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Henry Mahan

Christ is All

Colossians 3:11
Henry Mahan • September, 10 1978 • Audio
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Message 0344a
Henry Mahan Tape Ministry
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Colossians 3, one more time,
let's look at our text. Verse 11, where there is neither
Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian,
bond nor free, but Christ is all. I realize that most people do not understand what we mean
when we say that Christ is all. Nor do they understand what Paul
meant when he said, we preach Christ. We preach Christ and
him crucified. Nor do they understand what he
meant when he said, I am determined. to know nothing among you save
Jesus Christ and him crucified. Let's see if I can help us a
little bit. Now, there are many in the world to whom Jesus Christ
is nothing. He rarely, if ever, enters into
their thoughts, into their minds, or they may use his name to swear
by, to curse. But to them Jesus Christ is nothing,
really nothing. It is true to them he is a root
out of a dry ground. He has no form, no comeliness,
no beauty that they should desire him. He is despised and rejected
of men. He is a man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. They are without Christ. And
being without Christ, they're without God, and without hope,
and without life. But to them, Christ is nothing.
Now, there are many people to whom Christ is nothing. All right,
secondly, there are many people to whom Christ is something,
but not much. Now stay with me. To a great
number of people in this world, Jesus Christ is nothing. He's
just a name to swear by. Now to some people, he's something,
but not much. In other words, they say he's
a prophet, like Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius. that he's perhaps
some great one, a great worldly figure, great leader. They say
that he is a good man, had some excellent ideas, great philosophy. They say he's a founder of a
great religion, that Jesus Christ is the founder of Christianity
as other prophets are founders of their religion. So you can't
say to them he's nothing. Now to some he is nothing. Nothing. To some, he's something, but
not much. Now that's not saying much about
him to say he's a great leader, a great prophet, a great religious
founder, a great reformer. That's not saying much. But he
is something, but not much. All right? Thirdly, now watch
this. There are many in this world to whom Christ is much. But not all. He is much. He is important. He is much.
They're anxious to get to heaven. They're anxious to get saved,
they call it. They're anxious to miss hell.
They don't want to go to hell. They would like to go to heaven,
but they admit to some shortcomings. They admit to some imperfections. So they use the merits of Christ
and the blood of Christ to make up these shortcomings and these
imperfections. You see what I'm saying? He's
important in that regard. Their robe is not quite long
enough. So they add the fringe of Christ's
blood or Christ's death or Christ's righteousness to make up what
they lack. They have some bad sins. And
they're willingly admitted, but basically, basically, they're
good people. So Christ takes care of these
bad sins, Christ takes care of this evil, Christ takes care
of these imperfections, these shortcomings, provided, provided
that they endeavor to walk uprightly hereafter. He's not effectual,
but he takes care of past sins. He takes care of past mistakes.
He takes care of past errors. Yes, he died on the cross to
make salvation possible, they say, for those who will believe
and those who will serve God and those who will walk uprightly,
provided they continue to serve God and provided they continue
to walk uprightly. So Christ is much. He's much. He has his place of importance,
but not all. Now watch this, fourthly. There
are many people in this world to whom Christ is all in some
things. He is all in some things, but
they've never understood him to be all and in all. He's all
in some things. Some of you may find your place
right here, if you haven't already. They say Christ is all in justification. He pardons our sins. He puts
away our iniquities. He makes us fit for glory. He
puts away all of our transgressions. His blood cleanseth us from all
sin. But as to our sanctification,
we affect that ourselves. We look to Calvary for justification,
but we look to Sinai for sanctification. Christ is all in justification,
but Sanctification is effected by us. They say that Christ is
all in redemption. He did redeem us to God by His
blood. He did put away our sins, but
to persevere and to continue and to be brought to final salvation,
that depends upon our faithfulness, our loyalty to God, and our continuation
in His commandments. Christ is all in justification.
but not all in sanctification. Christ is all in redemption,
but he's not all in perseverance. So to them, Christ is all in
some things, Charlie, but not in everything. But fifthly, thank
God for his grace. There are some in this world
who can say with Paul, Christ is all. Christ is all and in
all. from eternity past to eternity
future. Christ is all. I was chosen in
Christ out of a world of darkness and rebellion and unbelief. In
that eternal election, Christ was all. Chosen in Christ. I was loved in Christ, not because
of anything God saw I would do or anything God saw I would be.
