No two things in the world are any different than law and grace. They are as opposite as light and darkness. They can no more agree than fire and water (Rom. 11:5-6). What is so amazing is that, while law and grace are so diametrically opposed, the human mind is so void of spiritual understanding and turned away from God that the most difficult thing for a human to do is to discriminate between the two. Men insist on mixing what God has positively put asunder.
The man who knows the place of the law and the glory of God's free grace, who can rest in Christ alone for all that the law requires and justice demands, knows the gospel.
The first real difficulty in conversion is to get a man LOST–truly lost! A lost sinner is hard to find. There are plenty of weak people, even sinful people; but only the Holy Spirit can produce a LOST sinner. No law, system of works, nor moral code can do him any good.
The second difficulty in conversion is to teach a man THE GOSPEL. Few there be that really find it. This gospel of God's FREE GRACE IN CHRIST comes to the lost sinner without any return on his part. It is the gift of God from beginning to end. Even repentance, faith, and good works are His fruit.
The third difficulty in conversion is to bring a believing sinner to REST all of his days in the same grace and love that took him in. We are chosen, called, and kept by His free grace.
"Here I raise mine Ebenezer:
Hither by Thy help I'm come;
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home."
About Henry Mahan
Henry T. Mahan was born in Birmingham, Alabama in August 1926. He joined the United States Navy in 1944 and served as a signalman on an L.S.T. in the Pacific during World War II. In 1946, he married his wife Doris, and the Lord blessed them with four children.
At the age of 21, he entered the pastoral ministry and gained broad experience as a pastor, teacher, conference speaker, and evangelist. In 1950, through the preaching of evangelist Rolfe Barnard, God was pleased to establish Henry in sovereign free grace teaching. At that time, he was serving as an assistant pastor at Pollard Baptist Church (off of Blackburn ave.) in Ashland, Kentucky.
In 1955, Thirteenth Street Baptist Church was formed in Ashland, Kentucky, and Henry was called to be its pastor. He faithfully served that congregation for more than 50 years, continuing in the same message throughout his ministry. His preaching was centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified, in full accord with the Scriptures. He consistently proclaimed God’s sovereign purpose in salvation and the glory of Christ in redeeming sinners through His blood and righteousness.
Henry T. Mahan also traveled widely, preaching in conferences and churches across the United States and beyond. His ministry was marked by a clear and unwavering emphasis on Christ, not the preacher, but the One preached. Those who heard him recognized that his sermons honored the Savior and exalted the name of the Lord Jesus Christ above all.
Henry T. Mahan served as pastor and teacher of Thirteenth Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky for over half a century. His life and ministry were devoted to proclaiming the sovereign grace of God and directing sinners to the finished work of Christ. He entered into the presence of the Lord in 2019, leaving behind a lasting testimony to the gospel he faithfully preached.
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