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Henry Mahan

Righteousness by Faith - The Believers Hope

Galatians 5:5
Henry Mahan • December, 3 1978 • Audio
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Message 0359b
Henry Mahan Tape Ministry
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Christ is become of no effect
unto you, whosoever of you are justified by law, by works, by
the deeds of the flesh, by human effort, human morality, whatever
you call it, because you are departed from grace. You're fallen
from the way of life, the way of grace. mercy, the mercy of
God in Christ. For we, through the Holy Spirit,
wait for the hope of righteousness, not by works, but by faith. Not by the deeds of the law,
but by faith. Now, salvation by grace is the
very heart of the gospel. That's the heart of the gospel,
salvation by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
as long as this message is preached, the truth of the gospel will
be maintained. Salvation is by grace. Paul said
in Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, for by grace, not by works, by grace,
free unmerited favor, the mercy of God, unearned, unbought, unsought,
unmerited, for by grace are you saved. through faith, and that's
not of yourself. It's the gift of God. It's not
of works, lest any man should boast. What I'm saying is this,
that God Almighty, in his eternal wisdom, purposed and planned
and provided salvation for guilty sinners. Moses said, Lord, show
me your glory. And God said, I'll cause my goodness
to pass before you. I will be merciful to whom I
will be merciful, And I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious. So then it's not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. God Almighty,
in his eternal wisdom, for reasons known only to himself, for his
eternal praise and glory, did determine to save out of Adam's
race a people that through the ages to come he might show the
exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in
Christ Jesus. And Jesus Christ alone is the
complete and sufficient Redeemer, having secured for us, through
his merits, through his obedience, and through his righteousness,
and through his sacrifice, acceptance with God. The Scripture says,
he who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. All we like sheep have gone astray,
we've turned everyone to his own way, but God hath laid on
him the substitute, the representative, the iniquity of us all. And the
Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit alone quickens the dead. The
Holy Spirit alone convicts the guilty. The Holy Spirit alone
applies the blessings of redemption to the fallen sons of Adam. And
you who were dead in trespasses and sins hath he quickened. We
had our conversation in times past in the lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. And we walked
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom we
all had our conversation. We were children of wrath, even
as others. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ. This is
the heart of the gospel. And as long as this is preached,
the gospel will be maintained, that salvation is of the Lord,
that salvation was promised and provided and purposed by the
Father, it was purchased by the Son, and it's applied by the
Holy Spirit, grace from beginning to end. Secondly, salvation by
grace through faith is not only the very heart of the gospel,
but it's the only real hope that any of us have. Now you think
about that a moment. Salvation by grace is not to
me a doctrine only. Salvation by grace is not to
me only a theology. Salvation by grace through faith
is the only real hope I have because I'm a sinner. I'm a fallen
son of Adam. It's the only hope I have. If
it's not true, then I have no hope. If salvation is by works,
then salvation was never meant for me, and I don't believe it
was meant for you. If salvation is by the deeds
of the law, then I have no hope, no hope of life, no hope of forgiveness,
no hope of heaven, because I haven't kept God's law. And don't today,
and don't expect to tomorrow. Look over at Galatians 4, verse
21. Just look at the other page over
there for a moment. Tell me, tell me, you that desire
to be under the law, you that desire to be saved by works,
by ceremonialism, do you not hear the law? Don't you hear
it? Now, if the law is the basis,
if the law are works or deeds or ceremonies, if this is the
basis on which you wish to approach God, you're welcome. I wouldn't
deny you that right. But I will tell you this, I will
ask you this again. Don't you hear the law? If you wish to approach God on
the basis of your works, I wouldn't deny you that privilege or that
right. It's yours if you want it. But I will ask you this,
before you continue, I will ask you, do you not hear the law?
This standard we're talking about is not a church standard. It's
the standard of God. That's what we're talking about. This holiness is not just a religious
morality. This is God's holiness we're
talking about. This thing of approaching God
on the merits of the law. We're not talking about man's
law. We're not talking about a law which says, do the best
you can, it'll all turn out alright in the end. We're talking about
God's law, God's standard of holiness, God's righteousness. This glory we're talking about
is not man's glory, it's God's glory we're talking about. This is what Paul is saying here,
tell me, you that desire to be under the law, you who reject
grace, You who reject sovereign mercy, you who reject substitution,
and you want God to deal with you on the basis of your works
and your merit, don't you hear that standard? Don't you hear
that law? Well, Israel heard it at Sinai
and they backed off. That's how it affected them.
