For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. - Acts 20:27
The old truth that Paul preached, that every bold servant of God preached in days gone by, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be false to my conscience and my Lord. I cannot shape and mold the truth or make it easier for rebels to digest. I dare not try to remove the offense of the cross or file down the rough edges to keep everybody happy. I am appalled when I hear or read sermons by preachers, who profess to believe the gospel of God's grace, and immediately recognize an effort on their part to camouflage or conceal the truth of God's sovereignty in salvation, his elective grace, the Holy Spirit’s effectual work or the special and particular redemption of Christ for every believer! This is not only dishonesty but utter folly; for no sinner is going to savingly come to Christ until he forsakes his ways and his thoughts! A man can only be set free by knowing the truth not part-truth or half-truth. Paul set the example for me when he declared "I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you."
You may spend you efforts appeasing, shunning to declare plainly certain truth, and keeping back what you judge will offend, divide or run off today's church-goers, but to borrow the words of Luther, "Here I stand, I can do no other." If a certain truth is in the Word of God it will, by God's grace, be preached from this pulpit, whether men are ready to receive it, disposed to receive it, or apt to receive it. I expect God to bless this determination! He has and he will!
"When I stand before the throne
Dressed in beauty not my own,
When I see thee as thou art,
Love thee with un-sinning heart,
then Lord, shall I fully know,
not till then how much I owe."
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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