For all about me is unlovely, but I was loved in Christ, who
was made my surety from all eternity. God loved me in Christ. I'm justified
in Christ, who by his life and his death honored God's law and
satisfied God's justice and gave me the guilt, the free guilt
of eternal life. I'm sanctified in Christ, who
is my holiness, who is my righteousness. I'm accepted not because of anything
I think or anything I say or anything I do, have ever done
or shall ever do, but because of Christ, my righteousness. I'm accepted in the Beloved.
I am continually loved and continually kept in Jesus Christ, who at
the right hand of God ever liveth to make intercession for me,
who even makes my righteousness to be accepted, because in myself
it is filthy rags. And man at his best state is
altogether vanity, and he remembereth our frame, and knoweth that we
are dust, but in Christ I am complete. And my eternal inheritance as
an heir of God is because I'm a joint heir with Jesus Christ. You see, it's been given to the
Son, not to me, but to me in the Son. All authority and all blessings
and all benefits have been vested in the Son. Not in me, not to
me, but in the Son. And they're mine because of my
union with him. in my relationship with him.
Christ is all. Not only in my justification,
but in my sanctification. Not only in my redemption, but
in my holiness. Not only in my pardon, but in
my perseverance. He's not only the author of my
faith, he's the finisher of it. He's not only in my first steps
of faith, but in my last steps of faith. There is no point Between
the gates of hell and the gates of heaven, where the believer
can say at any time or any moment, this depends on me. I must rely
on my own endeavors. God could take any ten-second
period out of our lives, from the cradle to the grave, and
damn us as a consequence of our ungodliness. Any ten-second period. Even when we're in prayer. Even
when we're in praise, even when we're in worship, there's enough
evil and sin in our flesh and in our hearts and in our natures.
There's enough selfishness and covetousness and greed for God
to cut any ten-second period out of our lives from the cradle
to the grave and incur all of his wrath. From the dunghill of our corruption
to the throne of his perfection, there is no point or position
left to the creature merit. Our salvation begins with Christ,
continues with Christ, and it closes with Christ. Christ is all. I thank God that you're not among
those to whom Christ is nothing. I thank God that we're not among
those to whom Christ is something but not much. I thank God we're not among those
to whom Christ is much but not all. It's by his grace that we
don't find ourselves among the struggling religionists to whom
Christ is all in some things but not all in all things, not
all in all. It may be that God has given
you the distinctive mark of a Christian. What is that mark? What is the
distinctive mark of a Christian? Last night I was watching a documentary
on Protestantism on the channel 25 or 33. They were going from
church to church and they sat down in front of a preacher,
pastor of a huge Baptist church with a lot of A lot of activity
and soul winning. And this man said to him, what
is your objective? He said, to save souls. And this
man said, what is it to be saved? What is it to be saved? I'm not being prejudiced, but
darn that pastor couldn't tell that man what it was to be saved.
