I realize, as much as any of you, that we are out of step with the great parade of religion today. I realize we are putting a question mark on some very successful religious organizations, and in conflict with all the major denominations. I realize that we are charging some popular, recognized, powerful, and hard-working preachers and religious leaders with failure to preach the true gospel of God’s glory and grace. We are charging them with the crime of preaching “another gospel.” This is serious; for Paul said, “If any man preach any other gospel, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8). I realize that we are a very small minority compared with the vast religious movement of this day. But, to me, the issues are as clear as the sun!
1. God is infinitely sovereign in all things, including salvation; or he isn’t sovereign at all.
2. Man, in the fall, was rendered spiritually dead, without hope, without God, without Christ, and is shut up to the power of God to give him life; or he is not dead at all.
3. God either elected a people to eternal salvation according to the good pleasure of his sovereign will, or he did not choose anyone, and has left the success of his purpose to save totally in the hands of the creature.
4. Christ either sufficiently, effectually, and eternally saved those for whom he died, by his obedience and death, or he actually saved no one! The ransom was no ransom at all, only an offer.
5. The eternal Spirit of God either effectually and powerfully quickens, regenerates, and calls the elect to repentance toward God and to faith in Christ, or extends an offer to all sinners to regenerate themselves. We must go back to the question, “Is man dead?”
6. All the elect of God will be preserved by his grace and will persevere in the faith of Christ; or none will. For, if left to ourselves, we shall eventually fall as all creatures have.
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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