They saw the glory of God at Sinai, and they turned and said,
Moses, we don't want to have anything to do with God personally. Don't let God speak to us lest
we die. That's their reaction. Paul said,
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You may
not have sinned and come short of your church standard, but
you've come short of the glory of God. And that's the basis
of judgment. When he talks about weighing
us in the balance, he's not talking about weighing us opposed to
the church standard or the morality of our day. He's talking about
weighing us in the balance of God's glory, God's immutable
glory. Righteous Job saw it and said,
ìI hate myself.î God picked out one man over the whole earth
and said to Satan, ìHave you considered my servant Job? He
is an upright man who abhors evil.î And when Satan got through
with that man and God Almighty in His eternal wisdom finished
with Job, Job had his hand on his mouth, crying, ìIíve said
too much. I repent and sackcloth and ashes.
I hate myself. That's the glory I'm talking
about. This glory is the glory which made Isaiah cry, I'm a
man of unclean lips. Isaiah. We talk about gathering with
the saints of old and praising the Lord. Well, you better find
out on what basis these saints of old praised the Lord. It's not on the basis of their
merit and works. When Isaiah saw the holiness
of the Lord, he said, I'm a man of unclean lips. When holy Daniel
saw the holiness of God, he said, I saw my corruption. Even when
the apostle Peter saw the glory of Christ, he said, Lord, depart
from me. I'm a sinful man. I tell you, at that time, Peter
was a pretty self-confident man, too. Peter never was lacking
in boldness. He never was lacking in self-confidence,
a little impudent at times. But I'll tell you, when he saw
the glory of Christ displayed, old Peter said, Lord, there's
no use you being seen with me anymore. because I'm a sinful
man. And it was this holiness and
glory which made John on the Isle of Patmos fall at his feet
as a dead man. So I say to you, tell me, as
in the words of Paul, tell me, ye that desire to be under the
law, you that reject the sovereign mercy and grace of God to guilty
sinners, the substitutionary work of Christ, tell me, You
that desire to be under any other way of life, tell me, don't you
hear what this requires? Don't you hear the law? Don't
you hear the law? That's a good comment to give
to your friends who reject the message of substitution and they
say to you, well, my hope of salvation is I'm living right
and I'm doing the best I can. Ask them, do you hear what living
right requires? Do you hear what the law requires?
Do you hear it? Evidently not. But I know this,
salvation by grace is the heart of the gospel. And salvation
by grace through faith is the only hope I have. That's the
only hope I have. When they said Christ is the
friend of sinners, that's good news to me. When the Bible says
Christ died for the ungodly, that's good news to me. When
the Bible says that when we were enemies we were reconciled to
God by the death of His Son, that's good news to me. That's
good news. I'm glad Christ died for the
ungodly. And the third thing, salvation
by grace through faith is still contrary to human nature. in
1978, just as it was in the year of Warren, and just as it was
in the days and generations and dispensations before Calvary
and Golgotha. It's contrary to human nature,
it's offensive to human nature, and it always will be. It's offensive
to false prophets, and it's offensive to their followers. Salvation
by grace through faith, salvation by the grace of God through the
merits of Christ, Salvation is the free gift of God to whom
he will, is offensive to human nature in the world and in the
Church. Actually, now get this, and this
is true, and if you don't believe it tonight, don't let it escape
you. File it away somewhere where you know where it is and call
it to mind some other time. Actually, the greatest enemies
of salvation by grace are not found in the world. They're found
in the church, in religion. The greatest enemies, the people
who hate the grace of God the most, the people who hate his
sovereign mercy, his elective grace, his right to do with his
own what he will, his right to save whom he will, the effectual
work of his Son, the sovereign work of his Spirit who quickeneth
whom he will, that's hated more in religion than it is in the
dens of iniquity. It was the religious community
that cried, crucify him. It was the religious community
who cried, give us Barabbas. It was the religious solitarsis
who sought to destroy the church. It was religious leaders who
killed and martyred the apostles. It was the religious establishment
calling on the name of God who sent thousands of martyrs to
the dungeons, to the stake, and to death. And I'll tell you this
as kindly as I know how to tell you. If you ever embrace insincerity,
not as a play pretty, but if you ever embrace salvation by
pure grace, if you ever embrace salvation by substitution, If
you ever in your hearts, sincerely, publicly, lay hold upon the free
gift of God through the merits of Jesus Christ alone, your enemies,
those who will turn against you with the fiercest hatred, will
not be your drunken friends, they'll be your religious buddies.