He turned to Romans 6.23, and he read, "...the wages of sin
is death, the gift of God's eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord." He said, now there's a hell and there's a heaven. He said,
you don't want to go to hell, do you? The man said, no. Which
would you rather have? He said, well, I'd rather have
eternal life. Well, he said, that's what it
is. Let me tell you something. The
distinctive mark of a Christian, do you know what it is? What
is it to be saved? The distinctive mark of a Christian
is Christ. A living union with Christ. Eternal
life is to know God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Now
listen to this. The religionist is known by his
doctrine and by his denominational distinctions. That's the religionist. That's his characteristic. That's
the distinction, the distinctive mark of a religionist. He's known
by his doctrine or his denominational distinctives. He's a Catholic
or a Baptist or He's a Presbyterian or he's a Methodist or something
else. That's how he's known, all right? The moralist, the
moralist or legalist is known by his standards, by his laws,
by his do's or don'ts. The Pharisee said, Lord, I thank
you. I'm not like other men. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not
an extortioner. I'm not like this publican. I'm
known by that. And then the ceremonialist is
known by his rituals, his holy days, his dress. He may wear
a certain type of beard, he may wear a certain type of broad-brimmed
black hat, he may wear a certain type of suit. The woman may wear
a certain headdress, they may go through certain, they may
keep Saturday, they may keep Sunday. They may keep Easter,
they may keep Christmas. They've got special holy days
and holidays and feast days and ceremonies. They kneel a certain
time. The ceremonialist is known by these things. That's his distinction. That's the way you can tell him
from other people. That woman is a ceremonialist,
you can tell her by the way she's dressed. That's their distinctiveness. And then the revivalist. The
fundamentalist is known by his experiences. Hallelujah! Praise
the Lord! I got it! I found it! Another
said, I lost it. I don't know. But he's known
by his decisions, his confessions, his testimony. They baptized
a man last night on this program. And then the announcer came to
him and said, why were you baptized? Why did you do this? Well, he
said, you know that the world is full of wars, and there are
wars everywhere. Wars are coming upon us. This
is the truth. And he said, there are just all
kinds of people in this world, and I just, I heard these preachers,
these gospel preachers, they're talking, and I heard them, and
I just wanted to be a part of it. I thought while they were talking,
Shouldn't we be able to give a reason for the hope that's
in here? Suppose somebody asks you this,
what is it? What do you mean, in Christ?
Christ is all. What is it to be saved? Why were
you baptized? It's no wonder that the world
doesn't know what's going on as far as these churches are
concerned. The revivalist is known by his experiences, the
clapping and the shouting and singing, the believer. ought to be known, that which
distinguishes him, is his union with Christ, the
Lord Jesus Christ, Christ in you. That's the hope of glory. Look at verse 4. When Christ,
who is our life, that's salvation, Christ is my life. I'm crucified
with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not of it Christ liveth in
me. I go into this water. I'm saying
that when Christ died, I died. When Christ was buried, I was
buried. When Christ arose, I arose in the eyes of the Father. That
He was bearing my sins, I was identified with Him. Back in
eternity, He became my surety, my representative. He came down
to this earth in the flesh, and He was me. We're one. We're one in God's sovereign
choice, we're one in God's elective grace, we're one in God's covenant
mercies, we're one in the mind and purpose of God, and we're
one by faith. I have received Christ. I have
received him as my representative, as my prophet, as my priest,
as my king. I have received him. He has been,
by the Holy Spirit, put within my heart. He is the vine, I am
the branch. He's the head, I'm the body.
We're one. It's a living relationship. It's not just belief in a doctrine
or a creed, but Christ is my life. When Christ, who is our life?
Paul said, I travail till Not a doctrine be formed in you,
not till you be persuaded from sprinkling to immersion, or from
Arminianism to Calvinism, or from premillennialism to amillennialism,
or from this view to that view, but I prevail till Christ be
formed in you, a person. Paul said, when it pleased God
who separated me from my mother's womb to reveal His Son in me,
not just to me, but in me. Look at Romans 5, verse 19. Listen to this, Romans 5, 19. This is representation. Romans
5, 19. For as by one man's disobedience. Romans 5, 19. The many were made
sinners. That's identification with Adam.
