The life and ministry of A.T. Robertson reminds us that we do not have to choose between serious Bible study and a life on mission in obedience to Christ. As an esteemed New Testament scholar, Robertson was known for his diligence in the study. However, if one were to read Robertson’s sermons they would be struck by his passion for personal evangelism. In our inaugural Wednesday with Robertson I reflected on his sermon, Jesus as a Soul-Winner. In that sermon Robertson preached on John 4 stating that the Gospel of John “…shows the Master in actual contact with an individual soul, precisely the point where so many ministers fail, who may preach eloquent sermons to the crowd. And yet most people won to Christ are brought one at a time, as the result of a personal word.”[1]
Similar convictions are found in Robertson’s sermon Passing the Torch based on 2 Timothy 1:6; 2:2, “For which reason I am reminding thee to keep blazing the gift of God…Deposit these with reliable men who will be able to teach others also.”
What follows is an excerpt from the final point of Passing the Torch. Here Robertson is commenting on the end of 2 Timothy 2:2, “…reliable men who will be able to teach others also.” Notice again his passion for personal evangelism.
“These reliable men “will be able to teach others also” Paul says. So it has always been in the spread of the gospel. One live coal sets fire to another. Andrew brings his brother Simon to Jesus. John brings James. Phillip brings Nathanael. Dr. John R. Mott proved a generation ago that by one winning one the whole world could be brought to Christ in one generation. But often a whole life passes by without bringing another soul to the Master. Personal evangelism is the only way by which the gospel can successfully be brought to the hearts of men. We need preaching; more of it, and better, but the personal touch of heart to heart, of life on life is what counts most.[2] I heard D.L. Moody say once in a sermon that he knew more souls won to Christ by his conversation than by his preaching. And Moody was an effective evangelist. Isaiah’s lips were touched by live coal from the alter of God and so he had a tongue of flame. Nature is prodigal in her efforts at the reproduction of life. Seeds fall everywhere, carried by the wind and finding congenial soil…We should be drummers for Christ. Some men can live in a Christian community and never have a personal word spoken to them about their soul’s welfare. Friends will talk about business, pleasures, politics, the weather, anything, everything except the most important thing of all, which is taboo in many social circles and contacts. But if we pass the torch of eternal life, we must keep our torch blazing. Even if we do not always light that our neighbors and friends, we can keep it burning as a witness for Christ.”[3]
In his essay Why Textual Criticism for the Preacher, Robertson encouraged pastors not to neglect the tedious work of the study. In his sermon Passing the Torch he encouraged preachers not to neglect sharing the gospel in the streets. Robertson did not choose between diligence in the study and diligence in the streets.
Neither should
we.
[1] Jesus As a Soul-Winner in Archibald Thomas Robertson, Jesus As a Soul-Winner And Other Sermons (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company).
[2] Emphasis mine.
[3] Passing the Torch in Archibald Thomas Robertson, Passing the Torch and Other Sermons (New York: Fleming Revell Company).
Nathaniel R. Martin 