Precious in the eyes of the Lord are the death of His saints. Yet I must confess that a few tears have been shed in the Phillips home over the last half-decade or so as we have watched, one by one, a generation of giants in the Faith leave this present world for the bosom of the Savior. More than once, we have asked out loud: “Lord, who will be the men to fill their shoes?”
One of the most gentle of these giants was Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, who departed this earth for his eternal reward on January 28, 2004. He was eighty-eight years old. Dr. Johnson was known to some as the scholar who left Dallas Theological Seminary decades ago when their discomfort with his rigorous Calvinism became clear. To other men, Dr. Johnson was the saintly Bible teacher who was involved in pastoral ministry for more than forty-five years, and who distinguished himself for his uncompromising committment to truth. To others, Dr. Johnson was the professor whose lectures “you simply could not miss,” but whose academic requirements never failed to keep his students on their toes.
My training from this great man was purely informal. Dr. Johnson was the man who befriended me as a young man, brought me into his home, counseled me, walked me through some very difficult waters at a time when I desperately needed the wise counsel of elders in the Faith. He was the man who invited me into his study and tolerated my many exclamations of delight while allowing me to peruse his numerous hand-illustrated, magnificent manuscripts, some more than a thousand years old and written in lost languages (which he was able to translate!!!). Even more, Dr. Johnson and his bride served as a veritable covering to Beall, then living away from home and teaching in a Christian school, in the years leading up to our wedding in Believer’s Chapel, where Dr. Johnson taught. Dr. Johnson was also the man who, years later, offered helpful wisdom and counsel as I was working with other men to plant a church work in San Antonio, Texas. I simply don’t know what I would have done without him. He was God’s good provision for me and many others like me.
When Dr. Johnson preached or taught, it was never from a Bible translation, but from the original languages. He always emphasized the grace of God, something that he felt deeply himself, and for which he always gave thanks. In fact, though he was world-renowned for his brilliant Bible scholarship, Dr. Johnson was one of the most unassuming, humble, accessible men I have ever met. He was the quintessential Southern gentleman who brought civility and kindness to all of his discourses, but who never, ever shrunk from a battle ordained of God.
How we thank our Lord for Dr. Johnson, and for his widow Martha, a spunky, lovely, devoted Christian woman of many gifts and charms. How we will miss him. His departure to be with the Lord Jesus leaves a hole for those of us here, which will not soon be filled.
I have asked permission of my wife Beall to share her personal thoughts, recorded from the day of Dr. Johnson’s funeral:
I feel a great loss today. My teacher and counselor, Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, has gone home to be with the Lord.
I remember so vividly the very first time I heard him preach. I was living in Dallas and was visiting Believer’s Chapel. This stately, elderly man in his seventies stood behind the pulpit and with a rich voice taught from the Scriptures with a passion and depth that was singular in my experience. There was no pomp or “studio sound” to the way he spoke. But he spoke with great authority and firmness. I spent that first sermon scribbling down words I had never heard before. These big words weren’t thrown around to impress anyone, but were used deliberately and carefully in order to be precise with his biblical teaching. I went home that night and looked up these words in the dictionary so that I was better prepared to listen and understand the next week. I had to do the same thing the next week, and the next. Dr. Johnson taught me to love the depth and profundity of the Word of God. It was challenging. Sometimes my head hurt. It was life-changing. For the next three years that I lived in Dallas, Dr. Johnson and his lovely wife Martha became very dear to me. Everyone wanted their time and attention, but they always took time for me, a twenty-something single with a lot on her mind and heart. They walked me through some very difficult struggles, always patient and truly concerned for me. Doug and I might never have married if it hadn’t been for Dr. Johnson. I might not have had these precious children that fill my life and heart with such joy and delight. I feel that I owe them more than I can ever repay.
I flew from San Antonio to Dallas this morning with Joshua and Providence Mather to attend Dr. Johnson’s funeral. Practically speaking, it seemed a little foolish to fly there and back in one day for only a few hours. But I had to go and I had to take Joshua. I wanted to honor this great man who took time for a young girl. I wanted to tell his sweet widow how much I loved them both and how they had changed my life forever. I wanted my son to share this moment with me and know this part of my history and his history.
Official Bio of Dr. S. Lewis Johnson
Dr. S. Lewis Johnson was born in Birmingham, Alabama and grew up in Charleston, S.C., graduating from College of Charleston with an A.B. degree in 1937. He was converted in Birmingham, while in the insurance business, through the teaching of Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse. He left the insurance business in 1943 to enter Dallas Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1946, Th.M. degree and in 1949, Th.D. degree. Dr. Johnson was Professor of New Testament from 1950 to 1972 and Professor of Systematic Theology from 1972 to 1977 at Dallas Theological Seminary. He served as Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School at Deerfield, Illinois and was a Visiting Professor of Systematic Theology at Tyndale Theological Seminary, Amsterdam, Netherlands. He has done graduate work at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, SMU, Dallas and in the University of Basel, Switzerland. Dr. Johnson has now been engaged in pastoral ministry for about forty-five years.
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