You see, Adam was of the earth earthy, and I have borne the
image of the earthy. Adam had fingernails, and hands,
and feet, and hair, and a face, and a heart, and emotions, and
after-the-fall fears, and shame, and guilt, and sin, and lust,
and hatred, and malice, and all these things, and I'm one with
Adam. As I born the image of the earthy, in Adam I died, in
Adam I was representative, I represented, I was one with Adam. Adam's my
father. Adam's my family head. Adam's
my federal head. I identified with him, with Adam,
as all men are. It's a demeaning by that man's
disobedience. He rebelled against God. He shook
his fist in God's face. He tried to take God's throne
willingly, deliberately. He knew what he was doing. And
I was one with him. Now God sent the second Adam,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Lord from heaven. The
first Adam is of the earth, earthy. The second Adam, the second man
is the Lord from heaven. And I'm one with him by God's
spiritual birth, by regeneration, by Holy Spirit work, by God's
covenant mercies. And he said, even so by the obedience
of one shall many be made righteous. You see that? He who knew no sin was made sin
for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
That's identification, that's representation, that's imputation. When God dealt with Adam, he
dealt with me. When Adam dealt with God, he dealt with God as
the whole race. When Jesus Christ came down here,
the many, the believer, the covenant people, The people of grace were
in Christ and they were dealt with by God in Christ. God punished
our sins in the person of his son. He bore our sins in his
body on the tree. By his stripes we are healed
because we are one. Now by faith God has brought
me to see that oneness, that union, that relationship. He
brought me to receive Christ and you to receive Christ. And
so God deals with us in Christ. That's Christ in us. Christ is
all. There's no way I can comprehend
this whole text. I know that, let alone preach
on it. But I want you to look at verse 11 of chapter 3, and
let's look at this Christ is all. Christ is all. And I'll show you about four
things, and I'll try to be brief. But first of all, Christ is all
by way of national distinction, ceremonial distinction, social
distinction. Look at verse 11. In Christ there
is neither Greek nor Jew. Now in the flesh we may be black,
We may be white, we may be yellow. We may be Irishmen, Englishmen,
Italians, Greeks, Africans. But in Christ there's no national
distinction. Christ erases all national distinction. There's neither Greek nor Jew.
That's right. In Christ there's neither black
nor white. In Christ There's neither Greek nor Jew. All national
distinctions. We're brothers. In Christ, there
are no ceremonial distinctions. Now, back under the ceremonial
law, listen to me. Back under the ceremonial law,
there were children of the covenant. That's right. Jewish people,
natural descendants from Abraham, and they were distinguished by
circumcision. In other words, a little Jewish
boy was more highly favored than a little Philistine boy. No question
about it, that little Jewish boy was circumcised when he was
seven days old, eight days old. And that little Philistine warden,
and this little Jewish boy was under the protective hand of
God, the blessings of God, because he was a Jew. The Jewish people
were blessed with the prophets, with the law, with the ceremony,
with the tabernacle, with the sacrifices, and these Philistines
weren't. Circumcision meant something. It was a token of the covenant,
but not in Christ. Not in Christ. Now listen to
me, don't let me shock you, but in Christ the harlot's son is
as holy as the preacher's son. That's right. That's right. You can't sprinkle your baby
and make it a little Jewish boy. Ain't no way. That's what they're
trying to do. They're saying circumcision.
Now this is what covenant theology teaches. The wrong kind. You see, back under the ceremonial
law, I'm telling you the truth, and this is the error of it,
the mode of baptism is not the only important thing. It's why
you're baptized. Back in the Old Testament days,
now this is what John Murray and these Reformed theologians
are teaching. That back in the Old Testament
days, the Jews were special people, covenant people, which is so.
God said, you're special people unto me. And every boy that was
born into the family was circumcised and that made him a Jew. under
the covenant, under the special blessing, under the special favor
of God. The Philistines, Amalekites,
these other boys were not circumcised, they were not Jews, they were
not under the covenant promises, they were not under the protective
hand, they were not under God's provisions. Now they say that
when our babies are born, you Christians, you believers, you
are to sprinkle them. just as they were circumcised.
Sprinkling baptism is a carryover of circumcision. That's right,
that's what they teach, John, that baptism is a carryover of
circumcision. And thereby, when you sprinkle
your infant, you put him in the covenant. You put him on the
protective hand of God, just like that Jewish boy. And that's
not so. It's just not so. In Christ,
there's neither Greek nor Jew, there's neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision. The harlot's son in Christ is
as holy as the preacher's son, that's so. That's right. And the door is just as open.
And that preacher's son, if he doesn't know Christ, is under
the wrath of God. And there are no social distinctions,
whether they are barbarian How many folks you know beneath your
station in life? If you're Christian, you don't
know any, Mike. That's right. You don't know any. Because in
Christ, there's neither barbarian, Scythian, bond... What's a bondman? That's a slave.
