ## Related quotes > [“Thus the defective doctrine of sin and the shallow idea of joy, working together, of necessity produce a superficial kind of person and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/thus-the-defective-doctrine-of-sin-and-the-shallow-idea-of-joy/) [D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [“and especially the Methodist doctrine that sin is inherent and that all unregenerate sinners will experience hell in the after life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-h-palmer/and-especially-the-methodist-doctrine-that-sin-is-inherent-and-that/) [Grant H. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-h-palmer/) > [“Properly understood, the doctrine of sin means that believers are never as good as our true worldview should make us. Similarly, the doctrine of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/properly-understood-the-doctrine-of-sin-means-that-believers-are/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [As we mature personally, as our families mature, and as our churches mature, we need the doctrine of sin more, not less; and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-mahaney/as-we-mature-personally-as-our-families-mature-and-as-our-churches/) [C. J. Mahaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-mahaney/) > [The man who suffers from a sense of sin is suffering from a particular kind of self-love. In all this vast universe the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-man-who-suffers-from-a-sense-of-sin-is-suffering-from-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Those of us who were brought up as Christians and have lost our faith have retained the sense of sin without the saving belief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/those-of-us-who-were-brought-up-as-christians-and-have-lost-our-faith/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [Sense of sin may be often great, and more felt than grace; yet not be more than grace. A man feels the ache of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-adams/sense-of-sin-may-be-often-great-and-more-felt-than-grace-yet-not-be/) [Thomas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-adams/) > [“But even when a man has offended against his own rational code, I doubt whether a sense of sin is the best method of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/but-even-when-a-man-has-offended-against-his-own-rational-code-i/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Sin is cruelty and injustice, all else is peccadillo. Oh, a sense of sin comes from violating the customs of your tribe. But breaking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/sin-is-cruelty-and-injustice-all-else-is-peccadillo-oh-a-sense-of-sin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [It is because of the hasty and superficial conversation with God that the sense of sin is so weak and that no motives have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/it-is-because-of-the-hasty-and-superficial-conversation-with-god-that/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [To have a sense of sin means to feel guilty at there being an ethical choice to make, a guilt which, however "good" I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/to-have-a-sense-of-sin-means-to-feel-guilty-at-there-being-an-ethical/) [W. H. 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Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. Until we really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-recovery-of-the-old-sense-of-sin-is-essential-to-christianity/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) ## More by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones > [“Religion is that which a man does with his own solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/religion-is-that-which-a-man-does-with-his-own-solitude/) [D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [“Anyone who thinks that he can live the Christian life himself is proclaiming that he is not a Christian.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/anyone-who-thinks-that-he-can-live-the-christian-life-himself-is/) [D. 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Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [“There is nothing more futile, when dealing with this condition, than to act on the assumption that all Christians are identical in every respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/there-is-nothing-more-futile-when-dealing-with-this-condition-than-to/) [D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [“No book in the world today comes to us in the particular way that the Bible comes to us, exactly where we are, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/no-book-in-the-world-today-comes-to-us-in-the-particular-way-that-the/) [D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/) [Explore all 51 D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-martyn-lloyd-jones/) ## More Christian life quotes > [If you don't plan to live the Christian life totally committed to knowing your God and to walking in obedience to Him, then don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-arthur/if-you-don-t-plan-to-live-the-christian-life-totally-committed-to/) [Kay Arthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-arthur/) > [“Life is but a prayer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/life-is-but-a-prayer/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The point of this work and the Christian life as a whole is not burden and drudgery, but joy. Jesus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-j-chaput/the-point-of-this-work-and-the-christian-life-as-a-whole-is-not/) [Charles J. 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