That's exactly right. They'll be the people who are
advocates of religion, of heaven, of morality, and even who lay
claim to believing on Jesus Christ. Why? I'll tell you why. Because Paul said they're going
about to establish their own righteousness. And when you declare
that the righteousness of Christ is the only righteousness, it
makes theirs to be of no avail. They have not submitted themselves
to the righteousness of Christ, but they are going about to establish
their own. And sovereign mercy, sovereign mercy is offensive
to the man who is not guilty. And sovereign grace is offensive
to good men. And sovereign love is offensive
to the deserving. Any man who deserves God's love
is offended when you say that he doesn't. And Christ's righteousness is
offensive to the man who has his own righteousness, and the
fountain of blood is offensive to those who are already clean,
because the well have no need of a physician but they that
are sick. Christ said to the people of
his day, the religious leaders, he said, you neither know me
nor my father. They did not know the power of
sin. They did not know the scriptures. Jesus Christ alone is the complete
and all-sufficient Savior. And it is by believing on him
that men are justified before God and in no degree by anything
else. And when you lay hold upon that
and lay claim to that and believe in that with all your heart,
you will find that those who oppose you Those who declare
themselves to be your religious enemies will be those you thought
would be your friends. A man's enemies shall be they
of his own household, because the natural man hates salvation
by grace. Let's look at our text one more
time, and let me read it to you in this way. Let me declare to
you the believer's hope. Well, what is our hope? Our hope
is not in the law. Our hope is not in our deeds
or our works or even our profession of faith. Our hope is not in
our experience. Our hope is in Christ. He says
in verse 5 of Galatians 5, we, we, you and me, the fallen sons
of Adam, unworthy, we, guilty, we own our guilt, we confess
our sins, we, through the Spirit, the sovereign Spirit of God who
regenerated us and called us and indwelt us by his grace,
who made us know our sins, who convinced us of righteousness
and of judgment and of mercy, who laid bare our hearts and
brought us to look to Christ. We, through the Holy Spirit,
wait. We wait. Now, we have experienced
his grace, we have experienced his love. We have been made,
we know, new creatures in Christ. Now are we sons of God. We have,
John said, passed from death unto life, but we haven't yet
entered into our full inheritance. We haven't yet been fully saved.
We are not yet just like Christ. Now are we sons of God, but it
does not yet appear what we shall be. We are waiting. We don't
claim to be perfect, but we will be. We don't claim to be fully
saved, but we will be. Our salvation is nearer than
when we first believed. We wait. We through the Spirit,
not based upon our own thoughts, but we through the Spirit, we
wait. What are we waiting on? We are waiting for the hope of
righteousness, for the hope of the righteousness of Christ,
that righteousness which he has ordained for us, that righteousness
which He has perfected for us, that righteousness which He has
willed to us, that righteousness which He has given to us, that
righteousness will someday be ours. It'll be ours in the full
realization of it. It'll be ours in the full possession
of it. And that righteousness one day
will literally present us in the full glorious presence of
the Heavenly Father and make us just like Jesus Christ. And
that's what we're waiting on. We, us, just common old people,
just ordinary sons of Adam, nothing special about us. Actually, God
has chosen the foolish, that's us, to confound the wise. God has chosen the base to bring
to naught the proud. God has chosen the things that
are nothing. to bring to naught the things that are, we, through
the Holy Spirit, through his sovereign work, through his revelation,
through his regenerating power, we're waiting. We're not yet
what we're going to be, but we're waiting. What are you waiting
on? I'm waiting for perfect righteousness. I'm waiting to stand in his likeness. I'm waiting for the hope of righteousness. How? doing the best I can, serving
the Lord, going to church, paying my tithe, reading the Bible,
winning souls, visiting the sick, taking care of the old. No, sir,
we're waiting by faith. We're waiting by faith. That's
what he says there. We, through the Spirit, wait for the hope
of righteousness by faith. This is the sole and only condition
of that righteousness, of that acceptance. It's by faith. My
faith has found a resting place, a waiting place. Not in devotion
or creed. I trust the ever-living one.
