Everyone is aware of the popularity of Mr. Spurgeon among today’s preachers. He is read, quoted, and referred to by preachers of all denominations and persuasions. It was not so when he was alive and preaching in London. He once wrote to a friend, “Scarcely a Baptist minister of standing will own me!” In another letter, he commented that “contemporary preachers are afraid of real gospel Calvinism.” The famous preacher, Thomas Binney, heard Spurgeon preach in 1855 and declared, “I never heard such things in all my life before.”
It is heartbreaking and disappointing to be shunned and criticized and misrepresented by those who profess to know Christ, especially by those who are supposed to be fellow ministers for the glory of Christ. But the old truth that Paul preached, that which the reformers preached, and that which Spurgeon preached is the truth that I must also preach or else be false to my conscience, my God, and my hearers. We have no right to tamper with the gospel of his glory—nor do we have permission to tone down the truth, to pare off the rough edges of a doctrine, to rob the gospel of its offense, or to use methods, literature, and “silence” to “get along” with today’s religionists!
Unfortunately, much of the opposition to those who dare to preach what they believe (sometimes at a high cost) comes from those who are not willing to pay the price. A preacher once said to another, “I do not see election and predestination.” The man took a piece of money, laid it over the word election, and said, “It’s even harder to see now, isn’t it?”
Looking at the Word through our ambitions, possessions, and general welfare surely does make some things “hard to see.”
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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