I’m sure that some who lived in the days of our Lord’s visitation to earth, and many who heard the gospel from the apostles and the faithful preachers who followed them, could tell you the exact day when they met the risen Redeemer and bowed to his sovereign rule. I have never felt that it was important for a person to be able to tell when he was saved, but rather that he be able now to state that he has experienced repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; that now he is looking to Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King; that now he is resting in his righteousness and effectual sin-offering.
Too often men and women like to establish a time of conversion and some sort of experience, in order to have something to look back upon for comfort and assurance. But this is dangerous! We are not to look to anything nor anyone but Christ for our hope, our assurance, and our comfort. Paul spoke of “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before” and “looking unto the Lord Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”
Most of us came through the confusion, errors, and false professions of modern fundamentalism, and had so much to unlearn and so many false foundations which had to be destroyed, that it is difficult to set an exact hour when our eyes were turned totally from our idols of religion to our living Lord—when our hearts were weaned from the pride of our religious works and professions, and brought to rest in him alone! This is the unaided work of the Spirit of God and the Word of God, and this is the living union which shall never be dissolved.
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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