His wounds for me shall plead. Enough for me that Jesus died
and this ends my fear and doubt. A sinful soul, I come to him,
he'll never cast me out. I need no other argument. I need
no other plea. It's enough that Jesus died and
that he died for me. That's what Paul is teaching
right here. That's what he's teaching. We, through the Spirit,
wait. We wait for that which is imperative
if we're going to be with Christ. We wait for that which is absolutely
required if we're going to stand in God's presence. We wait for
that which no man can produce. We wait for that which the whole
world cannot give us. We wait for the hope of righteousness,
and we wait by faith. I'm going to give you five things
that define this believer's hope in closing this message. Here
are the five things. We wait for the hope of righteousness,
and here are the five things. I give them to you briefly. First
of all, our hope is in Christ. Now, the Jews had a hope founded
on their natural descent. They said, we have Abraham, our
father. We are the household of Abraham, therefore the tabernacle
of God, the tabernacle of God is with us. But we know that
our natural descent, our natural generation leaves us nothing
but heirs of wrath. All that we receive by our natural
birth is sin. That's all. I don't receive any
spiritual good or any spiritual gifts by my natural descent. Whether I'm a son of Abraham
or a son of a Gentile, I receive nothing by blood but sin. The
blood that flows through my natural veins is a tainted, sinful, corrupt
blood. Others had a hope founded on
outward rites and ceremonies. Paul says here, in Jesus Christ
neither circumcision nor uncircumcision availeth anything, no infant
baptism, no immersion, no sacrament, no mass, no prayers, no Bible
readings, no profession, no feeling, no experience. We hope to be
saved not because we attend a place of worship, not because we made
a profession of faith, but because Christ died for us. That's our
hope. It's a singular hope. It's a
hope that is founded in Christ and Christ alone. Others find
their hope in moral virtues. I feel sorry for them because
though they're moral compared with human beings, they're not
moral compared with God. Whatever grace we have, we know
it's God's restraining grace. Whatever goodness we have, we
know it's Christ's goodness and not ours. If God left us alone,
If God Almighty turned us over to our own natural hearts, we'd
be the most wicked people on this earth. Anything that you don't do tonight
is because God has restrained you. And anything good that you
do tonight is because God has enabled you. I know that's hard
to believe. I know it's hard to accept. We look at a man, we look at
a public enemy, like some of the bank robbers
and thieves and kidnappers, child molesters, all of these folks,
and we say, how can a person do things like that? I'll tell you how, no problem
knowing how. It's just human flesh and human
nature being unrestrained by the hand of God. That's all.
And the only thing that keeps you from being just like them
is God's restraining grace. That's right. I know our theology
is mostly in our catechisms and creeds rather than in our hearts,
but Paul knew it. He said, I am what I am by the
grace of God. And he wrote again, who makes
you to differ? What do you have that you didn't receive? I know
we look down at people and say, I wouldn't do that. Yes, you
would. Yes, you would too. And you'd
do worse than that if it wasn't for God's restraining hand. If
God didn't have you on a leash, there's no end to your guilt. There's no limit to your rebellion. That's right. Any evil that you
don't do, it's because God restrained you, and any good you do, it's
because God enabled you. And that's so. And men who try
to find their hope and their moral virtue, they're foolish. We wait for the hope of righteousness. Whose righteousness? Christ's
righteousness. Our hope, secondly, is in Christ,
and secondly, our hope is in his grace. I'll tell you, I just
will not endure preaching that gives glory to man. I'm not going
to listen to it. I'm not going to promote it.
I'm not going to support it. I'm not going to brag on it.