Or a free man. In Christ, those distinctions
are gone. Now, I know they mean a lot to
this world. And this troubles me a whole lot. I know these
distinctions, worldly distinctions is what they are. I'm white, and that puts me on a little
higher notch than this man who's black. Not in Christ. I'm a Baptist. My father was
a Baptist. My grandfather was a Baptist.
His father was a Baptist. That puts us ceremonially in
a special line. Not in Christ. Not in Christ. The thief on the cross is just
as near to the heart of Christ as you are. Circumcision or uncircum... I got a good job. I'm intelligent. I'm a leader. This man is nothing
but a ditch digger. Not in Christ. Not in Christ. He that would be greatest, huh? Switch places, right? That's
right. These little characteristics
are revealing. We better watch how we feel about
certain things. It's not of God. In Christ there
is neither bond nor free. Barbarians, these are barbarians,
uncouth, uncultured. Oh, you're cultured, are you?
In Christ the only culture is grace. Grace. That's right. Christ is all by way of national
distinction, ceremonial distinction, social distinction. He's all
to God, before my enemies, and in myself. He's all. To God, He's my priest. He's
offered a suitable sacrifice. To God, He's my mediator. He
stands between me and God. He pleads His righteousness.
He is all between me and God. All! between me and God. No profession, no decision, no
reformation, no good deed. He's all between me and God.
He bridges completely the gap between me and God. He's all
between me and my enemies. There's Satan. How can I contend
with him? There's my accuser. How can I
contend with him? How can I meet his charge? There's
the law of God. There's the justice of God. Christ
is all. Between me and the law, he's
all. Between me and justice, he's
all. Between me and Satan, he's all. Between me and hell, Christ. And then Christ is all in myself. I know what dwells in here. I
know the fault and failure. I know the error and the sin.
And were it not for Christ, I'd be filled with despair. But as
long as he's there, I'm filled with peace and joy. He's my all,
all. Us black, us Mexicans, us American,
Christ is all. Ritual, Christ is my ritual.
Social standing, Christ is my social standing. Christ is all,
he's all to God, he's all to my enemies, between me, he's
all in myself. Listen to this, thirdly, Christ
is my past, present, and future. From the day I was conceived
in the womb and brought forth into the world, every act of
God's providence was to bring me to Christ. Turn to Jeremiah. Let me show you this. Jeremiah
chapter 1, verse 5. Listen to this. From the time
I was conceived in the womb and brought forth into this world,
every act of God's providence was to bring me to Christ. Jeremiah
1, verse 4. Where the Lord came to me saying,
Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Before you came
out of your womb, I sanctified you and ordained you a prophet. Paul said, God who separated
me from my mother's womb. That's right. Christ is all in
my past. Even the angels, Paul said in
Hebrews 1.14, are ministering spirits sent to minister to them
who shall be the heirs of salvation. Christ is all my past. And Christ
is all my present. Even at this moment, all things
are purposed by God to make me like Christ. That's right. All of my present. All things
work together for good to them who love God, who are called
according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. And
whom he predestinated, he called. Whom he called, he justified.
And whom he justified, he glorified. What shall I say to these things?
If God be pardoned, who can be against me? If you ever read
that story, I'll give you the scripture and you can read it
this afternoon when you get home. Chapter 16, David, son Absalom,
had turned against his father and had driven his father out
of the kingdom. He took the throne. And David
and his weary people, many people left with David, and they were
leaving the country. And there was a fellow who met
David, it's in chapter 16 of 2 Samuel, this fellow Shimei,
He came out and called David a bloody man. He cursed David,
and he threw rocks at him. And then verse 9, Abishah pulled
out his sword, and he said, King David, why should this dead dog
curse my Lord, the King? Let me go over and take off his
head. And David said, What have I to do with thee, ye sons of
Zeruiah? Let him curse. The Lord hath
said unto him, Curse David. If the Lord said to him, Curse
David, who shall then say, Why have you done it? David said
to Abishah and to all his servants, Behold my son which came out
of my own bowels, Absalom seeks my life, he wants to kill me. How much more now may this Benjamite
do it? Let him alone. Let him curse.