Our hope is built on pure grace, sovereign grace. God chose us
because he loved us, not because we loved him. God Almighty blesses
us, not because we're good, but because he's good. God Almighty
saves us not because He's gracious, not because we're gracious. I
want to hear preaching that magnifies God's grace, that gives all the
glory, every jot and tittle of it, to Jesus Christ and not to
man. I read that scripture this morning
when the people in heaven were looking at that throne and at
that book. And they said no one was found
worthy to open, nobody was found worthy to look upon it. And I
say that's us, that's us. Now where's the glory, where's
the reward? I want to know when men stand around the throne of
God and they go to passing out rewards, who's going to get one?
Nobody's worthy to touch the book, to open the book, or even
look on the book. And they found one that was worthy.
the Lamb in the midst of the throne, the Lamb slain. He not only looked upon the book,
but he broke the seals, he opened them. So let's give him all the
glory. He's the only one who deserves
it, he's the only one worthy. I hear about people people running
for office in the year of a popular man. Remember when Eisenhower
ran for president and they said a lot of people went in office
on his coattails. That's the way I'm going into
heaven, on the coattails of the Son of God. They're going to
open up the door and let him in at the same time I'm going
in. They're going to crown him at the same time I'm going to
be there and be crowned. They're going to forever praise him at
the same time I'm going to be praised with him. That's right,
I'm going in on his coattails. I'm not going to anything. Thirdly,
I hope Watch this, it's in Christ, our hope is in His grace, and
our hope is in the honored law. That's right. The hope of righteousness. I have a hope of righteousness.
Real, honest-to-goodness righteousness. I didn't honor it, but He did.
I didn't keep it, He did. I didn't obey it, He did. I'll
tell you this, my hope And your hope is based on an honored law. That's what we're going to claim
before the throne of God, is that the law has been honored.
Now, I didn't honor it, but my substitute did. And I didn't
obey it, but he did. I'm going to claim the honored
law. That's what I lay claim to tonight.
That's my hope. I lay claim in my hope to an
honored law. I'll tell you this, if I had
a hope that diminished the honor of God's law, I'd be scared to
death. If I had a hope tonight of an entrance into heaven that
did not perfectly honor God's law, I'd be afraid. But I have a hope tonight that
that hope is based upon the fact that his law was dealt with honorably. and in a holy manner. And the
person in whom my hope rests met God's law head on and honored
it. That's right. And I'll tell you
fourthly, my hope is in Christ and his grace. Here's what I'm
saying, my hope's in Christ. And he doesn't have to take me
along, but I believe he will. Lord, if you will, you can make
me whole. Lord, if you will, you can take me to glory. Lord,
if you will, you can include me in your testament, in your
will, in your last will and testament. And my hope is in the fact that
he didn't fix it so I could get around the law. He didn't lower
the requirements of the law. He didn't take the edge or the
offense or the sharpness off the law, but he honored it. And
also, my hope is in an act of justice. I expect to be saved
not only by an act of mercy and an act of obedience, but an act
of pure justice. The guilty must be punished,
and my Lord was punished. The sinful must die, and my Lord
died. The guilty must pay, and he paid. The soul that sinneth, it must
surely die, and he died. And he enabled the Heavenly Father
to be just and to deal in mercy with the unjust. And that's what
my hope is, in Christ, in his grace, he included me, and my
hope is based on an act of righteousness and an act of justice. Now, fifthly,
therefore, therefore, now get this, this is the most important
part of this message. Therefore, my hope of life, of
acceptance in heaven, is as sure as God's throne. I'll tell you
why. Let me ask you three questions.
Three questions. First of all, suppose that you
were perfectly holy, righteous. Perfectly righteous and perfectly
holy. What would you expect from God,
huh? Well, you know what you'd expect. You'd expect God's approval.
You'd expect God's acceptance. You'd expect his love, wouldn't
you, if you were perfectly holy? Well, in Christ we are. In Christ
we are, that's right. It says that plainly in the scripture.
It says through the blood of his cross, we are holy, unreprovable,
and unblameable. And he presents us faultless
before the throne of God. So what would you expect from
God if you were perfectly holy and righteous? Now then, wait
a minute. If you made a religious decision,
you're going to church, and you're trying to read the Bible, and
trying to act good, and trying to think good thoughts, and trying
to pray every so often, and trying to pay your tithes, and trying
to fast, and trying to do all these things. No, you've got
a whole lot of sin, and self, and corruption, and what do you
expect from God? What do you expect to be turned
away? It's kind of a hanging matter.