God hath bidden him. Now watch this. It may be that
the Lord will look on my affliction and the Lord will requite me
good for his cursing this day. Don't you wish we had that kind
of grace? That we could look on every misfortune. That we
could look upon every adversity. That we could look upon every
affliction. that as a man stood on the hill and cursed us and
threw rocks and dirt at us and called us a bloody man, and our
friend wanted to go whip him, we'd say, yeah, go get him. No,
we'd say, no, the Lord told him, curse me. Now, you let him curse. It may be God will bring good
out of all this for his glory and my good. Christ, that David
saw that Christ is all, even in the cursing of an enemy. And Christ is all in my future
because God, first, let's read 1 John 3. He's all in my future. He said in 1 John 3 verse 1,
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,
that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world
knoweth us not, because it didn't know him. Beloved, now are we
the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be. But we know that when he shall appear, we'll be like him. For we shall see him as he is.
Christ is my future. He's my past, present, and future.
And in closing, Christ is all I need. All I need. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. He's all I need. He's made unto
me wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. He's all I need.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I shall not
want for rest. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. I shall not want for peace. He leads me beside the
still waters. I shall not want for forgiveness.
He restores my soul. I shall not want for holiness.
He leads me in pairs of righteousness. I shall not want for comfort.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil. Thou art with me. I shall not
want for sustenance. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou knowest my head with oil,
and my cup runneth over. I shall not want for anything
in this life. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I shall not want for
anything in the life to come, for I will dwell in the house
of the Lord forever." Christ. He's all I need. And He's all
I desire. Listen to David. These are his
last words. Although my house be not so with
God. God hath made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure, and this is all my
salvation and all my desire. My desire is to be like Him,
and He said I'll be satisfied when I awake with His likeness.
Let us covet His presence. Let us be ambitious to be like
Him. Let us desire to be like Him
and to be with Him. Christ is all my desire. Now
watch this in closing. Christ is all I can conceive. When I think about glory, we
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.
When I talk about holiness, He knew no sin. When I talk about
power, all authority is given unto me in heaven and earth.
When I talk about love, greater love hath no man than this. When
I talk about riches, God has highly exalted Him and given
Him a name above every name. Talk about life, I am the way,
the truth, and the life. Talk about freedom, if the Son
shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Talk about knowing
God, and the Son of God hath come and given us an understanding
that we may know Him that is true. This is eternal life, and
this is the true God. That's what I mean, Christ is
all. In Christ there's no national
distinctions, there's no ceremonial distinction, there's no social
distinction. Jesus Christ is all between me
and God, all, there's nothing else there, and that's enough.
He's all between me and my enemies, between me and hell, that's all,
Christ. Between me and hell, that's enough. He's all in here. I don't find any comfort in anything
I think, but in who he is. I don't find any joy or happiness
in anything I've done, because there's sin in all of it. But
as long as He dwells there, it makes it all right. Christ is
all I need. Christ is all I desire. Christ
is all I can conceive of good. And Christ is my past. I don't
have one without Him. He's my present. And I'm telling you, You can sin against God by reading
this signs and all in the paper and talking about the future,
but Christ is my future. I'm going to be like him. My
times are in his hands. My God, I wish them there. Don't
you? Christ is all. Our Father in heaven Make Christ in reality experience
in the deepest personal feeling and understanding. As best we
have ability to understand and faith to believe, make Christ
all and in all. Turn our eyes, spiritual eyes,
fully on him. Let us look unto him, the author
and finisher of our faith. Help us to preach so that men,
at least in their heads, can understand us. Lord, deliver
us from tradition, being bound by tradition, religious jargon. Help us to preach the word. that
with understanding and intelligence and love and repentance and faith
men might come to a true living relationship with the Lord of
Glory, putting off the old man and all his deeds and putting
on the new man created in righteousness, created in Christ Jesus. For
his glory let us live and walk and talk and breathe. For his sake 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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