You don't know whether you're going to be turned to one day
and think you're going to be accepted, and the next day you think you're going to be
turned to the West. It's according to how he catches you, you know, one of your bad days
or good days. So really you have no, but if you're holy, perfectly
righteous, if the law of God can lay nothing to your charge,
what do you expect of God? You expect to be received. And that's what we are in Christ. By the disobedience of one, we
were made sinners. By the obedience of one, we were
made what? Righteous. That's what it says, righteous.
All right, here's the second question. Suppose that you owe
the debt of sin, the justice and judgment of God that found
you guilty and sentenced you to die. Suppose you died. Suppose
you died, and justice plunged its sword of wrath right through
your heart, and you rose again. What would you expect of God?
Well, I'd expect him to receive me. I paid my debt. He has no
charge against me. He cannot condemn me. I've already
paid the debt. You'd be like a man going to
the electric chair and dying for a crime. And then God raised
him from the dead, and the law comes and lays hands on him and
puts him back in jail. And he said, now wait a minute.
Why are you putting me in jail? Putting me in jail for your crime.
Now wait a minute, I paid that debt. You electrocuted me. That's paid. When I died, that
was paid. You'll have to wait till I commit
another crime before you can lay hands on me again. Well,
that's what I'm saying. I'm saying that Jesus Christ
paid it all. All the debt I owe. See, and
I know that's the crimson stain, but he washed it white as snow.
It says that. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanse of us from all sin. That's the reason Paul stood
in Romans 8, 34, and he said, who is he that condemned? Christ
has died. He's buried, risen again, and
is seated at God's right hand. So my hope is as sure as the
justice of God. It's as sure as the throne of
God, because in Christ I'm holy. Only one thing God can do with
me, and that's take me home. There's only one thing that a
holy God can do, and that's receive me in Christ. I speak that reverently,
I trust, but that's so. You want to lay claim? No, you
can't lay claim to any merit of your own, but you can sure
lay claim to Christ's merit. He invites you to. He says, come
to me. I'll give you rest. You weary, heavy laden, come
to me. You thirsty, come to me. Now, you stay out there and you're
in trouble. You come to Christ. God deals
with you as he deals with Christ, and he has already dealt with
him. Christ has already dealt with the law, and God has already
dealt with Christ. And it is all over. Third question. Suppose you came to the judgment,
which we all will. You come to the judgment, and
not one charge. There you stand with the whole
human race. And they open the book, which contains your name. And they can't find, throughout
the whole book, one charge, not one sin, not one offense, not
one debt. What would you expect of God?
Well, I'd expect him to close the book and invite me in, wouldn't
you? I'd expect him to say to me,
Well done, thou good and faithful servant, enter into the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundations of the world. And that's just
exactly what I expect. That's what I expect. I don't
think we're going to bypass the judgment. I'm talking about speculation
now. I don't know about those things. I'll tell you when I
get there. But I don't believe there's charged against one of
his people one sin because Christ suffered for our transgression.
He was bruised for our iniquity and the chastisement of our peace
was laid upon him and by his stripes we're healed. And that's
my hope. We wait. We throw the spirit. are waiting. Not yet. But I'm waiting. You know what
I'm waiting for? The hope of righteousness. Immaculate righteousness. Unchangeable,
immutable righteousness. Holiness. That's what I'm waiting
for. I'm waiting for the day when
God takes this partial project and makes it complete. And I'm
going to be satisfied when I awake with his likeness. And the reason
I know I'll enter in is because in Christ I'm righteous. In Christ
I'm justified. And in Christ there's no charge
against me up there. But it's in him. I'm walking
in him. That's the gospel. Our Father
in heaven, we thank thee for giving us a word. This is the
good news, this is the glad tidings which those angels spoke on that
morning 2,000 years ago, unto you is born in the city of David
a Savior who is Christ the Lord. This is the message, this is
the good news. Our Savior, our Redeemer, our
righteousness, our refuge. And Lord, look on us in Christ.
Outside of Christ, we have no hope. We're an unclean thing
outside the city. We're a condemned slayer outside
the city. But look on us in Christ. Receive
us in Christ. For it is in his blessed name
we pray. Amen.
Henry Mahan
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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